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SO YOU WANT TO WRITE YOUR OWN RESUME? - A HOW TO GUIDE
If you are reading this website, you are probably considering your options:
- You have already decided to have a resume professional write your resume;
- You have decided you will write your own resume, but have some doubts or are unsure on how to do this;
- It is still a toss up between options one and two
For those of you that have decided you will write your own resume, here are some important points to consider and use when writing your resume or CV. These pointers come from over fifteen years experience of viewing "before" resumes, culling them and in most cases, rewriting them professionally. Of course there are many more issues to consider as a professional writer when writing resumes, but the most basic, essential points are covered here.
Firstly some definitions. The words "resume" and "CV" mean exactly the same thing. Resume comes from an old french word meaning "summary" while CV stands for Curriculum Vitae, an old latin word. In latin, curriculum means history, and vitae means life. So in essence, a CV is a life history. A resume is a summary. Two almost identical things, a summary and life history.
Firstly, when writing your resume, leave plenty of white space on the page. A densely, tightly packed document, filled with text and with narrow margins and limited gaps between sentences vertically, can be an immediate turn off for the reader, and can make the document appear quite daunting.
Ensure that the font or typeface is more than ten point in size. At least eleven or twelve point. Tiny lettering, makes the document difficult to read.
Don't spend the first part of the resume talking about all your great skills and abilities. To be brutally honest, these skills are the sort of things that anyone could write, and are not what the reader is primarily interested in. They are interested in your professional background. Also, I sometimes notice that a person has "excellent written communication skills" written in a resume as a skills or ability, then go on to notice typographical, grammatical and punctuation problems throughout the document.
Go straight into your employment history or professional background. Similarly, if including a career objective, ensure that it really IS a career objective, not a two paragraph description of how great you are, that is what a cover letter is for. The career objective is not the place to rave about your skills, rather to enlighten the reader on your genuine career objective. For example, if you are keen to get your foot into the mining industry door, the career objective is the place to talk about this.
This is an obvious one, but I am surprised at how many people miss this step. Have someone read and check your resume. Preferably someone with an eye for detail, with good grammar, punctuation and spelling skills. I can recall with amusement the story of a client whom had been using her current CV for almost ten years, and had never noticed a typo. In fact, no one that had read her CV had pointed out to her that "Alien's First Aid" where she had completed her training, should in fact have read "Allen's First Aid." I did mention to her that the idea of completing training at "Alien's First Aid" sounded like quite a scary concept!
Similarly, if English is not your first language, it is particularly important that someone else checks the grammar in your CV. I have encountered many rather entertaining phrases such as; "I always made sure I service the customers well, leaving them intensely satisfied." (full of connotations!) or "It was important to me that I gen the customer well sparkling" (what the?)
Another point to keep in mind is jargon. Many clients use acronyms and jargon such as "EDI" or "ABL" etc. IT professionals seem to be the worst at this in my experience. A golden rule is never, ever, ever, assume that the person reading the resume knows what these terms mean, always include and list them in full or don't include them at all.
Don't go over three to five pages for length in a resume. I have seen many 13 page plus resumes, only to be told "Oh, this more of a detailed version!" There is no need for that level of detail, it will result in your resume being left until "later" to be read, if at all. Who has the time or the inclination to read something this long, with 9 pages of duties and responsibilities!
Personal data such as date of birth, and marital status should not be included in your resume. This one is a personal choice, as obviously an interviewer may try to guess your age at job interview, however it is technically illegal for a potential employer to base their decision to employ or not employ you based on these factors.
Resume templates and samples. These are readily available at no charge on sites such as the Microsoft web site. However, a word of warning. If the reader of your resume is familiar with a Microsoft program such as Word for Windows, it will be immediately obvious to them that you have used a template, and these are not something we recommend as professional writers.
Finally, ensure that the layout of your resume is professional and appealing without going overboard. Colours and fancy graphics are not needed, simply a professional, impressive layout. |
