Your First Step Towards Employment

Once upon a time, in the not so distant past, the only people who needed to know what a résumé was and how to write one were college seniors looking for their first job, and people working in business professions such as accounting, administration and management. Those were the days when your résumé was often the only proof you needed to provide that you had the skills for the job you sought.

Times have changed and employers expect that all job seekers will present a résumé. Now, more than ever, it's more important to understand the role of your résumé in your job search. It is not just the document you present to employers at an interview, it's the written representation of your personal brand, your marketing brochure and your sales pitch. Getting a job is the direct result of how you market yourself to an employer, and your résumé is the #1 tool you need to have to conduct a successful marketing campaign designed to get you the job you want. Remember this handy rule of thumb: in an application, you're providing the employer with the information they require, but with a résumé you're providing the information that you want them to know about you.

Writing a résumé can be confusing; there are many different types of résumés and it can be hard to know which one is right for you. For many people, the chronological format works best, but even if you need to write in another format, writing a chronological résumé first helps you outline your skills and strengths, chart your job history objectively and pulls together important information about your education, training and accomplishments. The most common chronological résumé follows this format: you'll list your contact information at the top, then a summary of your skills, and your work history and major job duties, listing your most recent job first. You should include the last three jobs or the last ten years of your job history, whichever is longer. Follow this with your education and training information. If you recently received a vocational certification, college degree or other significant professional credential, you may wish to bump this section up above your job history in order to highlight its importance.

While there are many formats you can use, there are a few résumé standards that are wise to stick to:

DO:

Present yourself, your accomplishments and work history accurately and positively

Stress your accomplishments in specific terms

Use action verbs

Provide accurate and specific dates of employment using month and year

Include only relevant information

Maintain consistency in your formatting

Target your résumé to each company or job; while sometimes you can use a general résumé for a variety of applications, it's a good idea to target your résumé for any job with specific, rather than general, duties

Proofread, proofread, and proofread it again. Then have someone else proofread it for you

Include a cover letter with your résumé if suggested or instructed to do so

DON'T:

Include salary requirements or salary history (if an employer needs this information you'll provide it in your cover letter)

Include your Social Security Number

List reasons for leaving or termination

Include references (they should be listed on a separate sheet of paper)

Use jargon, acronyms and abbreviations without explaining them

Assume the employer knows what technical terms mean

List an unprofessional email address (if it sounds silly or profane when you read it aloud, get a free Yahoo or Hotmail address to use while job searching and choose an innocuous email address like AJones_123@yahoo.com)

Include clip art or photos

Print your résumé on wacky colors of paper

Include personal information such as hobbies; save the space for more important information.

There are a few exceptions you need to be aware of, so following are a few caveats to the above rules: Résumé writing for federal jobs requires a very different style of résumé (look for that in a future column). It is best to get advice when preparing a résumé for federal jobs, including those at NSWC Crane and its support contractors, and we can provide that assistance to you at WorkOne. Many large firms use scanners to scan résumés for certain key words or phrases that indicate that you have the skills and abilities needed for the job, so if you are submitting your résumé online or to a large company, it's a good idea to refrain from using fancy formatting, using a font smaller than 10 point or using headings that are a variety of sizes. Do use a one inch margin all around and print your résumé on white bonded résumé paper. Finally, when writing your résumé and especially when submitting electronic résumés, whether you're on Indiana Career Connect or another job board, you need to be sure to proof read AND spell check, and use correct capitalization, punctuation and grammar.

The above suggestions are by no means the last word on how to write your résumé; rather, they are intended as helpful suggestions to get you started. For further information, visit the information resource area at WorkOne Linton where you can find a variety of materials that provide in-depth information about the résumé process. You can also make an appointment to have your current résumé reviewed by a member of the Skills & Employment Team. I also recommend reading job search blogs and career advice columns on job boards such as Monster and Career Builder to pick up résumé tips that will work for you. Remember, your résumé is the little piece of you that stays in an employer's office after you've left; make your lasting impression memorable.