Ch. 13: Building Careers and Writing Resumes

Composing Your Resume

Use short, crisp phrases instead of whole sentences, and focus on what your reader needs to know. Avoid using the word I, and instead start your phrases with strong action verbs.

Areas of Concern

frequent job changes gaps in work history inexperience over-qualification long-term employment with one company job termination for cause criminal record.

Adapt Your Resume

use the same terminology as the employer uses to describe job responsibilities and professional accomplishments.

Start Now (Job-Search Guidelines)

A job-search guideline that states that now is not too early to get started with some of the essential research and planning tasks.

Stepping-Stone Opportunities (Job-Search Guidelines)

A job-search guideline that states that you might need to take a job that doesn't meet your expectations while you keep looking to get on the right track. But view every job as an opportunity to learn workplace skills, observe effective and ineffective business practices, and fine-tune your sense of how you'd to spend your career.

Get Organized (Job-Search Guidelines)

A job-search guideline that states that you need to keep all the details straight to ensure that you don't miss opportunities or make mistakes such as losing someone's email address or forgetting an appointment.

Quality of Hire

A measure of how closely new employees meet the company's needs.

Scannable Resume

A type of printed resume that is specially formatted to be compatible with optical scanning systems that convert printed documents to electronic text. It should always include a keyword summary, and it should be formatted in a simpler fashion that avoids underlining, special characters, and other elements that can confuse the scanning system.

The Riley Guide

A website that offers advice for online job searches as well as links to hundreds of specialized websites that post openings in specific industries and professions.

Solution for Each Employer

An essential task in your job search is presenting your skills and accomplishments in a way that is relevant to the employer's business challenges.

Resume Length

As a general guideline, if you have fewer than five years of professional experience, keep your conventional resume to one page.

Job Termination (Suggestions)

Be honest with interviewers and address their concerns with proof, such as recommendations and examples of completed projects.

Personal Data

Do not include any personal data such as age, marital status, physical description, gender, sexual orientation, religious or political affiliations, race, national origin, salary history, reasons for leaving jobs, names of previous supervisors, names of references, or student ID number.

Find Opportunities

Don't hesitate to contact interesting companies even if they haven't advertised job openings to the public yet-they might be looking for somebody just like you.

Avoiding Mistakes

Don't let a silly mistake knock you out of contention for a great job. Such as not catching mistakes in your resume, showing up late to an interview, tweeting something unprofessional, and not censoring social media posts.

Design Strategy for Resume

Don't pick a resume style just because it's trendy or different; make sure it works for your specific needs. Also, with any resume design, make sure that readers can find essential information in a matter of seconds.

Job-Search Guidelines

Get organized, start now and stick to it, and look for stepping-stone opportunities.

Career Objective (Introductory Statement)

Identifies either a specific job you want to land or a general career track you would like to pursue.

Writing Your Resume

If you're uncomfortable writing your own resume, you might try to trade with a classmate and write each other's resume.

Frequent Job Changes (Suggestions)

If you've had a number of short-term jobs of a similar type, such as independent contracting and temporary assignments, you can group them under a single heading. Also, if past job positions were eliminated as a result of layoffs or mergers, find a subtle way to convey that information.

Keyword Searches

Include relevant keywords in your introductory statement, work history, and education sections because the majority of resumes are now subjected to keyword searches, in which a recruiter searches for resumers most likely to match the requirements of a particular job.

Completing Your Resume

Involves revising resume for optimum quality, producing it in the various forms and media you'll need, and proofreading it for any errors before distributing it or publishing it online.

Photos in Resume

It is advised to avoid photos, and the reason is that seeing visual cues of the age, ethnicity, and gender of candidates early in the selection process exposes employers to complaints of discriminatory hiring practices.

Plain-Text File Resume

It is an electronic version of your resume that has no font formatting, no bullet symbols, no colors, no lines or boxes, and no other special formatting. It can be used in two ways: you can include it in the body of an email message, and you can copy and paste the sections into the application forms on an employer's website.

Networking

It is the process of making informal connections with mutually beneficial business contacts.

Long-term Employment (Suggestions)

Itemize each position held at the firm to show growth within the organization and increasing responsibilities along the way.

Distributing Your Resume

Mailing printed resume- take care with the packaging Emailing your resume Submitting your resume to an employer's website Posting your resume on job websites.

Inexperience (Suggestions)

Mention related volunteer work and membership in professional groups. List relevant coursework and internships.

