What is a Resume?

From Wikipedia:

A rémépronounced /’rɛzjʊmeɪ/ rez-ew-may or /rɛzjʊ’meɪ/; French: [ʁezyme]; sometimes spelled resume) is a document used by individuals to present their background and skillsets. Rémécan be used for a variety of reasons but most often to secure new employment.[1] A typical réméontains a summary of relevant job experience and education. The rémés usually one of the first items, along with a cover letter and sometimes job application packet, that a potential employer encounters regarding the job seeker and is typically used to screen applicants, often followed by an interview, when seeking employment. The rémés comparable to a curriculum vitae in many countries, although in English Canada and the United States it is substantially different.[citation needed]

A RESUME is the most flexible and convenient way to make applications. It conveys your personal details in the way that presents you in the best possible light. A RESUME is a marketing document in which you are marketing something: yourself! You need to "sell" your skills, abilities, qualifications and experience to employers. It can be used to make multiple applications to employers in a specific career area. For this reason, many large graduate recruiters will not accept RESUMEs and instead use their own application form

An application form is designed to bring out the essential information and personal qualities that the employer requires and does not allow you to gloss over your weaker points as a RESUME does. In addition, the time needed to fill out these forms is seen as a reflection of your commitment to the career.

There is no "one best way" to construct a RESUME; it is your document and can be structured as you wish within the basic framework below. It can be on paper or on-line or even on a T-shirt (a gimmicky approach that might work for "creative" jobs but not generally advised!).

What information should a RESUME include?

Personal details

Normally these would be your name, address, date of birth (although with age discrimination laws now in force this isn't essential), telephone number and email.

Education

In this section of the resume, list your education history (reverse chronological order). List all degrees, professional certifications, relevant student organizations and professional extracurricular activities. The activities should be relevant to the job and professional. If your resume is light on work experience and you’re relying on education to carry it, you can also list a few important courses if they are related to the job you’re applying for.

Work experience

• You should list here all past jobs in reverse chronological order (latest job first). Summarize an important job responsibility or a major accomplishment. Internships should also be listed in this section. All your job listings should be tailored for the position you are applying for. If this job lists responsibilities or tasks that you have done at previous jobs, be sure to list them right away.

• Do not leave gaps in the work experience section.

• If this is your first job or your work history is short, or if you’re completing your education with the goal of changing careers, then education should be listed before work history on your resume.

Interests and achievements

• Keep this section short and to the point. As you grow older, your employment record will take precedence and interests will typically diminish greatly in length and importance.

• Don't put many passive, solitary hobbies (reading, watching TV, stamp collecting) or you may be perceived as lacking people skills. If you do put these, than say what you read or watch: "I particularly enjoy Dickens, for the vivid insights you get into life in Victorian times".

• Show a range of interests to avoid coming across as narrow : if everything centres around sport they may wonder if you could hold a conversation with a client who wasn't interested in sport.

• Hobbies that are a little out of the ordinary can help you to stand out from the crowd: skydiving or mountaineering can show a sense of wanting to stretch yourself and an ability to rely on yourself in demanding situations

• Any evidence of leadership is important to mention: captain or coach of a sports team, course representative, chair of a student society, scout leader: "As captain of the school cricket team, I had to set a positive example, motivate and coach players and think on my feet when making bowling and field position changes, often in tense situations"

• Anything showing evidence of employability skills such as teamworking, organising, planning, persuading, negotiating etc.

Skills

• The usual ones to mention are languages (e.g. good conversational French, basic Spanish), computing (e.g. "good working knowledge of MS Access and Excel, plus basic web page design skills" and driving ("full current clean driving licence").

References

If a job posting specifically asks for referees, be sure to list them on your resume. If it doesn’t and you have space to fill, you can list them. In this section you can also write: “available upon request”. Make sure to contact the referenced people ahead of time. Get their approval and get current contact information.

What makes a good RESUME?

There is no single "correct" way to write and present a RESUME but the following general rules apply:

• It is targeted on the specific job or career area for which you are applying and brings out the relevant skills you have to offer

• It is carefully and clearly laid out: logically ordered, easy to read and not cramped

• It is informative but concise

• It is accurate in content, spelling and grammar. If you mention attention to detail as a skill, make sure your spelling and grammar is perfect!

 How long should a RESUME be?

There are no absolute rules but, in general, a new graduate's RESUME should cover no more than two sides of A4 paper.

If you can summarise your career history comfortably on a single side, this is fine and has advantages when you are making speculative applications and need to put yourself across concisely. However, you should not leave out important items, or crowd your text too closely together in order to fit it onto that single side. Academic andtechnical RESUMEs may be much longer: up to 4 or 5 sides.

Tips on presentation

• Your RESUME should be carefully and clearly laid out - not too cramped but not with large empty spaces either. Use bold and italic typefaces for headings and important information

• Never back a RESUME - each page should be on a separate sheet of paper. It's a good idea to put your name in the footer area so that it appears on each sheet.

• Be concise: a RESUME is an appetiser and should not give the reader indigestion. Don't feel that you have to list every exam you have ever taken, or every activity you have ever been involved in - consider which are the most relevant and/or impressive. The best RESUMEs tend to be fairly economical with words, selecting the most important information and leaving a little something for the interview: they are an appetiser rather than the main course. Good business communications tend to be short and to the point, focusing on key facts and your RESUME should to some extent emulate this.

• Be positive - put yourself over confidently and highlight your strong points. For example, when listing your A-levels, put your highest grade first.

• Be honest: although a RESUME does allow you to omit details (such as exam resits) which you would prefer the employer not to know about, you should never give inaccurate or misleading information. RESUMEs are not legal documents and you can't be held liable for anything within, but if a recruiter picks up a suggestion of falsehoods you will be rapidly rejected. An application form which you have signed to confirm that the contents are true is however a legal document and forms part of your contract of employment if you are recruited.

• The sweet spot of a RESUME is the area selectors tend to pay most attention to: this is typically around the upper middle of the first page, so make sure that this area contains essential information.

• If you are posting your RESUME, don't fold it - put it in a full-size A4 envelope so that it doesn't arrive creased.

Different Types of RESUME

• Chronological - outlining your career history in date order, normally beginning with the most recent items (reverse chronological) . This is the "conventional" approach and the easiest to prepare. It is detailed, comprehensive and biographical and usually works well for "traditional" students with a good all-round mixture of education and work experience. Mature students, however, may not benefit from this approach, which does emphasise your age, any career breaks and work experience which has little surface relevance to the posts you are applying for now.

• Skills-based: highly-focused RESUMEs which relate your skills and abilities to a specific job or career area by highlighting these skills and your major achievements. The factual, chronological details of your education and work history are subordinate. These work well for mature graduates and for anybody whose degree subject and work experience is not directly relevant to their application. Skills-based RESUMEs should be closely targeted to a specific job.