Page 20 - Job_Search_Handbook_Flipbook

Job Search Handbook

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Writing Your Résumé
 No one can write a top-notch résumé on the first try. Several
rough drafts are often needed.
 Your first draft should be as long as necessary to include all your
important and relevant facts.
 Revise and edit it until you have tailored your résumé to the
desired length.
 Ideally, you should end up with a one- or two page résumé.
Employers and search firms simply don't have the time or the
patience to deal with too lengthy a document.
 Your résumé must do its job in the first five to twenty seconds.
That is the time you have to "catch the eye" of the decision
maker.
 Your résumé should avoid being so slick that it comes across as
phony. Anyone whose job is to read and evaluate resumes knows
that often they are prepared by professionals.
 The most important thing in your résumé is the information, not
fancy print or paper.
 As one of your key sales tools, your résumé should do the
following:
1. Identify the main features of the product (you).
2. Stress the benefits (your special skills).
3. Highlight your achievements and end results of your
activities.
4. Indicate the techniques and processes you can implement
expertly.

 Your future employer needs to know your potential, so don't
under value your achievements. If humility prevents this, ask
someone who knows you well to help you communicate the
impact of your work.
 Don't get hung up on describing your job duties or your other
credentials so literally that you forget about what the
prospective employer really wants to know: namely ample
evidence of your capacity to handle the particular job they hope
to fill.
 A résumé is a form of written communication, and all
communication is a two way street.
1. Focus on the message you want to convey.
2. As you review your résumé, put yourself in the place of the
person who will read it.

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