Job Hunter's Tip of the Week #13 -
I need to prepare a resume and I have no idea where to start! What should a good resume look like?
Writing a resume for the first time can be somewhat of a frightening task. It’s hard to know what goes in, and what stays out, when putting your employment history on record. Over the next couple of articles, we will look at what a resume should and shouldn’t include; how it should be structured; what to say to make you sound your best; and how to handle references.
So what should your resume include? To start, it should have your contact information. This means your name, full address and telephone number. Feel free to include a cell phone number (if your cell phone is with you most of the time), and an email address (if you check it daily). If you are going to include your email address, make sure it isn’t something offensive or that might not favor you well. And be checking it regularly, as in several times a day. If you give an employer that option to contact you, expect that they will use it.
Besides your contact information, your resume needs to include the following headings: Employment history, Education, Additional skills or Training (listing certificates achieved if applicable), and References. There are other headings you can include, such as Objective, Summary of Qualifications, and Volunteer Activities. For the most part, you would begin with your Work experience, then Education, and so on, ending with your References. This order can vary, depending on where you are your strongest. For example, let’s say you have just graduated from a Welder’s program at NBCC, but you have no actual work experience in that field. Then it would be perfectly fine to have your education come ahead of your work experience. If you wish to include the extra headings suggested, you would start with the Objective. The Objective follows the contact information, and states what type of employment you’re looking for. If you are going to use an Objective, be specific. If you want to use one resume for all the places you wish to apply, leave it off. After your Objective, would be the Summary of Qualifications. This Summary is a brief listing of your strongest skills. It is usually 3 or 4 strong sentences that tell the employer a little about you and what you’re really good at. Volunteer Activities should follow your Additional Skills or Training section. Don’t discount your volunteer work, it shows a lot about the kind of person you are!
Finish off your resume with your References. Many people think this is the easy part of the resume, but you really should put some time and thought into who you choose. If you have a lot of different people to choose from, with each one related to a different type of employment you performed, then consider stating “References available upon request” in that section. However, if you only have a few, then get them on there. Make sure that at least one reference can speak to your work. An immediate supervisor is perfect. Try not to include family members, or your religious advisor. The prospective employer might not feel they will get an accurate picture of who you are from them.
Stay tuned next week for more about writing your perfect resume!
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