Reasons You Need A Career Job Résumé
A career job résumé is an essential marketing tool promoting your professional expertise. As you add to your skill set, training and accomplishments, you should consistently update your résumé, ideally every six months, and have it readily accessible because you never know when a golden opportunity will present itself.
The career job résumé can be the key to open the door to a holistically satisfying job and/or career that rewards both your financial needs and sense of self worth….or not. The difference lies in how carefully planned and written.
When well written it is an appealing appetizer or amuse-bouche that will sufficiently whet the recruiter’s interest so they contact you to learn more. The main ingredients are: first, specific functions that they are looking for with enough spice that you don’t seem bland or boring; and second, articulated accomplishments achieved while performing in your title that bring your presence and value to life.
Since a career job résumé is not poster art, more than format the content should be what captures their interest. The most important element is specific key words that match the potential position’s desired functions. ThImpress the recruiter with your suitability to the vacancy. Show them that you have the drive and expertise for the job. You have what it takes for future growth and promotability. When they read your résumé you want them to think “Wow, I have to meet this candidate.”
The word “résumé” is a brief synopsis of one’s personal, educational and vocational qualifications and experience. It is seldom longer than two pages for a corporate version or three pages for a non-profit version. A lengthier, more in-depth biographical account of one’s life largely utilized outside the U.S. is a curriculum vitae (CV) and can run three to five pages.
An American version of the CV is for professionals in the academic and scientific arenas. It is containing lengthy lists of research projects, presentations, publications, and professional affiliations. However, for the majority of positions, whether corporate or non-profit, a résumé is preferred. A combination American résumé and CV version is used for government jobs, particularly for federal agencies.
How To Format & Style Your Career Job Résumé
Résumés come in four predominant formats according to the arrangement of the information:
- Chronological – All employment listed in reverse chronological order containing job descriptions under each employer.
- Functional – The body of experience common to all jobs is presented first and is followed by a chronological listing of employment. It is showing only the name of employer, title and period of employment to validate where the experience was acquired. When the person has done the same type or types of work throughout their career the functional format eliminates redundant job tasks.
- Hybrid – A combination of the chronological and functional is when the job seeker wants to isolate a particular function out of the many in their skill set. Want to bring it to the recruiter’s attention early on instead of buried amongst the employment narrative.
- Federal/NGO – These lengthy formats are similar to that of a CV, as mentioned above.
Depending on who develops the document, styles can encompass symmetrical, asymmetrical, plain. Or fancy in serif or sans serif fonts with various embellishments. Before recruiters’ reliance on the Internet, job applicants had to create artistic documents on fancy stationery which they submitted by mail or in person.
Decorative effects, typefaces and multiple fonts were often a distractions to cover inadequacies in an individual’s background. Now, most résumés are electronically uploaded into a computerized database whereupon an algorithm is applied that searches for specific keywords. The computer doesn’t care by cosmetic attributes.
If the proper terms are located the résumé migrates through the screening process. If not, it is cast aside. Only if the résumé reaches the final stage is it viewed in person by a recruiter. At that point, it needs to be easy to read and visually appealing.
Therefore, we recommend a simple, visually-balanced style with minimal embellishment. It is best that both database friendly and aesthetically appealing to the human eye, with the emphasis on meaningful content.
Must Have Headings On Your Career Job Résumé
The basic headings are:
- Summary of Qualifications
- Experience and/or Work History (depending on format) – It is worthwhile to note here that Experience encompasses employment, internships and volunteer activities that are related to your profession.
- Education – Even if a degree was not acquired, the collective knowledge is still valuable. Plus, the major should be mentioned, with cumulative completed credits, if possible.
Additional headings which may apply to your needs are:
- Select Accomplishments
- Distinctions, Awards/Honors
- Publications/Presentations
- Research and/or Special Projects
- Training/Development
- Seminars/Workshops
- Community Activities
- Affiliations/Memberships
The sequence of the headings will vary according to your objective and on what aspect you wish to focus the recruiter’s attention. For example, a recent graduate would put their education ahead of their experience.
Few Pointers On Getting Started With Your Résumé
Take stock of yourself and be honest. Don’t sell yourself short but don’t go on an ego trip either. At one end of the spectrum, you may be extremely well educated. You have extensive specific experience and a clear sense of your professional path. Or, you may be the individual who thinks their background is ordinary and is just looking for a job to pay the bills.
Most of us fall in the middle with a variety of education and experience, looking to improve our circumstances and find the most rewarding career. Regardless of your perspective, you need to showcase your abilities in the best light.
