How do you create an effective resume?
First, let's start with the basics:
1. Contact information
Make it easy to contact you either
by phone, mail or e-mail. Don't make
the recruiter track you down. Note:
make sure your voicemail message is
professional. You don’t want a
recruiter to get the wrong impression
from a silly message on the
recording.
Do not include personal information,
such as marital status, here or
anywhere else on your resume.
2. Objective/Title
Some experts believe that including
an objective may limit your chances of
obtaining an interview; if your
objective doesn't match the recruiter's
needs at the time, you may miss out on
a golden opportunity.
On the flip side, a career objective
is useful in communicating that you are
proactively managing your career. You
know what you want, why not say it?
We suggest taking a broad approach:
Instead of writing a sentence like
"Seeking a career opportunity as a
Marketing Executive…," try a
simple title after your contact info,
simply "Marketing Executive."
3. Summary statement
First, include your title and years
of experience. Second, list special
skills. Third, talk about your
character traits or work style.
Remember that this is a summary; it
should only be 2-3 sentences long.
Example:
"Financial Accountant with over 10
years' experience with two Fortune 500
companies. Technical skills include P
& L, budgeting, forecasting and
variance reporting. Bilingual in
Spanish and English. Self-starter who
approaches every project in a detailed,
analytical manner."
4. Professional
experience
List each position held in reverse
chronological order, going back at
least ten years. If you held multiple
positions within the same company, be
sure to list all of them - you want the
recruiter to see how you've progressed.
Concentrate on the description of the
position - that's the meat &
potatoes.
The body of the position description
has two parts:
1. a description of your
responsibilities and
2. your accomplishments
Feature-Accomplishment-Benefit
Use the FAB format to organize your
skills and sell your accomplishments to
a recruiter.
Feature: the actual
responsibilities.
Use the FAB format to organize your
skills and sell your accomplishments to
a recruiter.
Feature: the actual
responsibilities.
Accomplishment: the
performing of responsibilities.
Benefit: how your performance
affected your employer.
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Example:
Manufacturing Engineer
Feature: Create and
Implement a Certified
Inspector program
Accomplishment:
Reduced the number of parts
inspected upon final
assembly
Benefit: Decreased
inspection costs by 45%
FAB Statement:
Created and implemented a
Certified Inspector program
that reduced the number of
parts inspected upon final
assembly. Inspection costs
were reduced by 45%.
|
Situation-Solution-Outcome
Consider this format to demonstrate
your problem-solving capabilities:
Situation: What situation was
your company facing?
Solution: What did you do to
solve the problem?
Outcome: What was the
outcome?
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Example: VP of
Business Development
Situation: Company
wanted to grow non-government
business
Solution: Created
and implemented commercial
market penetration
strategy
Outcome: Increased
revenues in excess of $100
million
SSO Statement:
Company wanted to grow
non-government sector
business. Developed business
that resulted in the capture
of commercial sales with
increased revenue in excess of
$100 million.
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Top 12 accomplishments that most
interest employers
- Increased revenues
- Saved money
- Increased efficiencies
- Cut overhead
- Increased sales
- Improved workplace
safety
- Purchasing
accomplishments
- New products/new lines
- Improved record keeping
process
- Increased productivity
- Successful advertising
campaign
- Effective budgeting
Other resume components include:
Education, Professional training,
Affiliations/Appointments Licenses,
Technical skills and Languages.
Approach these items from the
viewpoint of the recruiter or employer:
How will these skills benefit the
company?
