I'm Out of Work, I Need a Job
Custom Search
Resumé Basics
The resumé is a fundamental tool of the job search. Although some experts have claimed that new computer technology has made the resumé obsolete, the fact remains that, whether in paper or digital form, the resumé remains the primary way in which potential employers can get an overview of your qualifications and personal characteristics.
If anything, the Internet has made it even more critical to have an excellent resumé, simply because the ease with which one can e-mail a resumé to any company that might be looking for people has resulted in a flood of mediocre resumés. Now it is no longer sufficient to have a single well-written resumé that highlights one's strengths. Instead, it becomes necessary to create multiple variations upon it in order to specifically target it to the particular company and position.
What a Resumé Does
A resumé provides a concise overview of your professional qualifications and personal qualities that will indicate whether you are a good fit for a particular job. Therefore it will always contain certain basic information, although the exact arrangement and format may vary according to your situation and target job.
First, a resumé provides contact information for you: name, address, and telephone number. In the Internet age, it is generally wise to include an e-mail address.
Second, a resumé provides a summary of your educational and employment experience. Typically you will want to include only your recent experience, and allow older and less relevant items to remain unmentioned. If you are a college graduate, and particularly if you have graduate degrees, employers are not interested in your grade and high schools. Similarly, if you have held professional positions, most employers are uninterested in what part-time student jobs you held prior to your first full-time job.
Finally, a resumé provides some sense of the person behind the facts. Employers want a sense that you are a well-rounded person who can balance work and life commitments. Interests and skills that add perceived value to your employment and show you as a person can be included here.
What a Resumé Is Not
The resumé is not a job application, nor is it an essay on one's personal qualities. Similarly, it should not reveal personal information that is irrelevant to one's job qualifications, particularly the sort of information that can be used in a discriminatory fashion. Although at one time it was normal to put such information as race, ethnicity and religion in one's resumé, none of this information should be included in a current resumé. Even membership in clubs and organization needs to be handled carefully if their names reveal such information.
Generally avoid including references in your resumé. Because it is a means of first contact between you and potential employers, including references encourages casual inquiries, risking the possibility of annoying these people so that they begin to think of you more negatively. References should be given only to companies that are showing a serious interest in hiring you.
The Key that Opens Doors
A carefully written resumé will make hiring managers interested enough to put you on the short list to interview. Although your resumé cannot win you the job by itself, it will open the door for you to convince people that you are the right person for them.
