Contents Preface...vii Introduction...ix 1 Context... 1 Tip #1: Write for the FUTUE...1 Tip #2: Know Your Target...2 Tip #3: Know What Makes You Stand Out...3 Tip #4: Gather Information First...4 2 Getting Started... 7 Tip #5: How Long Should My esume Be?...7 Tip #6: esume Tetris What Order Should My esume Be In?...8 Tip #7: Crafting Your esume Header Don t Use an Objective!... 10 Tip #8: Customize Your LinkedIn UL... 14 Tip #9: Use a Professional Email Address... 16 3 Content...17 Tip #10: The Danger of Functional esumes and the Benefits of a Hybrid... 17 Tip #11: Create a Compelling Branding Statement and Summary Statement!... 18 Tip #12: Delete These Words and Phrases from Your esume... 21 Tip #13: Make Your Boring esume Bullets Sparkle!...24 Tip #14: Focus on Accomplishments...25 Tip #15: Tailor Your esume Bullets...28 Tip #16: Should I Have a Skills & Interests Section?...29 Tip #17: Should I Have a Separate Languages Section?...30 Tip #18: Consider Including a Chart, Graph, or Testimonial... 33 Tip #19: I versus We...34 Tip #20: Special Issue Filling a Gap...34 Tip #21: Special Issue For Older Job Seekers...36 Tip #22: Special Issue More than One Position at the Same Company...38 4 Formatting Your esume...41 Tip #23: Why Care about the Format Anyway?... 41 Tip #24: Don t Use Templates!... 42 Tip #25: Don t Use a Column Format... 42 Tip #26: Keep It Simple...44 Tip #27: Use the Borders Function to Create Lines...46
Tip #28: How to List Dates of Employment...48 Tip #29: Don t Format with the Space Bar!... 51 Tip #30: How to Create Distinctive, Professional Bullets... 52 Tip #31: Guidelines for Margins... 53 Tip #32: How to Use Page Borders...54 Tip #33: Spacing (or How to Make Your Three-Page esume Fit on Two Pages)... 58 Tip #34: Hyperlinks Are Welcome and So Are Word Documents!...60 5 Cover Letter Tips...61 Tip #35: Yes, You Need a Cover Letter!... 61 Tip #36: Three Components of an Effective Cover Letter... 62 Tip #37: Delete These Words from Your Cover Letter!...63 Tip #38: To Whom It May Concern Doesn t Cut It... 65 Tip #39: Writing a Value Proposition Letter... 65 6 Technology & Social Media...67 Tip #40: Google esults Are the New esume... 67 Tip #41: PowerPoint and Video esumes...68 Tip #42: Beat the Scanners Part 1 Eleven Essential esume Keyword Tips... 69 Tip #43: Beat the Scanners Part 2 Formatting Tips... 72 Tip #44: LinkedIn Savvy... 75 Tip #45: Q Codes on esumes?... 76 Tip #46: Send a Hard Copy!...77 7 The #1 Most Important Tip Set!...79 Tip #47: How to Avoid Embarrassing Editing Marks on Your Documents... 79 Tip #48: Proofread, and Proofread Again!...83 Tip #49: Get Your esume Out There!...84 Tip #50: It Doesn t End Here. On to the Interview!... 85 APPENDICES Appendix A...Power Verbs for esumes...87 Appendix B...397 Favorite esume Verbs...89 Appendix C...Words to Avoid in Your esume!... 93 Appendix D...esume & Cover Letter Checklists: Don t Skip These!... 95 Appendix E...Services & Special Offers...99 Appendix F...ecommended esources... 101 Appendix G...Important Opportunities to Give & eceive... 103 Acknowledgments... 105 About the Author... 107
1 Context TIP #1: WITE FO THE FUTUE It is a misconception that resumes are about your past. esumes are about your FUTUE. In other words, your resume will work if you think about what a potential employer would want to know about how you WILL perform. What experience do you have that will enable you to make a contribution to their firm or organization? If you are writing from the perspective of the FUTUE, here s what will happen: 1. You will write detailed bullets that demonstrate your capability to achieve measurable results. Your readers will infer that you can produce similar results for them. 2. You will think about the purpose and priority of each item on your resume, then choose and place your sections and bullets accordingly. 3. You will delete anything that is irrelevant or of minimal importance to your future. 4. You will include positions from as many years back as necessary to share information that s relevant to your next position there is no absolute rule about how many years to include! Keep reading for more resume tips that will help you write a well-formatted, attention-grabbing, future-based resume!