Gaps in Work History (Suggestions)

Mention relevant experience and education you gained during employment gaps, such as volunteer or community work.

Career Summary (Introductory Statement)

Offers a brief recap of your career with the goal of presenting increasing levels of responsibility and performance.

Qualifications Summary (Introductory Statement)

Offers a brief view of your key qualifications. The goal is to let a reader know within a few seconds what you can deliver.

Introductory Statement

Open with a career objective qualifications summary career summary.

References

Prepare a list of references but don't list them on your resume. Prepare your reference sheet with your name and contact information at the top. List three or four people who have agreed to serve as references. Include each person's name, job title, organization, address, telephone number, email address (if reference prefers to be contacted by email), and the nature of your relationship.

Resume Formats

Printed traditional resume, Printed scannable resume, Electronic plain-text file, Microsoft Word file, Online resume, and PDF file.

Revising Your Resume

Remember that the fundamental purpose of the resume - to get you an interview, not to get you a job. So revise your resume until it is as short and clear as possible.

Combination Resume

Skills focus of the functional formal are mixed with the job history focus of the chronological format. Allows you to highlight your capabilities and education when you don't have a long or steady employment history, without raising concerns that you might be hiding something about your past.

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

The term used instead of resume in academic professions and in many countries outside the United States. They are essentially the same as resumes, although CV's can be much more detailed and include personal information that is not included in a resume.

Job Openings

The vast majority are never advertised to the general public. So to avoid the time and expense of sifting through applications and the risk of hiring complete strangers, most companies prefer to ask their employees for recommendations first.

Activities and Achievements

This optimal section can be used to highlight activities and achievements outside of a work or educational context. Include personal accomplishments only if they suggest special skills or qualities that are relevant to the job you're seeking.

Infographic Resume

This type of resume attempts to convey a person's career development and skill set graphically through a visual metaphor such as a timeline or subway map or as a poster with an array of individual elements.

Video Resume

This type of resume can be a compelling supplement, but be aware that some employment law experts advise employers not to view videos, at least until after candidates have been evaluated solely on their credentials. However, not all companies share this concern over videos, so you'll have to research their individual preferences.

Over-qualification (Suggestions)

Tone down your resume, focusing exclusively on the experience and skills that relate to the position.

Networking Etiquette

Try to learn something about the people you want to connect with, don't overwhelm others with too many messages or requests, be succinct in all your communication efforts, don't give out other people's names and contact information without their permission, never email your resume to complete strangers, and remember to say thank you every time someone helps you.

Traditional Printed Resume

When printing a resume, choose a heavier, higher-quality paper designed specifically for resumes and other important documents. White or slightly off-white is the best color choice. Avoid papers with borders or backgrounds.

Work Experience, Skills, and Accomplishments

When you describe past job responsibilities, identify the skills and knowledge that you can apply to a future job. Also, devote the most space to jobs that are related to your target position.

Chronological Resume

Work experience section dominates and is placed immediately after your contact information and introductory statement Most common way to organize a resume, and many employers prefer this format because it presents your professional history in a clear, easy-to-follow arrangement.

Story of You

Writing your story, like the things you are passionate about or your skills, is a valuable planning exercise that helps you think about where you want to go and how to present yourself to target employers.

Criminal Record (Suggestions)

You don't need to necessarily disclose a criminal record or time spent incarcerated on your resume, but you may be asked about it on job application forms. Use the interview process to explain any mitigating circumstances and to emphasize your rehabilitation and commitment to being a law-abiding, trustworthy employee.

Creating Online Resume

You have many options for creating an online resume, from college-bound e-portfolios to multimedia resumes on commercial websites, like LinkedIn.

Name and Contact Information

Your name and contact information constitute the heading of your resume; Name Address Email address Phone numbers URL of your personal webpage, e-portfolio, or social media resume (if you have one).

Proofreading Your Resume

Your resume can't be "pretty good" or "almost perfect"--it needs to be perfect, so proofread it thoroughly and ask several other people to verify it, too.

Resume

a brief, persuasive business message intended to stimulate an employer's interest in meeting you and learning more about you purpose--> get you an interview not a job

Functional Resume (skills resume)

emphasizes your skills and capabilities, identifying employers and academic experience in subordinate sections. Many employers are suspicious of this format because it can obscure your work history.

education

strongest selling point . present your educational background in depth, choosing facts that support your professional theme list name and location of each school you've attended, month and year of graduation. major and minor fields of study, significant skills and abilities you've developed in your coursework degrees and certificates you've earned