| One of
the most often used tools in the job search is the resume. While
a great resume can work to your advantage by highlighting your talents
and experience and helping you get your foot in the door, a poor
resume with grammatical or typographical errors can just as easily
sink your chances of getting to the next step in the employment
process.
Here are some tips, gathered from Keystone recruiters
with years of experience in the employment industry, that may help
you dust off and polish up your information.
- Be Concise but Complete: Many people
try to squeeze their resume onto one page, because they’ve
heard resumes shouldn’t be longer. You may delete impressive
achievements by not being complete in the interest of space. On
the other hand, flowery statements or too many details may lose
a reader in the beginning. When writing your resume, focus on
accomplishments and tasks that help you sell your talents and
that are pertinent to the position.
- There’s No “I” in
Resume: A resume is a formal business communication from you to
a prospective employer. There should be no use of “I”
or “me” in your description of your experience. Instead,
focus on action words to convey your meaning. After all, the whole
thing is about YOU!
- Check Spelling and Punctuation: One
of the more common resume blunders include grammatical, typographical
and spelling errors. Someone who is the manager suddenly becomes
the “manger.” A simple error can land your resume
in the “NO” pile. Proofread and show your resume to
several friends to have them read through the document for errors.
- Focus on Job Duties not Personal Information:
Employers agree that personal information on a resume does not
make an impact on their hiring decisions. Therefore, include your
employment related accomplishments, but edit out personal information
such as photos of yourself, age, height, family status, or hobbies
(unless they contribute to your employment objective.) The exception
to this would be if you are seeking a job outside of the U.S.
where employers are more open to reviewing that type of information.
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