Sunday, April 1, 2012

Your Resume

Let’s face it, at some point you have either been unemployed for a period of time or known someone who has been laid off from work in the recent years. With so many unemployed professionals as well as entry level it became a challenge for some to get back on their feet. For some this meant accepting jobs for far less money than their prior wages or salaries. For others this meant learning new... skills to make themselves more marketable. Even if you have not been affected, you might be in the near future. So, what do we do? How do we prepare for the possibility of unemployment?

This post is not about worrying or panicking about losing your job, instead it’s about always being prepared.

Quick question: Is your resume up to date?
If it isn’t we need to work on this, I want to focus on two points of the resume.

1-“Objective” - Many use this section to write what they feel will get them the job.
However I like to use this section for the following:

a. Be clear on the type of work you want (job / career), be specific on what your goals are
b. Be specific on what you offer the company that hires you (your key specialties)
c. Keep it brief, hit the key points without making it too wordy

In my opinion the Objective is the official introduction to a company. Just as the hiring company, I too am interested in using  my time effectively which means I want to interview for companies that attract me and for which we both (the Company and I) will benefit.  The company is not just hiring me, I am selecting them. This is the mindset you need when applying to a company.   You are providing a service for which you want to be compensated. Now this is hard to achieve when you are all over the place and are not sure of what you want. Therefore knowing what you want and why; is key in your search and must be evident on your resume.

2-“Experience” – Keep it simple – Less is More
a. Brief description
b. Use bullets to list your experiences within a job role or company

Many of us (including me) tend to get carried away describing all that we do in a role or company. Yet this can be overwhelming to the reader and might cause them to lose interest. Less is More….. by keeping it brief and setting up your job functions or responsibilities as bullet points you will be able to use your resume as talking points.

The resume must be what gets you an interview however must not contain all the answers.
Your goal is to:

• Capture the interviewers full attention.
o Make eye contact
o Explain your roles and responsibilities in detail using Resume as reference
o Be open as to what you seek, your strengths and what you offer

Getting a job is a business transaction, both parties come in to an agreement. You are to provide a specific service in exchange for agreed upon benefits & compensation.  You might not see it this way right now, however if you change your mindset and treat your work as such, you will make yourself more marketable and you will be working toward your goals.

I am in no way an expert on how to write resumes however this is the format I follow. The resumes main function is getting me that interview, the rest is up to me.

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