Improve Your Resume “Simple Do’s and Dont’s”

The resume is a tool with one specific purpose, to win an interview. A resume is a brochure, nothing more, nothing less. It presents you in the best light. A good resume is a document that shows the real you — without embellishment — but most certainly in the most attractive light! In this highly competitive job market, your resume has to do more than provide a simple outline of your previous work experience – it needs to be strategically developed as a personal marketing tool.

To have the absolute best chance of getting that role, I recommend talking to a reputable resume writing consultant, someone who makes an art of creating the best resume.

The word resume comes from the French word “resumer” which means to summarise. So the exact purpose of a resume is to summarise your experience, knowledge, and accomplishments. Therefore, you must avoid being too wordy. Say exactly what you mean in the least number of words possible. The length of your resume is important. Resumes should be from 2 to 5 pages long. Don’t be tempted to make your resume longer than 5 pages, even if you have a lot to tell. Remember that a resume is supposed to be a summary. A resume that is too long simply will bore the reader. There will be so much material that nothing will stand out and be remembered.

Following are some tips that will help you improve your resume, get it through the screening process and make it more appealing to potential employers

Don’t lie. It’s that simple. And don’t be tempted to embellish the truth. Of course, you would be foolish to include in your resume anything remotely unflattering But the risks of fudging the truth in your resume far outweigh the benefits, particularly when it comes to specific facts, such as credentials and titles.

Objective Statement That Is Flowery or Too General. Many candidates lose their readers from the very beginning of the resume — the “objective statement.” The worst objective statements start with, “A challenging position that will enable me to contribute to organisational goals while offering an opportunity for growth and advancement.” This type of statement is overused and too general, and therefore wastes valuable space

Too Short or Too Long. Too many people try to squeeze their experiences onto one page, because they’ve heard that a resume should never be longer than one page. When formatting the resume to fit on one page, many job seekers delete their impressive achievements. The reverse is also true. Take the candidate who rambles on and on for pages about irrelevant or redundant experiences — the reader will easily be bored. When writing your resume, ask yourself, “Will this statement help me land an interview?” Only include information that elicits the answer “yes” to that question.

Too Focused on Job Duties. One of the most prevalent resume blunders is to turn a resume into a boring listing of job duties and responsibilities. Many people even use their company job descriptions as a guide to developing their resumes. To create a resume that is a cut above the rest, you should go beyond showing what was required of you, and demonstrate how you made a difference at each company. Provide specific examples of how the company benefited from your performance.

Typos! One typo can land your resume in the garbage. Two typos or more, and your chances are greatly diminished. Proofread, proofread, and proofread. This document is a reflection of you and should be absolutely perfect.

Use dates to show when you did things, not just the vague “one year”.

Many people include their interests, such as reading, hiking, snowboarding, etc. These should only be included if they relate to the job objective

Personal information, such as date of birth, marital status, height and weight, should normally not be included on the resume.

Make sure your resume is complete with an e-mail address as well as a phone number

In a short, your resume can be described as a thoughtfully organised personal “brochure” that summarises your experience and highlights your achievements. It should present your skills, capabilities and strengths in the best possible light, without resorting to embellishment

This is a great post from the Whirlpool forum by Brad

Source http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/59476.html

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Choosing the right Resume template for your selection criteria is essential when applying for jobs in the government sector or any job for that matter. The right selection could be the difference between getting that first interview and being thrown in the bin with the rejections.

So you should know the different types and why you should choose them. For an easy to use software solution check out the Selection Criteria Writer which generates Cover letters as well as your resume.

There are three different types of Resume

Functional
Chronological
Combination or Hybrid

Function Resume – A functional resume groups your work experiences by skills and abilities rather than specific positions. This is the type of Resume you would go for if you have been a job hopper or been out of work like back to work mums.

The reason for this is because you are highlighting your skills and abilities rather than your employment record, this makes it harder for your prospective employer to find gaps in your employment. Further down the page is an example of a Functional Resume and a template you can download, if you use the template please let us know what you think by leaving a comment.

Chronological Resume – This is the preferred Style of resume as it presents your employment history in reverse chronological order, with your most recent job being first. This makes it easier for the panel or potential employer to see a natural progression in your career. This is the best format for you to use if you feel that there are a good natural progression, don’t use this format if you are over qualified or have employment gaps. There is also an example and download for the Chronological Resume template further down the page.
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Combination or Hybrid Resume – As the name suggests this style if a combination of both Chronological and functional styles. This format highlights your strengths by presenting your skills, abilities and experiences at the beginning and towards the end you finish with your chronological list.

Functional

FIRSTNAME LASTNAME

Street address | suburb state postcode | phone number | mobile number | email address

OBJECTIVE/

Write a paragraph or two that summarises your career objective.

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS

Outline a summary of your key qualifications
That relate specifically to the position you are applying for
This is where you focus on the key skills
That will be of benefit to the position
And organisation that is offering the position

PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Field or area of accomplishment e.g sales and marketing

Duty / responsibility / achievement
Duty / responsibility / achievement
Duty / responsibility / achievement

Field or area of accomplishment e.g leadership and management

Duty / responsibility / achievement
Duty / responsibility / achievement
Duty / responsibility / achievement

Field or area of accomplishment e.g financial budgeting

Duty / responsibility / achievement
Duty / responsibility / achievement
Duty / responsibility / achievement

Chronological

Name
Address 1 Address 2 Address 3		Home Phone Mobile Phone Email address
SUMMARY
Include two or three sentences of a summary about who you are, your employment history, your key skills and what you can offer.
Areas of Expertise
E.g. Business management E.g. Financial administration E.g. Budget analysis Dot point Dot point Dot point
	COMPANY NAME Dates of Employment Position Title Brief 1-2 sentence description of your role including why you were recruited / what your main priority or goal was / what your main achievement was. Responsible for ….(introduce responsibilities): Responsibility / achievement Responsibility / achievement Responsibility / achievement

COMPANY NAME Dates of Employment

Position Title

Brief 1-2 sentence description of your role including why you were recruited / what your main priority or goal was / what your main achievement was.

Responsible for ….(introduce responsibilities):