Resume Writing

TARGETING YOUR RESUME

A strong, well-targeted resume alone doesn't get you a job. It does, however, get you through a typical candidate screening process to a first interview. The same principles of resume-writing apply whether you are a seasoned executive or new to the job market, although the organization and verbiage of the resume may differ.

The essential components a good resume are:

* Your Name, Address, Contact Information

* Qualifications Summary - should be a highlight of your major career accomplishments

* Experience (dates of employment, company, title, responsibilities, results) in reverse chronological order

* Education - start with your current MBA

* Skills - computer hardware, software, languages (not soft skills, i.e., organized)

Other qualities of a good resume include:

* Clean, legible format, using 10, 11, or 12 point, depending on the font; Times New Roman, Arial, or Sans Serif are good font styles

* Resume should be tailored to the career function and industry you are seeking whenever possible; descriptions of your responsibilities should "match" easily with the requirements of the role for which you're applying

* Succinct review of your work experience; total resume not to exceed 2 pages

* Use of action-oriented verbs to describe your responsibilities; make your statements "accomplishment" statements

* Make sure you use quantifiable results in the roles you've held whenever possible

* When developing resume, do not use pre-set templates

Since the majority of resumes today are submitted via the web, or are scanned into large human resource database systems, be sure to include all of the key words that a search engine or web crawler will pick up.

After you've drafted your resume, it's best to let it sit for day or two before editing it. This can be a challenge if you're under a tight deadline, but it will help you to catch errors and improve the structure and language you've used.

As you review your resume, ask yourself the following questions:

* Would I call this candidate for an interview for this job?

* Have I been compelling and accurate in my self-representation?

* Am I describing my experience using language that will be clear to someone who hasn't