Writing A Resume
It is important to build a resume that is polished and effective. A resume that presents a concise and authentic picture of your skills is worth its weight in gold during the job search.
Keep Their Interest!
In this competitive job market, employers receive hundreds and thousands of resumes every day. A busy employer going through a stack of resumes will look at your resume for less than a minute. In order to keep their interest, your resume needs to be concise and have a professional, current look.
Work on your resume until it absolutely sings, "Choose me!". Take your time! Preparing a great resume will give you confidence; it will help you discover your strengths and demonstrate them effectively to an employer.
Keep Their Interest!
In this competitive job market, employers receive hundreds and thousands of resumes every day. A busy employer going through a stack of resumes will look at your resume for less than a minute. In order to keep their interest, your resume needs to be concise and have a professional, current look.
Work on your resume until it absolutely sings, "Choose me!". Take your time! Preparing a great resume will give you confidence; it will help you discover your strengths and demonstrate them effectively to an employer.
1. Identify Your Target Job
Use the Favorite Job Search Sites link to identify one specific job opening that you are interested in. Print the job opening out, and then underline what specific things the employer states they are looking for in the advertisement. Set the ad aside for now; you will use it later in your Build A Resume steps.
2. Go to the Free Resume Template Page.
Download the Free Basic Blank Resume Template and save it to your desktop. Read the Resume Instructions through once, then go to step 3 before entering any information into the resume template.
3. Define the Skills & Experience that qualify you for this job.
Utilize the tool O*net OnLine to pick out the skills and employment history descriptions you will use on your resume. In the "Keyword" or "O*net SOC code" box, type in the Job Title you are looking for (i.e. Short Order Cook) and click the "Go" button. You will see the Job Title you entered along with related job titles underneath it. Click on the Job Title you entered; this will take you to a Summary Report Page that lists typical tasks, tools, knowledge, and skills that are used for that particular job classification. Print this page out and highlight the skills and descriptions you want to use on your resume, or cut and paste what you want to use onto your resume template. If you cut and paste, make sure you change the font back to the style and size as the other text in the resume template.
Now you have a base to start from as you summarize your skills and employment history when building a resume. Fill in the Free Resume Template with your specific information, remembering to include the skills the employer listed on the job posting.
Use the Favorite Job Search Sites link to identify one specific job opening that you are interested in. Print the job opening out, and then underline what specific things the employer states they are looking for in the advertisement. Set the ad aside for now; you will use it later in your Build A Resume steps.
2. Go to the Free Resume Template Page.
Download the Free Basic Blank Resume Template and save it to your desktop. Read the Resume Instructions through once, then go to step 3 before entering any information into the resume template.
3. Define the Skills & Experience that qualify you for this job.
Utilize the tool O*net OnLine to pick out the skills and employment history descriptions you will use on your resume. In the "Keyword" or "O*net SOC code" box, type in the Job Title you are looking for (i.e. Short Order Cook) and click the "Go" button. You will see the Job Title you entered along with related job titles underneath it. Click on the Job Title you entered; this will take you to a Summary Report Page that lists typical tasks, tools, knowledge, and skills that are used for that particular job classification. Print this page out and highlight the skills and descriptions you want to use on your resume, or cut and paste what you want to use onto your resume template. If you cut and paste, make sure you change the font back to the style and size as the other text in the resume template.
Now you have a base to start from as you summarize your skills and employment history when building a resume. Fill in the Free Resume Template with your specific information, remembering to include the skills the employer listed on the job posting.
4) Finish Filling in Your Resume.
Review Resume Writing Help: 8 Details NOT to Include on Your Resume to make sure you are including only the appropriate information on your resume. Once you've reviewed this, you can finish filling in all the details on your Free Resume Template. Be sure to save your resume under your name, for instance "LastName.doc".
5) Spell Check and Review.
Use Microsoft Spellchecker to do a final spell check on your resume. Then print out your resume and critique it one last time. Give it to a friend, teacher or business associate and ask them to check it for clarity and spelling. After making the last necessary edits, print your resume on Resume Quality Paper. You should be pleased with the results!
You have completed the 5 Steps to Build a Resume! Now you can easily adjust the Objective and Skill Summary Sections as you respond to each job advertisement to target that particular position.
Next Steps
After you complete the 5 Steps To Build A Resume, don't forget to create a Cover Letter and References to add to your new, polished resume for a complete package!
Review Resume Writing Help: 8 Details NOT to Include on Your Resume to make sure you are including only the appropriate information on your resume. Once you've reviewed this, you can finish filling in all the details on your Free Resume Template. Be sure to save your resume under your name, for instance "LastName.doc".
5) Spell Check and Review.
Use Microsoft Spellchecker to do a final spell check on your resume. Then print out your resume and critique it one last time. Give it to a friend, teacher or business associate and ask them to check it for clarity and spelling. After making the last necessary edits, print your resume on Resume Quality Paper. You should be pleased with the results!
You have completed the 5 Steps to Build a Resume! Now you can easily adjust the Objective and Skill Summary Sections as you respond to each job advertisement to target that particular position.
Next Steps
After you complete the 5 Steps To Build A Resume, don't forget to create a Cover Letter and References to add to your new, polished resume for a complete package!
