Best resume creator?

Magus`

I've been looking for work for a long time and realized I haven't updated my resume in awhile. Now, since you apparently need a resume for anything more than a fry cook position (when did this start?) I find I need to update it.

Bigger issue: I haven't had full time work in years. How can I make a resume that doesn't imply I've just been sitting on my ass for these years? I'd like to thing everyone knows the economy sucks right now, but hell, I don't know if that'll be enough.

Thanks in advance!

Esh

Microsoft Word generally has some nice templates.

Magus`

I don't have Word. Would Open Office have something similar?

(I'm broke)

Esh

Magus` wrote:

I don't have Word. Would Open Office have something similar?

(I'm broke)

Honestly, no idea.

Demerdar

I would shy away from templates. Make a resume that makes sense for your skill set and work experience.

Esh

Demerdar wrote:

I would shy away from templates. Make a resume that makes sense for your skill set and work experience.

There are multiple templates for multiple jobs. They're pretty effective. I'm pretty sure Word has 100's of possibilities.

Magus`

Sadly my work experience in my field is effectively zero. Wasn't able to find work when I graduated and haven't sense.

It's horrible.

MichaelLC

Yes OO, or the better LibreOffice, has a bunch of templates. Make sure you check the final product on a Mac and a Windows machine, as I had some issues with tables coming out weird. PDF is always a good option, or honestly most places have you send a .txt.

As for your experience, really depends on what you have been doing - you can make any job experience sound realativly good, but if it's really just sitting around, there's not much to do but tackle it head on.

Magus`

My degree is in criminal justice and all my work has basically been in retail (it's all that was ever available).

I'll look into LibreOffice, thanks!

TychoCelchuuu

Google Docs has some nice templates, which is what I ended up using. I copied and pasted it into Microsoft Word almost immediately, but you could just keep it as a Google Doc and print it out to PDF whenever you give it out electronically.

Forbe!

On what MichaelLC said, save it as a PDF/txt file. I would say most places are able to accept PDF format, and you won't have problems with formatting/tables coming out strange on the receiving end.

BoomShake

I actually found a lot of places that required a .doc . I have no idea why. Just make sure that if and when you export it to .doc, the formatting doesn't explode.

Skoal Cat

Read some articles on how to write a resume, write a resume, post it here, then we'll help!

Magus`

Will do. I'll get started on it soon!

Forbe!

BoomShake wrote:

I actually found a lot of places that required a .doc . I have no idea why. Just make sure that if and when you export it to .doc, the formatting doesn't explode.

Never really ran into that issue. Depending on what you're applying through, email, website with a resume uploader, 90% of the time they've accepted PDF, and with in the last 10 months I have sent out roughly 300 digital copies of my resume.

MichaelLC

I've seen all types too.

The ones I loved were the companies that had you upload it, paste it into a .txt file, and sometimes just for shits, had you fill out a form too. Definitely have at least two good versions.

What type of retail? Were you doing new hire training, or other office tasks? Were you managing/supervising people? Take a crack and we'll be glad to abuse it you review it.

Magus`

Nah, just cashier jockey of sorts. I did help with manager duties 'unofficially' since there was a lot of turn over in that position.

A lot.

MichaelLC

So who showed the new people what to do? 'Unofficial' is OK too. Future employers don't have to know.

Just try to think of what would be above & beyond the regular duties of a cashier, and write it in a way that sounds like you're big man on dog campus.

Aldo

One thing to think about is if you did anything interesting with the time you did not spend working. Volunteering? Personal research? Exciting hobby? Working second jobs? You'll have to make sure your resume won't read "So I finished my degree, wasn't good enough to get a job and spent the rest of my twenties sitting on my ass playing vidjagames and watching porn"

Also, make sure you drop by Job Thread in SE++, they're great for all kinds of advice and insights.