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Helpful Hints -Resume

Resume Hints A good resume is more than a list of jobs and duties performed. Generally speaking, a good resume shows employers, as well as search consultants, that you can go beyond what's required of you to make a difference in the organization. So, how do you create a resume that gets noticed? Let's start with the basics.

1. Contact Information
Unless your situation dictates it (and it most likely never will), you should never volunteer personal information such as age, ethnicity, religion, marital status and physical attributes on your resume. Put your current phone and/or cell number, your postal address, and your email address at the top of your resume, and leave it at that. For example:

FRED FLINTSTONE
fflintstone@century.com
1000 Old Time Way o Bedrock, GA 12345
Tel: (123) 555-0000 • Fax: (972) 555-0001 • Cellular: (972) 555-0002

2. Objective (optional)
Your objective statement should show employers that you know what you want and you know how to get it. This doesn't mean your objective should read something like, "I want a high-paying job in pharmaceutical sales, and I'm willing to do anything to get it!" (Even though that may be how you're feeling.) Rather, your objective should be targeted, professional, and free of personal pronouns (e.g., "I," "me") and other flowery details. You might even want to consider using a tagline instead of a complete sentence, as in the following example:

Objective:
"Consumer Packaged Goods national account sales position capitalizing on 15 years' experience in sales and account management.

3. Professional Experience
Go back 10-15 years, and list every position you've held in reverse chronological order. Even though age discrimination is illegal, many candidates with substantial experience worry about falling victim to it. So, if you've been in the field for more than 15 years, you can add a section titled "Prior Relevant Experience" and just refer to your additional important jobs without mentioning specific dates.

If you've held multiple positions within the same company, list every position-you'll want to show that you've progressed. Try and use no more than two or three sentences to outline your basic duties and responsibilities. Then use bullet points to outline your accomplishments and achievements. This will tell why someone should hire you. To help you develop a list of accomplishments, consider the following:

• What major awards have you won? Company awards? Industry awards?
• Why did you achieve that award?
• What major projects have you worked on? What was the end result of that project?
• What projects did you work on to help generate revenue? Quantify.
• What projects did you work on that helped your company control costs? Quantify.
• Have any people that you managed excelled?
• What problems or challenges did you face that allowed you to grow?

Other accomplishments might include: increased efficiency, cut overhead, increased sales, developed/implemented tools, successfully launched new products, negotiated contracts, managed growth, increased productivity, effective budgeting.

5. Education
The education area of your resume should include the institution's name and location, along with your degree and the year you obtained it. Beyond that, you can include educational honors, seminars and certifications, and list achievements such as projects, awards, and grade-point averages. (A GPA of 3.0 or above is worth mentioning.)

6. Finishing Up
After you've finished the professional experience and education areas of your resume, you can add additional sections for additional pertinent information, such as professional honors, awards and affiliations. While you might need to provide your search consultant with professional references, it's not necessary to include these on your resume.

You may also wish to include professional skills, such as languages spoken and proficiencies with computer software or hardware, in this section. Other possibilities include professional training, appointments and licenses. However, you should never include hobbies (e.g., "I like to read") or list personal interests (e.g., "music, books, art") anywhere on your resume.