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Resume Writing! (and coverletters)
Orestes
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
How to write a resume.
After reading my fair share of resumes, and writing a fair share of resumes for jobs, I've felt it appropriate to write a guide on some do's and don't of resume writing.
-FORMAT FORMAT FORMAT. If your resume is sloppy, ugly, standoffish, etc, you may as well not apply. If you must, go and look at some Word Templates, they're actually decent! But if you're to use a word template, make sure to make it your own, make it unique to you. Don't just take their headings and fill them in, OWN that template, make it your own! But again don't be standoffish or showboaty.
- Your resume should be formatted to your paticular job. Sure it might be neat with a pamphlet style resume, but if you're applying to a job that has no need for creativity, or just wants another lackey (grocery stores, supermarkets, gas stations, fast food joints, restruants, etc), don't bother.
- A resume is suppose to be a summary of WHY you're qualified for THAT PATICULAR JOB, don't put useless information on a resume for a job that will obviously not care. If you're applying at a grocery store, don't tell them about your hobby of potting plants. This will more often then not, hinder, and not help. Essentially, if you look at your resume and you're applying for a job as an Engineer or Doctor, but your resume can be used as a cab driver; you're doing something wrong.
- Keep it short, but explain things. A typical resume is about 2 pages long; longer and the employeer will be tired of reading it. However, explain things.
If you have on your resume "Good at time management" write down WHY you're good at time management "Good at time management (as shown by my ability to do....)". If you have a point on your resume, make sure you can tell the employeer WHY it's on there
- A short side-note on the above two points. If your resume is longer than two pages, here are some tips on cutting down the size. If you have many things under a heading like "Education" choose the most recent. If you have an undergraduate degree, get rid of the "I graduated from highschool!". Following the same logic applys for many headings, if something implies the other, get rid of it.
- ONLY USE SANS SERiF FONTS, serifed fonts have the neat little property of having these little flairs on the bottom and top of the letters creating a type of guide for the reader to follow. This works EXCELLENT online, in documents, texts, novels, etc. But it has the opposite effect on point form, short sentances (I.E your resume!, or powerpoints, etc).
Now some people might be wondering "he just said only use sans serif fonts, but then said never to use serf fonts"!, yes I did, however sans serif means without serifs.
- If it's important BOLD IT, it makes your resume significantly more obvious and noticeable in a pile of resumes, but it keeps it from being showoffy. It also allows the reader to jump from important point to important point. However, if you have something BOLDED be sure you're able to back it up with as I said before examples, as well, be sure to be able to defend it in an interview.
- IF YOU DON'T KNOW IT, DON'T PUT IT DOWN. I know people who have on their resumes "fluent in C#", or "able to converse in French", when in reality they have a poor grasp on both. I also know the exact same amount of people who have been to an interview, that has started in French, or has been handed sheets of C# code and asked to decrypt it. Needless to say, they didn't get the jobs. If you're applying to a technical job (Engineer, Programmer, Technologist, etc), make sure you can indeed do everything on your resume, and be sure to be able to defend it.
- Make sure you've spelled things write, I've read resumes where they mispelled the town they live in.
- If you have "References availible on request" you better damn well have them handy. Also, character references are just as important as technical references.
COVERLETTERS
- Coverletters are a short way to introduce yourself, make yourself stand out. But they're also a UNIQUE summery of yourself.
- NEVER use a coverletter template, these things are UNIQUE to you, style and all. However, if you need a very rough way to format your coverletter, go ahead and peek online.
- Point form on a coverletter is risky, it's a quick nice way to summerize your skills, but it might also show laziness.
- Again, if you can read your coverletter applying to a job as an Engineer, Doctor, etc. and it can be used for a job in a janitorial service, you done fucked up!
After reading my fair share of resumes, and writing a fair share of resumes for jobs, I've felt it appropriate to write a guide on some do's and don't of resume writing.
-FORMAT FORMAT FORMAT. If your resume is sloppy, ugly, standoffish, etc, you may as well not apply. If you must, go and look at some Word Templates, they're actually decent! But if you're to use a word template, make sure to make it your own, make it unique to you. Don't just take their headings and fill them in, OWN that template, make it your own! But again don't be standoffish or showboaty.
