A resume is a concise summary of all the information about us: education, work experience, achievements and other personal details, that will interest an employer. Although our prospective employer will read our cover letter before our resume, the letter will just highlight a few of the many facts that we include in a well-organized resume.
There is a fairly standard form for detailing information about ourselves, and employers expect us to submit it in a recognizable way. The following sections discuss the possible content and manner of presentation for our resume.
1. Heading. Resumes are usually headed with our name, address and telephone number. This information may either be centered at the top of the page or placed in the top left-hand corner.
2. Career Goal. Our career goal, which follows our personal identification, is one entry that every employer is interested in. We must be specific as we can, listing our immediate goal and not some vague future dream.
3. Job Position Being Applied For. We must specify the position we are applying for. Examples: systems analyst, account executive, securities analyst, etc. This position must be related to our career goal.
4. Education and Training. This major section should state the most important qualifications we can offer for the job we are applying for. If it is work experience, that section should come next. If it is our educational background that is more important, place it first.
In either case, we must tailor our qualifications to fit the job requirements. This does not mean, however, that we are to falsify the information we provide. It simply means that we are to pick out those qualifications that have the most direct relationship to the job for which we are applying. For example, suppose we are applying for the position of market researcher. The person who reads our resume will not be interested in finding out that we had taken courses in baking, orchid raising or canteen operation. They will not also be interested in learning that we have worked as a teller in a bank. But this person will be interested in reading about our experience in research, or if our educational background is in mathematics, statistics, etc, and if we had taken a speed-reading course.
The most common way to describe our education is to list any university, college, or vocational school we have attended with the dates of attendance and any diplomas or certificates we have obtained. We always place our most recent educational experience at the top of the list and work back from there.
If we want to stress our education, we may want to include our major field of study and the names of significant courses, which we have completed. We may also want to list any honors or awards we have received.
A prospective employer is looking for evidence of leadership potential, social poise, and interest in a broad enough range of activities to make us an interesting person. Therefore, we could list our extra-curricular activities in which we had taken part and list down the positions we held in campus or school organizations.
5. Work Experience. There are two acceptable ways of presenting our work background. The most common is to list our jobs in chronological order, with the present or the most recent one heading the list. With such an arrangement, the prospective employer can readily detect our progress or promotions. If we use this format, we should show the following:
a. Position held
b. Name and location of company
c. Date the position was held
d. Achievement in the position
e. Reason for leaving
In addition, we can strengthen our presentation by including the following:
a. Duties (emphasize responsibilities)
b. Name of immediate superior (if the person is still there and might be a good reference)
c. Job title (e.g. systems analyst, field sales manager, etc.)
If on the other hand, our experience is scattered, or we have done a lot of
Volunteer activities, or if our employment history is spotty; a functional resume can turn unrelated activities into a coherent business background. When we use this format, our experience is listed under descriptive categories. In this way, a wide variety of activities--paid or volunteer-- interspersed with inactive periods, can be presented to our advantage.
6. Personal Details. Personal data include gender, age, date and place of birth, race, religion (optional), marital status (including number of children), health, height, weight, interests and hobbies.
7. References. Applicants for a job are usually requested to give the names of at least three persons who can be asked or called to speak about us. The most appropriate persons include present or former employers, teachers, and other professionals. Also acceptable is a character reference whose name or occupation is respected.
If we include references in our resume, we must give each individual
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