Career Tips for Resume: Finish Your Resume with Final Step 10

You are in the final phase of updating your resume. Be sure to review it carefully. Here's a trick: Read each line backwards. This will bring the spelling of words to light when you aren't reading context but just proof reading. Final of the Top 10 Resume Tips follows:

  

 10. Be sure you check for grammar, punctuation, and spelling.  Remember that  

          it’s not enough to use only the spelling checker.

    All the best this week!  Marianne             
    marianne@designyourdirection.com

Career Tips on Resume: Continue with Effective Resume, Steps 7- 9

Steps 7, 8 and 9 are common sense in approach. You are ready to finalize your resume and want to have everything very professional throughout. This will insure resume impact on the reader.  Professional resume tips continue below and I'm available if you need more assistance, marianne@designyourdirection.com:

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7.  If using a second page, fill a minimum of one-third of that page or the information will look lost or less significant.

8.  Always include your name and contact information at the top of the page.

9.  It is difficult to be objective about your own resumé.  Make a point of getting input from people who know your work. Have them take notes while you talk about your work experience and your accomplishments. Then, go back and use the notes to write your bullets in the experience section.

Career Tips on Resume: Write Your Way to Resume with Impact, Steps 4 - 6

Steps 4,5 and 6 will lead you through your resume content including strong bullets with impact to the reader. A key point and "trick" of writing the resume is to use #s wherever you are able - # of people on the team, the % of savings, the # of key clients or the cost savings $s for units that you fixed. See the specifics of step 4 through 6 below:

4. Use bullets and numbers for impact! Bullets are easy to track when quickly reviewing a resume. Numbers draw the reader’s eye to that particular place on the resume. The more numbers throughout, the more likely your information will be read and of interest to the reader.Write strong accomplishment statements within your work experience history.  

5.  The statements should both reflect your strengths while targeting the position. The experience should be listed chronologically. This is the most preferred format by hiring managers and recruiters in the Bay Area.

6. The resume should only go back 10 – 15 years. There are times when relevant experience, to the targeted position, requires including additional years. This experience should be limited or you may include it in an additional information section. Remember that “less is more” for impact!

Career Tips on Resume: 10 Steps to Create a Resume with Impact

Having a resume that makes you stand out is crucial! With an effective resume, you will gain impact on linkedin, other posting arenas and even when giving a contact or hiring manager your resume. That is why you are receiving the 10 steps for a resume with impact again (just in case you missed them in earlier blogs).  You will see them in 4 - parts this month.
 ~ Here are the first 3 of the 10 steps:

1. Always have a particular job in mind when you update your resumé.  Most often, you will be updating your resume relative to the skills and background of your current or last held position. When you forward your resumé to a company, put the position job requisition number in the subject line. Forward both an attachment and a left justified version pasted into your e-mail.

2. Write a strong Summary Section at the top of your resumé that reflects the unique contribution that you bring to the position. Be specific enough so that the reader can distinguish your unique profile from others. 

Poor Example: Marketing professional bringing extensive experience and strong communication skills. Works well independently and on a team. This statements sounds like many people.

Good Example: Successful marketing professional with over 10 years experience running global programs in both bio-tech and IT. Reputation for building strong and productive team relationships with both tech and non-tech members.

3. The font should be large enough to be easy to read and give an impression of a  “confident” professional. A general rule is to use a minimum font size of 11 or 12. Use of smaller font size than 10 seems timid.  Use of a larger font size than 12, in the main content, looks “overdone.” Fonts with serifs draw the reader in. Fonts without serifs are very neat.