- Your resume should be formatted to your paticular job. Sure it might be neat with a pamphlet style resume, but if you're applying to a job that has no need for creativity, or just wants another lackey (grocery stores, supermarkets, gas stations, fast food joints, restruants, etc), don't bother.
- A resume is suppose to be a summary of WHY you're qualified for THAT PATICULAR JOB, don't put useless information on a resume for a job that will obviously not care. If you're applying at a grocery store, don't tell them about your hobby of potting plants. This will more often then not, hinder, and not help. Essentially, if you look at your resume and you're applying for a job as an Engineer or Doctor, but your resume can be used as a cab driver; you're doing something wrong.
- Keep it short, but explain things. A typical resume is about 2 pages long; longer and the employeer will be tired of reading it. However, explain things.
If you have on your resume "Good at time management" write down WHY you're good at time management "Good at time management (as shown by my ability to do....)". If you have a point on your resume, make sure you can tell the employeer WHY it's on there
- A short side-note on the above two points. If your resume is longer than two pages, here are some tips on cutting down the size. If you have many things under a heading like "Education" choose the most recent. If you have an undergraduate degree, get rid of the "I graduated from highschool!". Following the same logic applys for many headings, if something implies the other, get rid of it.
- ONLY USE SANS SERiF FONTS, serifed fonts have the neat little property of having these little flairs on the bottom and top of the letters creating a type of guide for the reader to follow. This works EXCELLENT online, in documents, texts, novels, etc. But it has the opposite effect on point form, short sentances (I.E your resume!, or powerpoints, etc).
Now some people might be wondering "he just said only use sans serif fonts, but then said never to use serf fonts"!, yes I did, however sans serif means without serifs.
- If it's important BOLD IT, it makes your resume significantly more obvious and noticeable in a pile of resumes, but it keeps it from being showoffy. It also allows the reader to jump from important point to important point. However, if you have something BOLDED be sure you're able to back it up with as I said before examples, as well, be sure to be able to defend it in an interview.
- IF YOU DON'T KNOW IT, DON'T PUT IT DOWN. I know people who have on their resumes "fluent in C#", or "able to converse in French", when in reality they have a poor grasp on both. I also know the exact same amount of people who have been to an interview, that has started in French, or has been handed sheets of C# code and asked to decrypt it. Needless to say, they didn't get the jobs. If you're applying to a technical job (Engineer, Programmer, Technologist, etc), make sure you can indeed do everything on your resume, and be sure to be able to defend it.
- Make sure you've spelled things write, I've read resumes where they mispelled the town they live in.
- If you have "References availible on request" you better damn well have them handy. Also, character references are just as important as technical references.
COVERLETTERS
- Coverletters are a short way to introduce yourself, make yourself stand out. But they're also a UNIQUE summery of yourself.
- NEVER use a coverletter template, these things are UNIQUE to you, style and all. However, if you need a very rough way to format your coverletter, go ahead and peek online.
- Point form on a coverletter is risky, it's a quick nice way to summerize your skills, but it might also show laziness.
- Again, if you can read your coverletter applying to a job as an Engineer, Doctor, etc. and it can be used for a job in a janitorial service, you done fucked up!
Orestes on
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This discussion has been closed.
Posts
In addition, resumes should only be one page long, always.
These are the things that I know.
This is also what I've been told. Any other input?
It varies by field. In my line of work, it's common to have one page for each degree you hold.
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
If I were to apply for a bank job, I could never hand this in! My advice is know your field and what you can get away with, find a way to stand out. There is no wrong or right, think outside the box (or outside the MS Word template) and you'll be sure to stand out.
Yeah, as you see I put in examples or what to/not to do in most of my points. I like sarcasm!
Yes I did, that was unintentional on my part
Eh, like it's been said, varies from place to place, as well as with what kind of job you're applying for. If your can't cram all your relevent projects, education, etc into one page don't. I never found it bad to have two pages, but I have found it bad to go over two pages.
Like I said, make sure your resume is formatted to that paticular job.
As well as the Sans Serifed fonts. I don't know about everyone else, but from all the employeers I've talked to, they hate Serifed fonts. But that might be paticular to my field.
Exactly, like I said, know who you're applying to, and create your resume appropriately. If you're applying for a specific job, (like a graphics designer) and your resume works equally as well as for a job in pumping gas. You did something wrong.