Resume Resource

 Ten tips on how to be successful with your resume:

Tip 1:  Use Titles or Headings That Match the jobs you want :

With employers receiving hundreds of resumes you must make sure that your resume hooks an employer's attention within a 5-second glance. A great way to do this is to use job titles and skill headings that relate to and match the jobs you want. The first resume tip is to put your technical skills, training and knowledge at the top of your resume. Make sure it is detailed and organized and that your technical expertise is clear.  Keep in mind that prior to finding its way to the prospective employer the resume is going to be read by a gatekeeper, and will likely be electronically perused for the important keywords. The best resume tip to get your resume in front of the employer is to make sure you include relevant keywords, such as industry or job jargon, an all operating systems and programs with which you are proficient.  

Tip 2:  Use a design that grabs attention:

Employers make snap judgments when glancing at your resume.   If they see unrelated job titles or skills, the likelihood is very high that they will make an immediate assumption that you are not qualified for the job you want.  Adding to this problem is the fact that employers don't have the time to read through each of your job descriptions to determine if you have the skills they need by customizing your qualifications. The second tip is to document your qualifications according to their relevance to the position for which you are applying, with the most relevant listed first. Your degree or certification is only listed if relevant to the available position. Don't worry about reverse chronology. If, for example, you are applying for a system administration position and one of the prior positions you've held is as a system administrator that job should be listed first - no matter where it appeared in your work experience chronologically.

Tip 3:  Create Content that sells by Quantifying Your Past Results:

 Resume design should get attention but it's really the content of your resume, the descriptions you include of your skills and abilities, that determine how many interviews you generate--as well as the level of salary offers you receive. The third resume tip is to be factual with your experience, quantifying it where you can. You could, for instance, enumerate the code lines you debugged, the amount of money your budget costs saved, or note the number of computers and servers whose maintenance you were responsible for.

 Tip 4:  Quantify and use power and Action Words:

Using numbers to describe your achievements and responsibilities can greatly expand and elevate your image. Using numbers and quantifying creates vivid images in our mind when we read them, whereas general statements like the before examples are easy to skip over or forget. Typically the more specific you can be in describing your duties the better.  Another strategy that is extremely important in controlling the image that employers develop about you--is to use Power Words or verbs that match the level of position you want.  This tip is to be active rather than passive in your resume. Begin each sentence with an action, keeping it in the past tense.  It is important to clearly describe the value you provided to the employer in the past tense and starting with an action word.

Tip 5:  Analyze Ads and Job Descriptions to identify key words and Give Yourself Credit:

Learning how to analyze the key words that employers provide in help wanted ads and job descriptions is a key element in creating powerful resumes. The tip is to blow your own horn.  This is not the time to be shy. Treat your resume as a marketing and sales tool for yourself.  Write it as if you are the product and the employer the consumer. Sell yourself. If you have a significant accomplishment that doesn't seem relevant to the job list it separately, but do list it.

 Tip 6: Identify and solve employers hidden needs:

 In addition to the skills or needs listed in the ad shown above, the employer will have many more needs that Roger should identify and address in his resume and cover letter.   For example, this employer will need someone who can deal effectively with other departments, research accounting issues and records to solve problems. To beat today's heavy competition for jobs, it's important that you identify and anticipate the full range of needs each employer faces and show how you can solve those needs so in other words Be As Short As Possible While Still Being Totally Clear.  This  tip is to keep your resume as concise as practical, without minimize the point size to make it hard to read, or eliminating needed white space.   If your resume includes fewer than six years of experience you should be able to keep it to one page. Unless you are applying for a senior executive position, however, you shouldn't exceed three pages.   Some of the ways to be concise is to leave out the details of projects of which you were not the key part. Articles and pronouns can be eliminated - you don't need a, an or the - and you definitely don't need I.

 Tip 7:  Sell the benefits of your skills

Most resumes provide a list of duties that each applicant has been responsible for--without explaining the benefit of those skills to employers. For example, a secretary's resume might state she can type 80 wpm and is extremely accurate. This statement lacks an explanation of how her typing speed and accuracy benefit an employer's bottom line. Basically Don't Give Any More Information Than The Reader NeedsThe seventh resume tip is to eliminate all unimportant, or non-pertinent information, as well as those things that will give away your right to be considered without bias. You should never, for example, include your resume, your marital status, any indication of your health or age, or any associations that would make clear your religious, sexual preference or political affiliation.  You don't need to tell a prospective employer, for example, that references are available, nor do you need to name supervisors at this point.

Tip 8: Create an image that matches the salary you want:

As you write your resume, keep in mind the level of job and salary you want. Be sure to create an image that presents you at the appropriate level. For example, language used in a resume for an $8 an hour position is much different than the language used for a $16 an hour position

Tip 9: Prioritize the content of your resume:

Another big mistake that job seekers make is to list very important data in the lower sections of their job descriptions. As you compile statements for your resume, prioritize them by importance, impressiveness and relevance to the job you want.  Remember that a strong statement which uses power words and quantifies will affect every statement under it.

Tip 10: Tweak and target your resumes and cover letters and absolutely no silly mistakes

You will generate many more interviews by tweaking your resume and cover letter so that they address the specific skills each employer requests. The final resume tip is to check for errors. Check yourself for grammatical and punctuation errors as well as typographical mista and you will achieve your goals in obtaining a great career for your long term employment positions.