As a hiring manager, I like to read candidates’ resumes from the end of the resume to the top of the resume (assuming a chronological resume format). This allows me to get a feel for the candidate’s education and progressive work experience. Of course, every hiring manager is different and may have different preferences in terms of resume formats and their review process.
Using a specific resume format should be driven by the person’s experience, industry and the type of opportunity they are seeking. There are quite a few resume formats, but the four major basic formats (with probably hundreds of variations) are chronological, functional, combination, or targeted. The descriptions and potential uses are summarized below. While the resume format is important, content and writing style are (obviously) more important. More important than any of the items mentioned is that your resume must be error free from misspellings and typos. Additionally, your resume should be “accurate” (as in don’t try to “fudge” the dates, companies you worked for, your experience or period of time you worked at any one company).
Putting all of this together into a resume that will get you hired can be a daunting task to say the lease. Luckily, there are many resources available on the Internet to help you with this. A few of the links listed below, as well as some suggested reading.
Resume Structure, Formats and what not to do:
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5 Steps to a Great Resume – Formats – This article provides definitions of each of the resume section types (skills, work history, education, etc.) as well as brief descriptions of each of the four major resume formats along with links to resume examples and related articles.
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7 Things You Shouldn’t Include on Your Resume – A lot of articles and books offer advice on what should be included on your resume. What about what not to include on your resume? This article covers some of the basic things to avoid.
Resume Templates and Support:
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Resumizer.com – This site is a resume service (free, by the way) that will help you create a professional resume quickly. You can pick from the many options provided to create a customized resume to aid in your employment application tasks. You can preview your resume at any point during the creation process and edit your resume as necessary. These tasks can be easily performed at any time in the creation process. Upon completion you can print your resume online or download it to print copies as needed later.
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Sample Resume – This site also provides free templates and a free resume builder. There are tabs at the top of the page for templates, builder, examples and samples. The left hand side of the page has links for samples by type of job, writing services as well as additional related links (like cover letters).
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How to Write a Targeted Resume – So what, exactly, is a targeted resume? A targeted resume is designed for a specific job where you feel your skill set and experience is perfectly matched. This article by Alison Doyle and posted on About.com, explains how to write a targeted resume and provides an example. There are additional links for a targeted cover letter and other related services.
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Resume to Referral – This site offers great resources to help you create the best resume. First on the list is their Free resume review. In addition, they have resume writing services, great articles, books and more.
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Good luck in your search,
Joey