THE BUSINESS OF WITING TIP #2: KNOW YOU TAGET If you re not sure what position you are aiming for, how are you possibly going to get it? Make sure you know what your ideal job is, and write your resume as if you are going 100 percent for that job. If there are two types of jobs you want, write two resumes. If there are three types of jobs you want...? You guessed it! One size does NOT fit all in the world of resumes! If you try to write a universal or general resume you will almost always fail. You will feel scattered and unfocused as you write, and you will most likely not succeed in obtaining job interviews. If you are applying to multiple types of jobs because you are not sure what direction you re headed in, take a step back and consider whether you might want to get some career coaching before you sit down to write your resume or pay someone else to write your resume. Clarity of purpose is key when you start your job search. You might still apply to more than one type of job; just be clear about your intention when doing so. If you want a recommendation for a career coach, contact us at TEESupport@TheEssayExpert.com. We will give you a list of people who can help. You might want to try some exercises that you can do on your own. We recommend Mary Elizabeth Bradford s Award-Winning program, the Job Search Success System 1, which provides worksheets and audio modules to support you through every step of your job search. Once you know your target or targets, you can begin tailoring your resume. Many of the tips in this book will help you think through how to match your experience to your desired job description(s)! Part of knowing your target is determining whether it is an appropriate fit for your skills and experience. Take an honest assessment of whether you are a match for the position. You might discover that you are not the best fit and that your energy would be better spent on a different application. An article in Forbes magazine covered this issue well: 3 Things That Will Get Your esume Thrown in the Trash. 2 While it s good to aim high, it s important to achieve a balance between reaching for the next challenge and barking up the wrong tree. 1 http://theessayexpert.com/job-search-success-system/ 2 http://www.forbes.com/sites/dailymuse/2013/01/24/3-things-that-will-get-your-resume-thrown-in-thetrash/ 2
Context TIP #3: KNOW WHAT MAKES YOU STAND OUT Before you start writing your resume, I recommend that you do some soul searching. Mary Elizabeth Bradford s Job Search Success System 3 provides questionnaires and forms to help you in that process. Here are some of the questions you will want to answer: What makes you unique? (What do you have that distinguishes you from the applicant sitting next to you with the same experience?) What are five characteristics that best describe you when you are at work? What is the biggest OI (eturn on Investment) an employer will get from you? What have you been complimented on at work? What do your friends and colleagues say about you when they compliment you? Describe an ideal workday. What tasks would you be doing? What would your interactions be like? There are some work personality assessments you might consider doing, whether on your own or with an executive career coach. The Essay Expert administers the DISC Profile Assessment, which gives you a clear picture of your leadership strengths and challenges in the workplace based on four characteristics: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness. The DISC profile pinpoints what your natural working style is versus the style you have adapted for the work environment. The assessment is very enlightening in evaluating your leadership style and potential. Another assessment is the 360 assessment, which asks you to reach out to friends and colleagues who give their opinions about your strengths and challenges. This assessment is very valuable as well, as it provides outside perspective on what you truly have to offer. You might be surprised by what you find out. If any of these assessments interest you, contact TEESupport@TheEssayExpert.com. We will arrange for you to proceed with the assessment most appropriate for you. Once you have a handle on what you have to offer a potential employer and what you seek in your work environment, you will have much more power in writing a resume that brings forth your strengths. 3 http://theessayexpert.com/job-search-success-system/ 3