How to Write a Resume
A resume is a brief synopsis of your work history, your education and
work related skills you possess. Typically it is limited to one to two
pages with the exception of resumes for professional positions which
require more in depth information about activities and experience
related to that profession. In the past many “blue collar” jobs only
required the job seeker to complete an application for employment. Today
almost all employers require both a resume and an application as well.
Basic sections of a resume are as follows:
The order of these sections may be arranged differently for a student
going from school into the workforce, since education is the most recent
and most relevant and little work history may be available or related to
the occupation for which you are applying. For instance, if you are a
student and have recently received an Associates Degree, you may have
worked in fast food restaurants while going to school. This is not as
important to the prospective employer as the recently acquired degree.
Hence education should come before the work history section.
Other types of resumes might focus on skills, called functional resumes,
rather than chronological work history. The above order of sections is
the most common for those moving from one job to another during their
career.
Header
The Header section contains full name, address, phone numbers, email and
other contact information. The section is usually larger and bolder font
to stand out for a reviewer.
Objective
The Objective is a statement indicating the type of work, position or
career the applicant is pursuing. It is typically one to two sentences.
It will change based on the specific job application.
Work History
For those workers who have experience, especially those who have been in
the workforce for some period of time work history and experience are
important to show skills learned in a work environment. Work history is
presented in reverse chronological order with the most recent first. The
time period month and year starting and ending dates, employer name and
job title are usually in the first line in that order. A brief
description follows of skills performed, accomplishments and other
pertinent information that would be important for the reviewer to know.
Work history continues with former and previous employers going back at
least 10 years for multiple employers. Long-term employment with one
employer would require going back farther to previous employers. Also,
any experience that would be important for the job applied for should be
included in the work history no matter how far back the work history
needs to go.
Education
For those applicants recently leaving school or completing degrees it
may be important to order the education section prior to the work
history section, especially if the degree is important for the position
that is sought. Indication of degrees including high school, vocational
school, certification, licenses and any college level or graduate
degrees would be included. It is not necessary to include the year of
graduation especially if the applicant is older and is concerned about
age discrimination.
Hobbies/Volunteer Work
Only include hobbies and volunteer work if experience related to those
hobbies or volunteer work demonstrates skills that would be applicable
to applied for positions. Do not include any irrelevant or personal
information that would not impact qualifying for the new job.
References
Most often references are not provided with a resume. The phrase
“References provided upon request” is stated on the resume. However,
always have available at least three references available to submit when
requested. References should be contacted in advance asking for
permission to use them as a reference. Select references carefully so
that the individual knows you very well. It is better to select
references who know you from a work environment rather than friends or
social acquaintances. That way the reference has direct knowledge of
your behavior and skills in a working environment.
Any word processing program can be used to compose and print your
resume. Automated software specifically designed for constructing a
resume is very helpful and easy to use. One of these programs is
WinWay Resume. It is available in
most office supply stores and is less than $50.00 to purchase. Another
option is to use WorkOne
offices. WinWay Resume is loaded on PCs in the career resource area
in WorkOne offices. WorkOne services are part of the State of Indiana
public employment services and are available at no cost to job seekers.
If you use a WorkOne office to generate your resume take along a 3.5
floppy disk or flash drive to save your resume. You can return to update
or print more copies of your resume without cost.
After your resume is ready, many job openings will require you mailing
your resume. A cover letter is always sent with a mailed resume. The
cover letter is very brief and basically states the position applied for
and a brief mention of special qualifications you may have related to
the job. Many online applications will require attaching or pasting a
resume with the application. WinWay
Resume can be saved as an “rtf” file (text file) which is capable of
being read by prospective employers who may not have the program the
resume was created with.
Remember the purpose of the resume is to catch the eye of the reviewer
so that your resume will not go in the rejected pile but be placed in
the pile for those selected for an interview. If your resume results in
an interview it was successful.
Submitted by:
Jim Buckler
3771 South "A" Street
Richmond, IN 47374
Email:
jbuckler@dwd.in.gov
Phone: (765) 962-8591
WayNet Member: WorkOne Richmond
Member Website:
http://www.work-one.org/
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