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An important step in your job search is creating a résumé. But what should you include? This guide will walk you through the sections typically found in résumés, ways of formatting your résumé, and Web sites that can help you put together your résumé quickly. Resume Sections The résumé includes several different sections of information about you, your job history, and other items related to the job for which you are applying. Contact Information If the employer isn’t able to find your contact information, they can’t get in touch with you! You will need to include all of your contact information, including your name, address, telephone and/or cell phone number, and email address. If you don’t have an email address, it is a good idea to set up a free account through a provider like Hotmail or Yahoo. Make sure that your email address has a professional sound to it – you might want to use "johnsmith@youremail.com" instead of "surferdude66@youremail.com." More information about applying for an email address can be found on the email subject guide. Objective Another important section in your resume is your objective. You can think of your objective as telling your potential employer what you can do for them. The rest of your resume should support your job objective. This can be helpful for your potential employer as it identifies where and how you might fit into their organization. It also shows them that you have definite goals. Your job objective should avoid being too broad or too specific – a difficult task!
Education This section of your résumé will be especially important if you are a new graduate or someone changing careers. You should include the name of the school, dates of attendance, and degree attained. The education section doesn’t have to be limited to just formal education. You can also include formal and informal training, workshops and seminars, apprenticeships, and on-the-job training. Just make sure that what you include is related to the type of job you’re applying for! Work Experience For those with any sort of employment history, the work experience section will be the most important section of your résumé. To start filling in this area of your résumé, you will want to start by listing all of your jobs and dates of employment. These could include part-time and volunteer positions. You want to start with a complete list of your work history, even if you don’t include everything in your résumé. After you list each job you will want to list the duties, responsibilities, and accomplishments. Emphasize your skills and abilities, especially transferable skills – those skills that can be applied to a wide variety of jobs, rather than a specific job. Some sample transferable skills are managing time, editing, and solving problems. When listing your duties, skills, abilities, and accomplishments, make sure to use action words. If you can add numbers to your accomplishments, employers will be able to more clearly see what you were able to do. For example, a resume for a teacher could say “Supervised an after school club for students.” But if it were to say “Supervised an after school program for 30 students three days a week,” that would sound more impressive! If you are concerned about age discrimination, you can limit your work history to the past 10-15 years. However, if there is a related and important position outside of that time frame, add a paragraph at the end with the heading “Prior Relevant Experience” and list the position without the dates. Optional Sections A résumé can contain a variety of optional sections. When adding them to your résumé, you should decide which sections would be most relevant to the job you are applying for. Some samples would be:
References can also comprise another section of your résumé. The names and contact information are typically not listed on your résumé. At the end of the résumé, you can list "References available upon request" to indicate their availability. Formatting the RésuméNow that you’ve figured out what sections of the résumé you will be including in your résumé, how do you want to put it all together? There are two different types of résumé s that are typically used. Chronological Résumé If you already have a résumé, chances are that it’s a chronological résumé. This is the standard résumé format, taking the work experience in reverse chronological order (the present to the past). The job information (duties, responsibilities, and accomplishments) can be presented in a few different ways, either in paragraph format or bulleted. When should you use a chronological résumé? It’s best if you are advancing in your present field or if you have a strong job-related background. According to a 1999 survey by the Society of Human Resources Management, 74% of those surveyed preferred the chronological résumé format. Functional Résumé The functional résumé rearranges the typical format to focus on responsibilities and skills. Instead of grouping responsibilities and skills by the specific job where they were attained, you would list them in groups using headings like “Customer Service” or “Administration.” Each functional heading includes all the skills related to that heading, regardless of the different job positions. A functional résumé is very useful if you lack work experience, are trying to change careers, or are re-entering the workforce after a lengthy absence. The emphasis of the functional résumé is on skills and responsibilities, rather than a consistent work history. Sample Résumé Web Sites Not sure which type of résumé would be best for you? Take a look at these sample résumés to see the difference between functional and chronological résumé s.
Résumé ResourcesMaybe you have to get a résumé put together at the end of the hour to apply for a job right away. There are some Web sites and books that can help you write your résumé in a hurry.
| Last updated April 6, 2011 |
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