CREATING A WINNING RESUME

Begin with brainstorming. Gather all the information you can on past employment.                                                                                                     

Analyze your audience. What is the company/organization like? Who will likely look at the resume? What are their needs? What skills and qualifications are they looking for?

Organize your material. Remember to keep your audience in mind. For example, if specific educational requirements are required then you might want to place information regarding your education first. You can control the emphasis according to the analysis of your audience.

Clearly state your career objectives at the top of the resume.

Use a chronological resume. List your employment from the most recent to the least recent. Show the month and year for beginning dates and ending dates. When listing the companies you have worked for under work history, briefly state what that company does unless it is obvious.

Be sure to list accomplishments along with duties and responsibilities. Quantify your accomplishments whenever possible, and be concrete; give your reader something solid. Blend accomplishments into functions.

A clear font is highly preferred. Use 11 point or 12 point size print.

One page resumes are not a rule. For candidates with 2 or more years of experience, a 2 to 3 page resume is acceptable. Brief is better but not at the expense of presenting yourself fairly and completely. Do not put your age, religion, health status, marital status, or race on your resume.

An "empty" looking resume suggests you haven't done much. Use white space wisely. Use indentations, bolding, and bullets to highlight important information. Draw your reader's eye to the information you want to emphasize.

Finally, proofread your resume. A resume should be error-free and clean. Use good quality paper.