BRIAN KONRADT
a professional full-time freelance writer for over a decade, he founded LousyWriter.com, a free online resource to improve your writing skills; and FreelanceWriting.com, a free resource to help writers freelance full-time.
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BRIAN KONRADT
How to Write A Better Resume
Which word is more scarier to you? If someone yelled "fire!" or if
someone whispered, "resume"? To most people, hearing the word
"resume" induces panic attacks and beads of sweat across the
forehead.
Writing a resume is hard work. You must write your resume correctly;
it must be perfect! Any blunders in your resume could cost you the job.
The entire resume-writing process can be confusing. We’ve all asked
ourselves these questions: “Which information goes in?” “Which stays
out?” “How exactly should I format my resume?”
If you jumped into a pile of books and articles on resume writing, you’d
drown in words, sentences and advice that all sound the same. So what
in the world will make your resume leap out of the pile and scream,
"Grab me! I am the person you want to hire!"
Writing a resume is both an art and a science. We need to know a
successful formula of words, sentences, format and finesse to convey
effectively our selling points. The following tips are shortcuts to write
a stellar resume for whatever job you desire.
FORMAT WITH CAUTION
Your professional history will strongly dictate your resume format.
We must choose one of three basic resume types: chronological,
functional or combination.
THE CHRONOLOGICAL RESUME
This is the most common type of resume, the one that comes to
mind when the word is mentioned. A chronological resume is
appropriate if you’ve had steady work experience with little to
no breaks, have kept each of your jobs for long periods of time,
or have industry-related experience that shows your working
toward a specific goal. The Chronological Resume is comprised of:
-Objective (which we’ll discuss in a few paragraphs)
-Employment history (starting from your most recent job)
-Education
-Optional section (for things such as military experience or
any special skills/interests that may
pertain to the job at hand)
-References
THE FUNCTIONAL RESUME
A variation of the chronological resume, a functional resume intends
to highlight skills found outside of work experience; it’s useful if
you’re in the process of changing careers, have little to no work
experience or have held several, seemingly unrelated jobs. This
sort of resume is comprised of:
-Qualifications summary (a bulleted list of achievements or
interests that qualify you
for the job.
-Employment history
-Education
-Optional section (may highlight such things as professional
organizations to which you
belong and offices you've held)
-References
THE COMBINATION RESUME
A combination resume is what it sounds like: a combination of the
chronological and functional formats. It tends to be slightly more
useful than the functional resume, as that format sometimes makes
an employer suspicious that you’re hiding something (such as a
lack of experience). The combination resume is comprised of:
-Qualifications summary
-Education (especially if it’s a particularly strong area for you)
-Employment history (in reverse order as the chronological resume)
-Optional section (you may also want to recognize
your community service)
-References
RETHINK YOUR OBJECTIVE
Many books and articles extol the virtues of an objective; it is,
after all, a great way to position yourself within a job and show
an employer what you want and how willing you are to get it.
A lot of job-seekers have been ditching the objective in favor
of a qualifications summary, and employers seem to be
responding well. The reason for this is simple: objectives are,
by nature, focused heavily on you and not the employer. Your
potential employer, while certainly interested in what you
want, is far more concerned with your qualifications and what
you can do for the company.
The idea isn’t all bad, though. It just needs a little tweaking.
Instead of an objective, try creating a positioning statement.;
it functions on the same way as an objective but puts the focus
on you. Take a look at these examples:
-Objective: To become an associate editor of children’s books
at a major publishing house.
-Positioning Statement: Children’s book editor with 10 years
experience in publishing .
These are loose examples, of course, but you get the idea;
put the focus on you and the employer will take notice.
THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAIL
Be specific about what exactly you’ve done. Your former job
responsibilities and achievements are excellent selling points
in your resume. Avoid being vague, unless you want your
resume to read like everyone else’s. Think about your previous
jobs: what exactly did you do and how does that qualify you for
a new position? For instance, don’t write that you “assisted the
senior editor with a number of editorial duties.” Instead, write
“contributed to editorial copy and content editing, cover design
and overall concept of several major projects.” Detailing your
specific job duties and accomplishments show the employer
what you’re capable of and what can be expected from you
as an employee.
SHOW THEM WHAT YOU CAN DO
It’s tempting to outline your responsibilities to save some
space and not appear overly conceited, but remember --
you’re here to sell to yourself. You have one shot to make
an impression. Chances are good that the employer will
already know a bit about the duties of your last job
(especially if it’s linked to this job), so they need to read
about what you have accomplished as opposed to what
you did. Anyone could go through the motions of a nine-to-
five day, but what did you actually achieve? What were
the results of your work? Don’t be modest with this; if a
book you edited hit the best-seller list, then by all means,
let the employer know.
Never withhold important information about your achievements.
WORD IT WELL
The words you use in your resume are just as important as
the results you have achieved or the jobs you’ve held.
Use lively, engaging words and always avoid passive voice;
it reads as boring and trite.
Write in active voice which sounds formal and direct.
Stay concise -- are you using more words than necessary?
Would a great action verb effectively replace a whole sentence?
Delete obvious clichés, like “great customer service skills”?
Strive to say things in the most interesting manner possible,
and make sure you spell all words correctly. There’s nothing
worse than a typo on a resume, as it leaves the impression
that “if this person doesn’t care enough to spellcheck a resume,”
the employer thinks, “then how in the world will they care enough
to do this job well?”
PERFECT THE PRESENTATION
Resume presentation is another crucial aspect to the resume-
writing process. How your resume looks will serve as the
employer’s first \impression of you; if it looks bad, or amateurish,
your resume may not get a second glance. Make sure the
visual formatting is correct (consult a resume guide book for
samples of formatting) and always leave lots of white space;
this makes it easier for an employer to skim through your resume
and find the information they need. Use an easily readable font,
such as Arial or Times New Roman print it on high-quality
white stock (no photocopies!); and send it in a white or manila
envelope with a printed mailing label.
And always, always, always remember to include your contact
information, even your email address; it’ll be hard to land that
new position if the employer can’t even get in touch with you.
©2006 BRIAN KONRADT |
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