Resumes, CVs and More: Organizing Your Qualifications

by Todd Anten
hotjobs.yahoo.com


Salespeople have a variety of pitches they can make when selling a product. It's just a matter of deciding which pitch is the right one for that customer.

Now, think of a potential employer as a customer and yourself as the salesperson -- and the product.

In order to successfully sell yourself, you have to face a tough decision: How to advertise your qualifications in the most effective way possible. It may involve a chronological resume or a functional resume ... or perhaps no resume at all.

Here are your basic options:

Chronological Resume

"Chrono" is Greek for "time," so it's no surprise that a chronological resume is organized by your employment timeline.

Chronological resumes are the most common choice for job seekers -- and for good reason:

* They're easy to write. The organization is predetermined, so it's one less thing to stress over.

* Recruiters prefer them. A recent HotJobs survey revealed that 84 percent of recruiters prefer chronological resumes.

So unless you have a good reason, you should generally stick to the chronological resume format.

To create a chronological resume, begin with your most recent experience and work your way back. For each job, list the name of the company, your title, where the job was located, your dates of employment and a few bullet points discussing your major achievements and responsibilities.

Functional Resume

Chronological resumes are great if your career path has been sure and steady. But there are circumstances where a chronological resume may not be the best choice. For instance, maybe you have ...

* a major time gap on your resume,
* a hodgepodge of experience without an overall focus,
* or a desire to change career fields.

In these situations, a functional resume might prove more useful than a chronological one.

Functional resumes highlight your skills instead of the companies you worked for. Functional resumes also downplay time gaps and career missteps.

A functional resume generally splits your work history into two sections. In the first section, list the skills and experience you have that relate to the job you're applying for. In the second section, provide a list of the places you have worked, as well as the dates you worked there.

Recruiters tend to be wary of functional resumes, but if you suspect that a chronological resume won't get you through the door, a functional resume is a good second choice.

Curriculum Vita

When most job postings ask for a resume, the implication is that they want a chronological or functional resume -- one page long, work experience, all that jazz.

But some jobs out there -- especially in the education and research fields -- require a curriculum vita (CV).

CVs are not resumes. Commonly used among academics in the U.S., CVs are much more comprehensive than resumes. A CV lists almost every work-related accomplishment you've ever had, from papers published to presentations given to classes taught to awards won. In short, they're long. Some CVs extend over 30 pages.

CVs for non-education related fields are sometimes used in other countries. In Europe, for example, CVs are generally accepted for everyday jobs. In the U.S., however, you should never send a CV unless the job ad specifically asks for one.

Candidate Profile: The Anti-Resume

You may be surprised (and relieved) to learn that there is some movement away from evaluating job seekers only by their resumes.

Some employers, faced with a stack of resumes, are using an alternative: Candidate profiles.

Candidate profiles ask online applicants to rank themselves on job related characteristics, including the ability to manage stressful situations, creativity and problem-solving ability, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Employers use the results to find qualified candidates and reserve traditional resumes for later in the selection process.

While candidate profiles probably won't mean the death of the resume, it may take some of the pressure off having a perfect one.

As you decide which organization works best for you -- chronological resume, functional resume, curriculum vita or candidate profile -- keep in mind that employers don't hire pieces of paper. They hire people. So do your best to let the real you shine through.

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The Resume That Stays in Play

Three Rules for an Attention-Grabbing Resume
by Joe Turner


Sometimes your resume can hurt you more than help you. In today's job-search market, you are often competing against large numbers of candidates, and your resume has to be good enough to make it past the first screening.

The first people to view your resume are often lower-level staff looking for a quick way to weed candidates out of consideration. You can minimize the chances of your resume being eliminated during this round by following three simple rules.
1. Less is more.

Don't tell too much. Your resume should read like a billboard, not an encyclopedia. A good resume should leave the prospective employer with a desire to know more. They will be likely to call and phone-screen you. So don't fill in all the details just yet. Save that for the interview. Do, however, paint a big picture of who you are and what you can offer.

For example, you may have worked for several years at your present employer. Certainly you could fill up several paragraphs with all that you've done. Instead, think of the one or two most critical projects, duties, or functions that you provide. List the most important and give them no more than a sentence or two each.

Here is an example:
EXPERIENCE:
May 2003 to Present: XYZ Company, Their City, CA
Senior staff design engineer.
Products designed/Projects involved: A, B, C.
Description of most important project and results.

Description of second most important project and results.

Skip the hobbies and personal information. Avoid mind-numbing detail that will cause a reader's eyes to glaze over. One page is ideal -- two pages only if you are a 15- to 20-year veteran with a significant growth and promotion history.

2. Use more keywords.

You want the search engines to flag your resume for closer examination. Do this by including several keywords that are relevant to your job and your job skills, as well as specific industry words that may be appropriate. Also, include the names of major companies you worked with or for, as this often is important to employers. Include those in the "experience" section, as appropriate.

Here are some examples of keywords: International Standards (ISO), Flash, MBA, copy edit, CPMs, medical device, Dreamweaver, and search engine marketing (SEM).

Some candidates add a separate "keywords" section at the bottom of digital-format resumes, or others list keywords as part of a "skills" section. These are possible catch-all areas specifically for the search engines to recognize.

3. Be specific.
Don't just tell them what you did. Move beyond that and tell the benefit of your accomplishment. A good way to do this is to include several specific ways you helped your employer make money or save money. Identify measurable results; use numbers. Remember, the only benefit you can bring to the table is past performance. When you interview (either phone or in person) this is what will be discussed.

Think of all your jobs in the past and bring forth examples of some of your best work. How can an employer think of you as a problem solver? If at all possible, try to "monetize" your accomplishments (state them in terms of money). At the interview, you will be prepared to enlarge upon these successes.

As a recruiter, Joe Turner has spent the past 15 years finding and placing top candidates in some of the best jobs of their careers. Discover more of his job-search insights by visiting www.jobchangesecrets.com.

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