Résumé Writing Made Easy!

Transcription

1 Résumé Writing Made Easy! INCLUDES 6 job-winning, Fully Editable Model Résumés & Templates Skip Freeman Professional 'Headhunter'

2 Contents The Legal Stuff Taking the STRESS Out of Resume Writing! 13 Resume 'Truths' That Brand You a WINNER! (+ 1 BONUS "Truth") Job-Winning Model Resumes & Templates About the Author

3 The Legal Stuff Copyright 2013 by Skip Freeman and Michael Garee. All rights reserved. Except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews, and/or as otherwise authorized by Amazon.com as part of its Kindle publishing program, no part of this Kindle publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information retrieval system, without the express, written permission of the copyright owners. This Kindle publication is part of a series of publications entitled, The Job-Hunter Series, and is published by and is wholly owned by Headhunter Hiring Secrets Team, Inc. Content for this Kindle publication is based in part on information featured in Headhunter Hiring Secrets: The Rules of the Hiring Game Have Changed... Forever!, an international best-selling book in the Job Hunting category on Amazon.com. Both the paperback and Kindle editions are available on Amazon.com. Kindle is a registered trademark owned by Amazon.com. This publication is provided with the understanding that neither the author nor the publisher is engaged in rendering legal, financial, accounting or other professional advice or services. This publication contains the opinions and ideas of its author. It is intended to provide helpful and informative material on the subjects addressed. The strategies outlined may not be suitable for every individual and are not guaranteed or warranted to produce any particular result(s). Both the author and the publisher disclaim any responsibility for any liability, loss or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents of this book.

4 How to Take the STRESS! Out of Résumé Writing! On any given day there are over 57 million people competing for one-tenth that number of jobs. You have just seconds to make your résumé POP! or you will immediately be eliminated from further consideration. DON T let that happen to YOU! Introduction: Funny thing about a résumé... no one has ever hired a résumé, but very few people ever get hired without one. And, since most significant career growth opportunities come as a result of career moves not by staying with your current company it s absolutely crucial that you have an up-to-date, job-winning résumé readily available at all times. But don t stress out about creating your own job-winning résumé. In this publication we re going to show you how easy it can be to accomplish that! FEATURED IN THIS PUBLICATION ARE résumé truths (and one bonus truth) that will brand you a winner. 10 overused words to avoid and 10 words that SELL! 6 proven, job-winning, fully editable model résumés that you can adapt to create your own job-winning résumé! 13 Resume 'Truths' That Brand You a WINNER! (+ 1 BONUS "Truth") 1. It must be visually appealing. Plenty of white space. Two to three sentences to describe what you do/did in each role, followed by the use of bullet points to highlight quantifiable accomplishments and achievements. Bullet points should never be longer than three lines. If the main bullet point goes longer than three lines either break it into another bullet point or use sub-bullet points. And if you use sub-bullets, make sure you use two of them, not just one. Placing a period at the end of bullet points is optional, but if you do use a period, make sure you use the punctuation for all bullets. No long, rambling sentences/paragraphs. Tight writing. Be succinct. Conversely, don t leave one word on a line. Use a typeface that is easy to read, such as Times New Roman or Arial. Nothing smaller than 11 point. Selective use (not overuse) of bold face type. Proofread and then proofread again! Then, have someone else proofread it as well.

5 Name it using the following convention: FirstName LastName The Role You are Interested In - Resume.doc Jim Smith Embedded Software Developer Resume.doc NOT: Resume12.doc 2. A résumé is a movie trailer, not the entire movie! Mark Twain once said, I didn t have time to write a short letter so I wrote a lengthy one instead. Mull that over for a moment. Length? Two pages. No more! Exception: You are a project manager or PhD R&D professional... then you can include appendices. 3. No Career Objective. But how will a potential employer know what kind of a job I want, you re probably asking? News Flash! When companies are initially reviewing you as a candidate, they don t really care what you want. They only care about what they want. What you want only becomes relevant when and if! you make it to the offer stage. Then they care. Instead, include a crystal clear profile at the top of your résumé (as shown in several of the model résumés). 4. Use an appropriate header. Your header (the copy at the TOP of your résumé) should contain your name, a phone number that you will respond to, a professional address, your city/state and your LinkedIn profile ID (be sure to customize your LinkedIn profile ID). House number and street address aren t necessary. Include your name on both pages of your résumé. 5. Focus on the needs of the employer. One of the most common mistakes job hunters make is to craft a one-size-fits-all résumé. While 70-80% of a résumé can remain the same, ensure that each version is crafted to suit the position, company and/or opportunity you are interested in. Use as many job and industry related keywords as possible within your résumé without being overly redundant, which smacks of amateurism and cynicism. 6. Work experience should be featured in reverse chronological (most recent first) order only. (Functional résumés are almost always viewed with a jaundiced eye.) Related questions: Should you show all positions held? Some companies insist upon it, while others, not so much. As a general rule, most companies are just fine with showing the last ten years of

