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Ten Quick Steps to a Great Resume
by Deborah A. Bailey
Depending on how your resume looks, hiring managers will either reject it or they'll want to meet you. A resume is usually their first contact with you, so a great resume will give a strong first impression.
1. Having a three to five sentence summary at the top of your resume is much more effective than having an objective. You can use the career summary to sum up your skills and experiences.
2. Do you have several years of work experience? Move the Education section to the end (after the Experience section) so that you can showcase your work experience. (If you are preparing a resume for academia or research, then follow the resume formatting rules for your profession.)
3. Create a text version of your resume for posting online.
4. Check job ads for the types of jobs you're applying for. See what keywords they use in their job descriptions and include those keywords in your resume. This is where the summary really comes in handy. You can add those keywords to the summary and increase your chances of having your resume selected.
5. When preparing your resume, use action words such as "leveraged," "led," "coordinated," "managed," etc. Don't just say you were responsible, show the results. Were there any cost savings for the company? Mention them. Was your project completed ahead of schedule? Say so. Did your project lead to increased efficiency? Show the percentages.
6. When describing your current and past positions, only list the strongest accomplishments - the ones that will make a prospective employer contact you for an interview.
7. Your resume should not include positions you held more than 10 years ago, unless they are relevant to the position you're looking for now.
8. Keep it simple. Three pages maximum for management or executive resumes; two pages for all other resumes for corporate positions.
9. Don't forget to check spelling and grammar. Saying you were the "lead" on a project is different than saying that you "led" the project.
10. Create different versions of your resume if you're searching for more than one type of position.
Copyright © 2007 Deborah A. Bailey
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Deborah A. Bailey is a professional writer and owner of Writing Services Central, LLC. Her company provides communications coaching and content editing services to small businesses and entrepreneurs who want to boost their marketing communications and accelerate the growth of their businesses. She publishes a free monthly ezine called, "The Writing Resource." Learn more now and sign up for your free communications toolkit at http://www.writingservicescentral.com.
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