Updating your resume? Many thousands of well-qualified persons of all backgrounds and educations are finding this task a necessary one as work-stoppages and the recession deepens.
Let’s start with the most basic of questions: What is a Resume?
A resume is a basic but formal document upon which your marketing program is built. You will probably need more than one version. The only resume that needs only one version is more properly called a ticket to disaster.
Our concept is that you prepare the best resumes that you can possibly produce or have them professionally written, and then avoid using them, if at all possible! Mature applicants for jobs find that they get better results without ever producing their resumes!
So, you ask: Why produce resumes? Mainly, to better prepare you for the moment of truth when you succeed in getting that interview for THE job you want. As in selling, the best salesperson knows their product or service so well that they do not need to refer to literature. Get the point?
Writing resumes is difficult. I know from firsthand experience. I have personally written several hundred of them by special requests of clients. The general assumption is that if you are an executive, that you have the ability and knowledge to write a great resume. This is simply not true. Very few executives can write a good resume without help. Many hire professionals to write their resumes for them. In most cases, this is probably the best course of action for them to take.
On a scale of one to ten, the best resume is one written for a specific job and company. At the bottom of the scale is the general resume written to mail indiscriminately to all types of firms, regardless of the position open or the nature of the business.
As a resume writer, I once helped a Japanese engineer find a job. I suggested to him that rather than write one general resume trying to cover the range of his vast experiences all over the world, that he would fax or Email to me each ad he wanted to answer and that I would individualize each cover letter and resume for that particular ad. I wrote six cover letters and six resumes for him. He sent them all out. About 30 days later he telephoned me from Tokyo to tell me that he was invited to five interviews out of the six companies contacted and that he ultimately accepted a position at twice his anticipated salary and was relocating to United Arab Emirates. The fee he paid me for the special arrangements were well worth it!
The point is, that you need two or three resumes. If you are working with a ‘head hunter’ or other type agency, you will be asked to complete a CHRONOLOGICAL resume. This must be done according to form. But if you are answering blind ads that request a resume, a FUNCTIONAL or HYBRID resume will produce more interviews. This has been proven over and over again.
Do not worry about the styles of the resumes. There is NO one style for you. You are out of work or in need of a job. You must be flexible. There are few rules to follow, despite what you may have been told.
LENGTH: Your resume must be one page in length. Right? Maybe. It depends upon who you are, how many jobs you have had of importance and the level of job you seek. A one page resume is fine for a person seeking an entry level position but it may not be suitable at all for a person who was or is the president or CEO of a corporation, or who held high level executive positions in large companies.
FORMAT: Many! There is no one perfect format for every job solicitation.
Types of Resumes
CHRONOLOGICAL
A chronological resume lists your job assignments with dates of employment from most recent to as far back in history as you car to remember. To each job heading is appended a description of the work and or accomplishments achieved on that job.
FUNCTIOINAL
A functional resume features the applicant’s strongest experience first, regardless of its place on the career time line, followed by the next most important job, etc. Compared with a chronological resume, this approach allows the candidate to feature prominently any previous aspect of his or her career, regardless of how venerable the experience may be.
HYBRID
A hybrid resume features the applicant’s accomplishments in highlighted form as the primary feature of the document. Education and work history are added in a less prominent manner, usually undated, and can be arranged to provide the most favorable picture of the applicant.
‘BULLET’ OR RESUME LETTER
A ‘bullet’ has all the features of one of the above types, usually a hybrid or functional, but is sent as a letter to provide a concise, one page summary.
As to which you choose, as a lot to do with what image you wish to convey with maximum impact. The message should jump of the page, if possible. In other words, you have to get someone to read it!
A Resume is a Tool
It is my experience that a resume works best when it is tailored to a specific job and company after an interview. However, realistically, it is not always possible to get the interview and then have the opportunity to submit your resume. When you must have one, you must have a good one. When the demand is made for a resume, it is important that you respond appropriately with the correct type of resume. There are no hard and fast rules, but generally, the following criteria works.
Agencies, Personnel Departments and Executive Search Firms
Use your chronological resume. This gives the dates and names
of all employment, and generally works against you, but you
need to prepare at least one chronological resume.
Application for Employment
The more structured the company, the more definite
the demand for the detailed resume - usually they
want the chronological resume.
The smaller or medium sized companies will often
accept the functional or hybrid resume.
Answers to Ads
My experiences suggest that you forget the resume. Send
a targeted letter.
Interviewing with Hiring Authorities
The hybrid or functional resume will often be the best choice. When exploring new possibilities, you must do several resumes according to your job objective.
Multi-Page Resumes
The important thing to remember about a two or more page resume is that the accomplishments are always listed on the front page. There may be a time when you will write a functional resume and want to attach a page with a chronological listing as addenda to the first page or even to a letter. |