6 employment. Still, other companies insist that you show all previous positions (within reason, of course). Should you indicate the year you graduated from college? The short answer is YES! Why? Because, ultimately, everything a potential employer desires to know about you will be revealed, anyway. 7. No personal or family information (to avoid potential Equal Employment Opportunity issues). Pictures? Not on your résumé, but definitely have a professional photo on your LinkedIn profile. 8. When all else fails, tell the truth! Today, background checks are extremely thorough. When not if! you are found out, you will be eliminated from further consideration. If you have already been hired, chances are you will be fired. 9. Include one or two sentences on what each employer does. Example: National Filtration Systems, Inc. Vice President of Sales and Marketing What does this company do? Provide water filters for the home? Make filters for cigarettes? Neither! It is A $60 million design build engineering firm of industrial filtration units for natural gas and oil. So write it! Tell the reader what the company does! 10. Include numbers, numbers and more numbers and throw in a few percentages for good measure! Brand yourself a winner by using quantitative measurements to demonstrate results. Weak: Quality Manager Responsible for improving processes and reducing defects. Enhanced revenue by increasing production. Strong: Quality Manager Responsible for improving processes, reducing defects and enhancing revenue by increasing production. Reduced equipment failure rate 29% in first year. Increased production by 15%, resulting in an annual revenue increase of $12.5 million.

7 Even if your job wasn t directly related to money you can still estimate your impact. For example, maybe you are performing dual roles. An economic impact could be phrased in this manner: Eliminated need to hire new team members by performing a dual role in both sales and business development, with an estimated $90K annual savings, i.e., the cost of hiring another employee. Or, perhaps you have figured out a way to cut expenses within your team, found a new vendor/supplier, etc. Bottom line: your employment comes at a cost to an employer. Make it easy for them to hire you by showing how you can make them money or save them money (or be able to accomplish both of these things!) because these are the only two reasons companies hire anyone! 11. Do not use pyrotechnics and other razzle-dazzle in your résumé unless you want to be branded as an amateur (no yellow highlighting, colored words, background colors, etc.) 12. Eliminate References Available Upon Request. You re a pro. It s a given you will have them. Other overused and worn out phrases: Excellent Organizational Skills Team Player Exceeded Expectations Responsible for Do include associations, affiliations, extra training and certifications. This demonstrates you are committed to your career. BONUS TRUTH After reading over your résumé, ask yourself this question: Would I want to interview me?

8 Two Key Elements to Every Résumé It's important to keep in mind that every résumé has essentially TWO key elements: Visual Appeal Content If your résumé lacks visual appeal, then it simply will not be read. Period. And it won't matter how great the content is. Similarly, if your résumé has great visual appeal but doesn't deliver on content, it will merely be relegated the the HUGE stack of rejected résumés. Make sure, then, that your résumé has both visual appeal and great content!

9 Job-Winning Model Resumes & Templates To access, quickly download and then view/edit the 6 actual job-winning résumés, click on this link: How to Modify the Résumé Templates Once you have accessed and downloaded the model résumés to your desktop, laptop or other device, save the document(s) in the folder of your choice. You are now ready to begin modifying them to create your own job-winning résumé! For the most part, each résumé was created using the Table function in Word and saved with a.doc file extension. To modify any of the models, simply replace the existing type (and information) in the appropriate places with your own information. If you are quite familiar with the Table function in Word, you will find this operation to be a breeze. If you re not all that familiar with the more advanced features of Word, however, take the time to familiarize yourself with the Table function or enlist the assistance of someone who is. A Professional Word of Caution Be sure to use the model résumé templates only as models, as guides. It is relatively easy to blur your information and message into the models without thinking. It is therefore imperative that you know who you are, what accomplishments and achievements you have had, as well as the impact you can have on an organization, based upon a thorough study of their needs and/or the job description.

10 About the Author Want to Link In with Skip? Tap on this link: in order to immediately expand your overall network by over 12 million people. Additional Resources Available on Amazon.com Amazon.com Bestseller (Job Hunting Category): Headhunter Hiring Secrets: The Rules of the Hiring Game Have Changed... Forever! (Available in both paperback and Kindle editions) Application Workbook for Headhunter Hiring Secrets: The Rules of the Hiring Game Have Changed... Forever! (Paperback edition) How to be Headhunted by TOP Recruiters (Part of the Headhunter Hiring Secrets Job- Hunting series on Kindle )