Three Types of Résumés
The
résumé is extremely important in the U.S. as a
tool to gauge one’s education, skills, experience,
and interests – all of which should ideally relate
to the position being applied for. Your résumé
will either get you the job or lose it for you.
It must be short and to the point (no more than
1 page for every 10 years of experience as a rule)…avoid
unnecessary personal information (e.g., marital
status, religious beliefs, etc.). Your resume
should be written for each job you apply for.
Do not use a generic resume for any job. Most
importantly, always be honest!
There
are three basic types of résumés:
1.
Functional method – This groups similar skills
together under separate headings and highlights
overall strengths. The functional method is typically
used by career and frequent job changes, and those
with limited or unrelated experience. This is
sometimes a red flag to employers that all information
is not included. The functional method is recommended
for recent graduates with limited work experience.
2.
Chronological method - This groups skills
according to time and highlights continuous work
history (most recent experience listed first).
The chronological method is typically used when
one has had one job, or those who have been in
the same field for a long period of time. This
method does not serve college graduates well,
since part-time and summer jobs may not relate
to a college major or industry in which one is
seeking employment.
3.
Combination – This uses features from both
the functional and chronological methods. Skills
and experience are presented as themes, yet positions
and companies follow chronologically. This method
shows stability and employment history. It is
versatile and tends to have an impact on employers
by matching ones skills and achievements to their
specific needs. The combination method is recommended
for mid-career changers.
Ten Great Tips for Preparing
your Résumé
Tip
1 – Use Titles or Headings that Match the Jobs
You Want
With
employers receiving hundreds of résumés you must
make sure that your résumé gets an employer’s
attention within a quick glance (a few seconds).
A great way to do this is by using job titles
and skill headings that match what the position
calls for. The key here is to use action verbs
(in bold) to highlight past achievements
Tip
2 – Use an Innovative Design
Employers
will make hasty conclusions when glancing over
your résumé. 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 position you are applying
for. Additionally, employers will not read through
job descriptions to determine if you have the
skills they need if your past jobs are not related
to your desired position. Action plan: Use a
design that catches the eye, holds their interest,
and highlights your work experience. At first
glance the presentation of this information forms
the image that employers have of your skills and
abilities. Make your resume easy to read. Use
bullets, so the résumé is easy to scan with the
eye (not text heavy).
Tip
3 – Create Content that Sells
The
design of your résumé should get the attention
of the reader at first glance. However, the content
of your résumé, the descriptions of your skills
and abilities will determine how many interviews
you receive and the salary that you will be offered.
Tip
4 – Quantify and Use Power Words
Using
numbers to describe your achievements and responsibilities
can greatly improve your image. Using numbers
to quantify creates vivid images in our mind when
we read them, whereas general statements are easy
to miss or forget. The more specific you can
be in describing your duties the better.
Tip
5 – Identify Key Words in Job Descriptions
Note
the key words in job descriptions that employers
use in the recruitment advertisements and include
them in your resume.
Tip
6 – Identify and Solve Employer’s Hidden Needs
In
addition to the skills or needs listed in the
ad, the employer will have other needs that you
should identify and address in your résumé and
cover letter. To be a competitor in today’s economy,
it's important that you identify and anticipate
the full range of needs of each employer and show
how you can meet those needs.
Tip
7 – Sell Yourself!
Most
résumés give a list of duties that each candidate
has been responsible for, without explaining the
benefit of those skills to their employers. For
example, a secretary's résumé might state she
can type 80 wpm and is extremely accurate. This
statement lacks an explanation of how her typing
speed and accuracy benefited her employer. The
true advantage is that the employee is more productive
and will ultimately save the employer money. A
better statement for this person's résumé would
be:
Achieved
top production by maintaining a high degree
of accuracy with typing speed of 80 wpm.
Cut
labor expense over $6,000 annually by eliminating
the employers’ previous need for part-time word-processing
staff.
Tip
8 – Create your Résumé with Salary Goals in Mind
As
you write your résumé, keep in mind the salary
range you want and the level of the position.
Be sure to represent yourself as capable at that
level. For example, the language used in a résumé
for an $8 an hour position is vastly different
than the language used for a $16 an hour position.
Let
us take the example of Sherry who had a Health
Insurance Claims Management position making
$42,000 per year. She had retrained for the
accounting field and had not yet gained any
"formal accounting experience" although
she had prepared monthly accounting reports
as a Department Manager.
Let
us assume she prepared a resume that began with
this statement:
“Seeking
an entry-level position in the accounting field.”
What
pay rate do you think this statement would motivate
employers to offer Sherry? A much better statement
would include information about her insurance
claims management experience:
“Seeking
an Accounting position utilizing my experience:
Managing
a department and accounting reports for up to
$250,000 in monthly claims.”
The
goal here is to help people either maintain
their current salary level or move up--not go
backwards. As you can see, the last statement
greatly elevates Sherry’s image and will be
more likely to generate comparable salary offers
to her last position.
Tip
9 – Prioritize Content
Another
error that job seekers make is to list very important
data in the last parts of their job descriptions.
As you gather statements for your résumé, prioritize
them by importance, impressiveness, and relevance
to the position desired. Always put the qualifications
that the advertisement lists first. A strong statement
which quantifies and uses power words will affect
every statement below it. Read the two examples
below. Which one has the most impact?
Unprioritized
Maintained
records control, filing, office supply purchasing
and equipment maintenance. Managed front office
functions to support the President, Vice President
and staff of 20 Sales Representatives.
Prioritized
Managed
front office functions to support the President,
Vice President and staff of 20 Sales Representatives.
Maintained records control, filing, office supply
purchasing and equipment maintenance.
Tip
10 - Fine Tune and Revise, Revise, Revise
You
will be able to get many more interviews by fine
tuning your résumé and cover letter so that they
address the specific skills each employer requests.
For
example, Sherry originally wanted a customer
service position, then she found an ad for a
Retail Management opening. At her previous job
Sherry had been Head Cashier, even though she
managed her own retail cashiering station in
addition to 6 other cashiers and stations.
Notice
how Sherry changed her resume.
Before:
Customer
Service
Cash
Accountability
Computer
Skills
After:
Retail
Management / Customer Service
Cash
Accountability / Supervision of Retail Stations
Retail
Accounting Applications
Once
Sherry had created her original résumé, it only
took about 5 minutes to fine tune and relabel
her skill descriptions to fit Retail Management
positions. This "relabeling" is completely
truthful and is highly important in getting
more interviews because it allows job seekers
to apply for, and look qualified for, a wider
range of jobs.
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