Resume and Interview Tips
To be assured that your resume is noticed and reviewed by prospective employers you need to be willing to take your time. Be prepared to rework, revise and edit until your satisfied that you have written a winning resume.
The following 10 tips are an excellent outline for writing a resume that will get attention.
1. Have an interesting, factual and informative cover letter. Specify your qualifications, education and experience without just summarizing the whole resume. The cover letter should lead the employer to want to read the whole resume.
2. Keep to the basics. Don't add a bunch of information that is not relevant to the position you are applying for. Most resumes are designed for a blanket type application; this often means that you are unable to highlight the specific skills that match this one job. Writing a good resume may mean changing your resume slightly for each application, rather than just changing the cover letter.
3. Make the resume look appealing to the reader. While this may seem straight forward, most resumes are cramped, difficult to read, overflowing with detail and illogical in their development.
4. Use white space as much as text. White space can break up the points, help to highlight information, and make the resume easy to read and stylish without all the additional lines, shading and graphics seen on some contemporary types of resumes.
5. Double check spelling and grammar; then check again. There is nothing worse or worse looking than spelling something wrong on your resume or cover letter. This includes the employers name, business name or any other information.
6. Use bullets and phrases to minimize the amount of reading required by the employer. Shorten to the minimum number of words while still giving a clear picture.
7. Never use technical jargon or any type of industry or local slang on a resume. You have been a manager, not a boss.
8. Writing a winning resume includes doing a bit of research on the company. By knowing some of the company mission statements or goals you can incorporate these into your resume if possible.
9. Use a plain, typeface font, never a decorative or whimsical font. This can send the wrong message or decrease the readability of the resume.
10. Avoid making your resume too long. Two pages is considered a good maximum, but for professionals that have extensive experience this may simply not be enough room. Writing a good resume is more focused on the need to provide relevant information rather than a specific page number.
These above 10 tips are an excellent basic outline for writing a winning resume. With a little creative resume writing you too can land that perfect job.
For a complete resource on writing a winning resume please see our Resume Writing Guide at http://employment.safari-marketing.com/writing/