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Get your resumes looking
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Resume tips
Resumes are a necessity for
almost every job on the planet -- accountant, teacher, CEO or municipal
employee. But unless you carefully and objectively examine your resume
before sending it out, recycling bins across
America may be filling up with those ill-planned documents.
Before mailing your next
resume, check the ten resume "don'ts" below:
1. Appearances Count -- Don't try to save money by
printing your resume on cheap copy paper instead of good quality stock.
Check for typos, grammatical errors and coffee stains. Use the spell
check feature on your word processor and ask a friend to review the
resume to find mistakes you might have missed.
2. Does Size Matter? -- If your career
warrants a two-page resume, then go ahead and create a document that
reflects the full range of your experience and accomplishments. Don't
reduce the type size to such a degree that your resume becomes difficult
to read.
3. Truth or Consequences -- Don't fudge over dates
or titles on your resume to hide the fact that you have been unemployed,
that you switched jobs too frequently or that you held low-level
positions. If a prospective employer conducts a background check and
discovers that you lied, you can kiss the job good-bye.
4. State Your Case -- If you are seeking
a job in a field in which you have no prior experience, don't use the
chronological format for your resume. By using a functional or
skills-oriented format, you can present your relevant experience and
skills up front.
5. Put Your Best Foot Forward -- Don't simply copy
the job description jargon from your company's HR manual. To show that
you are more qualified than the competition for the positions you are
seeking, you need to do more than simply list your job responsibilities.
Present specific accomplishments and achievements: percentages
increased, accounts expanded, awards won, etc.
6. No Excuses -- Don't include the
reasons you are no longer working at each job listed on your resume. The
phrases "Company sold," "Boss was an idiot" and "Left to make more
money" have no place on your resume.
7. What Have You Done Lately? -- While it is
certainly acceptable to have a two-page resume, don't list every single
job you've ever held. Personnel managers are most interested in your
experience from the last 10 years, so focus on your most recent and most
relevant career experience.
8. Target Your Audience -- Don't mail out
your resume to every ad in the Sunday newspaper. If you are not even
remotely qualified for a position, don't apply. Read the ads, determine
if you have the right credentials and save the wear and tear on your
printer.
9. No Extra Papers, Please -- When you send out your
resume, don't include copies of transcripts, letters of recommendation
or awards, unless you are specifically asked to do so. If you are called
in for an interview, you may bring these extra materials along in your
briefcase for show-and-tell.
10. Don't Get Personal -- Personal
information does not belong on a resume. Don't include information on
your marital status, age, race, family or hobbies. |