Personal Advancement

Resumé, your first line of offence

Recruiting efforts in many workplaces slow down during the summer, but it's an opportune time to develop your power resumé. An effective resumé isn't something whipped together overnight -- it takes time, lots of thought and preparation.

ELLEN GOLDHAR
[ 2002-07-10 ]

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It's not a half-hour process. Depending on the stage of your career, the industry you're in and how up-to-date your resumé is, the process can take months.

That's what Annabelle Reitman and Caitlin Williams, career consultants and co-authors of the book Career Moves, had to say at the recent American Society of Training and Development conference in New Orleans.

Your resumé can be the barrier between you getting an interview with a prospective employer, or not.

It's a marketing tool and if the marketing tool isn't good, it won't get you in to see anyone.


"Your resumé should prompt the reader to want to learn more about you," Williams says. Taking the time to prepare your resumé is more than just about putting together a marketing tool; it's about getting you ready for networking opportunities and the interview.

"A lot of your success with your job search has to do with preparation," Reitman says.

The process of creating a resumé will help you gain clarity about what you want to do, recognize the specific skills and experiences you possess and help you see how you can be of value to an organization.

To help determine what information to include in your resumé, start by answering two questions: 1) What aspects of yourself do you have to sell to an employer? and 2) Who would want to buy what it is you have to sell?

Reitman and Williams also suggest creating a "career portfolio". It's a portfolio of information that highlights all your skills, accomplishments, experiences, education, etc. The information can then be used to create a customized resumé specific to the prospective job.

The rules of resumé writing aren't as defined as they used to be, but there still are some general resumé Dos and Don'ts to keep in mind:

  • Be concise -- get to the point in a few words.
  • Make it relevant -- only include information that pertains to the job you are applying for and leave out the rest.
  • Make it easy on the eyes -- be creative, but make sure it's still easy to read. That means easy to read fonts, i.e. Times and Arial, no smaller than 10 points, and lots of white space.
  • Be organized -- use headings for each section. List experiences in chronological order beginning with the most recent.
  • Keep it to two pages or less.
  • Use conventional English .
  • Don't use a general work objective -- everyone wants "a challenging career that will utilize their skills while benefiting the organization." Make it specific to the job, or leave it out!
  • There's no need to list references, or put "references available upon request" -- it's a given you have them and can be discussed at the interview.
  • Don't include salary information -- save that for the interview.
  • Don't include photos, or any information about your physical description.
  • Forget hobbies or interests -- it's information of little significance.

    • (Ellen Goldhar is a manager of people development at Sun Media Corporaton, send questions and comments to ellen.goldhar@tor.sunpub.com.)



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