A Resume Is About What You Have To Give

Resumes 101:

As graduation season approaches, many young people begin their job search.  Perhaps you are seeking a seasonal job before heading to college, or are applying for your first full-time job in the workforce. The following are some tricks to help you stand out from the crowd on your job search.  Congratulations and good luck!

A resume is a short read for a time strapped employer, it is 1 or 2 pages long, detailing what you have to offer this employer to help their business, in a clear, neat, easy to read, and error free document.  It is not only about what job you want to get, it is also about what you can give, and you show this on your resume by demonstrated skills and accomplishments that are transferable to a new job.

1. Contains a sentence that says what your job objective is – what position you are applying for, and why they need to hire you, rather than the other 100 people who emailed resumes to their inbox.
2. It is constructed with descriptive action words and adjectives showing your enthusiasm and skills for getting the job done. If your employment experience is limited, use transferrable skills acquired from babysitting, paper routes, hockey teams or volunteer work.
3. A quality resume alone won’t get you noticed, you need to send out quantities of resumes to increase your odds of landing a job interview.  On average, for each 10 resumes you send out, two employers will respond.
4. Tailor the resume to which job you are applying for, and in some cases, send in a different resume for each job.  For example, if you have a lot of experience in a field of work you are applying for, list your work experience first, and education second.  However, if you have limited experience in your field of study, and need relevant work experience to match your educational qualifications, list education first, and work history second.  Your goal is to make an impression in the first 30 seconds of an employer considering your resume, to make him or her want to continue reading, so you have to grab them with the skills or education that are most desirable to that employer.
5. If you do get called to come in for an interview, remember to dress appropriately for the job you are applying for.  Wear clean clothes similar to what the current employees at that workplace wear, have neat hair, turn off your mobile device and remember to thank the employer for their time at the close of the interview.    A follow-up thank you email with a “looking forward to hearing from you soon” comment is also a nice touch.