The first step is to put together an autobiographical outline detailing any and all experience, special skills, awards and honors. Also, other distinctions obtained in school, from job training, in the home or community, and on the job.
In addition to your own recollection, where possible, refer to descriptions of your position in job vacancy notices, annual evaluations, or human resource manuals that categorize the responsibilities of each position in the company. This will be shaved down to the most important and relevant details as the résumé-preparation process evolves.
Since a résumé is based on facts, it should not be a work of fiction. The days of being able to prevaricate about your history and get away with it are long gone. With the advent of the internet we entered the age of transparency and background checks.
However, that being said, there are still ways to diminish negative factors such as many short-term jobs, lack of a college degree, or long gaps between jobs, so don’t resort to lying or distorting the truth. Employers conduct rigorous due diligence in vetting potential employees.
If you lie, you will be found out. It might not be right away…it could be in the first 90 days of employment, traditionally known as the probation period, whereupon you will be fired. Depending on the industry, this is a stain that can follow you around. And even if you only tell a small lie in one part of the résumé, a lie is a lie.
You may think, as long as you get hired and tell the truth on the application you’ll be okay. Not necessarily. Employers compare résumés and applications and may assume that if you lie about one thing you can’t be trusted because you probably lie about other things.
When listing your education, if you have had college or university (even partial attendance). You do not mention primary or secondary schooling (elementary, intermediate or high school). It is understood you would not have been accepted in an undergraduate institution had you not obtained a high school diploma or its equivalent.
If you are basing your job search on a recent degree/diploma or certificate program you will need to list key courses and your GPA, if 3.8 or higher. Anything lower and you run the risk of being judged against someone with a higher GPA. You should also list any incidental training, certification or professional licenses and the agency that conferred those credentials. For example: CPR, American Heart Association.
When detailing your job experience, an important factor to keep in mind is that you are not writing a manual on how to do a particular job. Instead, you need to prove to the recruiter how you added value to your current or former employer’s bottom line. In order to do this you want to mention achievements that are credited to your singular or collaborative efforts. These are usually indicated in concrete dollar or percentage figures. So you might say, “Expanded book of business by $5 million” or “Reduced overtime 15% by better allocation of resources.”
Also, remember that accomplishment and experience can also be obtained in activities outside a formal employment setting. Community and volunteer work can afford very important skills that translate to future job value.
By the same token, caring for family (children and seniors) can be an education in itself. The accumulated years of commitment translate to comprehensive experiential skills in organization, time management, and administrative coordination, to name a few.
Finally, incidental information not necessarily related to your job or profession. It can also be important such as computer programs and foreign languages you are reasonably proficient in.
Moving On With Your Career
Now you need to decide what type of position and industry you are pursuing:
- Career Change
- Recent Graduate – Entry Level
- Promotion in same field with same company
- Similar job with new employer
- Same profession with next logical progressive position with new employer
- Refocusing on a common or particular aspect of prior jobs
Then you need to select the format which best suits your job search.
It is possible you may want to have more than one résumé, each focusing on a different objective. Some factors will be shared by both, but the focus of each will differ with attention to the experiential skills inherent in that particular objective.
For example, you may have worked in several department stores with experience in sales/customer service, merchandising and operations. One résumé might focus solely on being a retail sales associate and another on progressing to management in any industry listing all your supervisory/managerial functions.
Setting up the Draft and Taking the Next Step
You will need to distribute the information from your biographical outline under the proper headings. Because it is a draft, it doesn’t have to be well written, but it should be clear enough to convey what your responsibilities and achievements were with complete information. The next step is to review in your mind whether you are comfortable with perfecting the draft.
At this point, if you are not confident about your writing ability or computer skills, you should consult a professional résumé writing and preparation service. The advantage is that they will have the expertise to polish your draft’s content, improve vocabulary, correct grammar and showcase your talents in the best light.
Additionally, you should consider having them create a companion cover letter which will complement the résumé and address the particular position you are seeking. As part of the preparation service, they will be able to tailor your material in the best format and style, rather than using a pro forma template, and typeset the content in commercially acceptable software such as Microsoft Word so that you can email it to recruiters.
Even if you are prepared to finalize your own draft, you would be well advised to submit your finished document to a professional résumé writing service for their objective review and critique. A subjective individual can inadvertently overlook critical details and nuances that will be noticed by the trained and observant eye of an experienced writer.
Going Forward
Ideally, you should update your résumé every six months, but certainly once a year. You never know when the perfect opportunity presents itself and time is of the essence to apply for the position. If your résumé is up to date, you can act immediately. Remember, good fortune smiles on those who are well prepared.