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Article Excerpt
You have skills that employers want. But those skills won't get you a job if no one knows you have them.
Good resumes, applications, and cover letters broadcast your abilities. They tell employers how your qualifications match a job's responsibilities. If these critical preliminaries are constructed well, you have a better chance of landing interviews--and, eventually, a job.
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The availability of personal computers and laser printers has raised employers' expectations of the quality of resumes and cover letters that applicants produce. E-mail and online applications help some employers sort and track hundreds of resumes. Technology has also given resume writers greater flexibility; page limits and formatting standards are no longer as rigid as they were several years ago. "The only rule is that there are no rules," says Frank Fox, executive director of the Professional Association of Resume Writers. "Resumes should be error free--no typos or spelling mistakes--but beyond that, use any format that conveys the information well."
However, the no-rules rule does not mean anything goes. You still have to consider what is reasonable and appropriate for the job you want. Advertisements for a single job opening can generate dozens, even hundreds, of responses. Busy reviewers often spend as little as 30 seconds deciding whether a resume deserves consideration.
This article provides some guidelines for creating resumes and cover letters that will help you pass the 30-second test and win interviews. The first section, on resumes, describes what information your resume should contain, how to highlight your skills for the job you want, and types of resumes. The next section discusses the four parts of a cover letter--salutation, opening, body, and closing. A final section offers suggestions for learning more about resumes and cover letters. The box on page 21 provides advice on completing application forms.
Resumes: Marketing your skills
A resume is a brief summary of your experience, education, and skills. It is a marketing piece, usually one or two pages long, designed to interest an employer. Good resumes match the jobseeker's abilities to the job's requirements. The best resumes highlight an applicant's strengths and accomplishments.
There are four main steps to creating a resume: Compiling information about yourself and the occupations that interest you, choosing a resume format, adding style, and proofreading the final document. You may also want to prepare your resume for e-mailing and for an online application form.
Gathering and organizing the facts
Start working on your resume by collecting and reviewing information about yourself: previous positions, job duties, volunteer work, skills, accomplishments, education, and activities. These are the raw materials of your resume. This is also a good time to review your career goals and to think about which past jobs you have liked, and why.
After compiling this information, research the occupations that interest you. Determine the duties they entail, credentials they require, and skills they use. Your resume will use your autobiographical information to show that you meet a job's requirements.
You will probably need to write a different resume for each job that interests you. Each resume will emphasize what is relevant to one position. Remember: Even if you do not have many specialized and technical skills, most occupations also require abilities like reliability, teamwork, and communication. These are particularly important for entry-level workers.
The next step is to organize the personal information you have assembled. Most resume writers use the following components.
Contact information. This includes your name; permanent and college campus addresses, if you are in school and your addresses differ; phone number; and e-mail address. Place your full legal name at the top of your resume and your contact information underneath it. This information should be easy to see; reviewers who can't find your phone number can't call you for an interview. Also, make sure the outgoing message on your voicemail sounds professional. And remember to check your e-mail inbox regularly....
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