How to Compose a Winning Resume That Can Help You Get an Interview!

Your resume is a powerful marketing tool that gives potential employers a glance at your educational background, job history, and your key skills and accomplishments and how your credentials can contribute to success of its organization. Keep in mind that your resume could win you an interview with potential employers if you highlight key aspects that are pertinent to the job in which you are applying for.   Notice: I emphasized, “HELP get you an interview”. Once you are selected for an interview, you will then have to prove that you are the best candidate for the position in which you are applying for.  Here steps that will help you compose a winning resume that can help you get that job interview that you desire and beyond.

RESUME STYLE

First of all, you will need to determine what style of resume is right for you.  There are two basic styles of resumes, the chronological format and the functional format.

The Chronological resume displays a list of your job history starting with your most recent job and ending with your former positions.  If you have a consistent work history that you wish to display, this style will work best for you. The Functional resume highlights your job skills and accomplishments pertaining to the position you are seeking.  If you have a gap in your employment history, this style might work better for you.  Also, in some cases, you can combine the two.

NAME AND CONTACT INFORMATION

Next, you will need to display your full name, (no nickname) your address and telephone number where you can be reached at the very top of your paper.  You should also list your e-mail address if you have one. If you don't have one, it's very easy to obtain one and it's free in most cases.

CAREER OBJECTIVE

Your career objective should display a brief summary of your short-term career goals and what you would like to accomplish in the future.

SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS

Your summary of qualification will list a concise description of your career accomplishments that you feel are significant in determining that you are the best candidate for the position.  You can list this in place of a career objective or you can use in conjunction with.  Both should be very brief, not more than 2 to 3 sentences.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

You should list any skills that you have on your resume.  This will show potential employers your job strengths and capabilities.

WORK EXPERIENCE

You will need to list your jobs that you have worked in chronological order, starting with your most recent employer.  You should list the month and year you started and the month and year you left; the job title; a brief description of your duties; and the city and state of each job.

EDUCATION

It’s imperative that you list any degrees, diplomas, or certificates that you have acquired on your resume.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

You should list any additional skills that are relevant to the job in which you are seeking, such as license, awards, group affiliations, etc.

Tips:

*Make sure your resume contains pertinent keywords (check job ad)

*Have someone proof read your resume

*Present a professional looking resume

*Don’t list your references on your resume.

*List references on separate page

*Your resume should be no more than two pages long

*Use past tense when describing former duties

* Use present tense when describing your current duties

* Spell out numbers that are less than ten (e.g. one, two, three)