Resume Tips!

[Resume Tips - Part 2]

Overview

A resume is, maybe, only 10% of the total marketing/hiring process, but at the beginning, it may be the only thing you have! Take it very seriously!
Your resume is, first and foremost, a marketing document. It is not your work history. Your goal is to present yourself to the reader, such that they will see how you can help their company. Keep this as your baseline theme throughout the resume development process.
Your resume is never done. It is a work-in-progress. You need to fine-tune it on a regular basis.
Your resume is not a static document. You may need a slightly different version for each prospective company so you can emphasize your strengths, as needed.
Regarding paper color, the most traditional is a white or off-white (cream color), heavier-than-usual paper. Textured paper, paper with a watermark, pastel colors, all can work. The goal is to set yourself apart, but regardless, keep a professional "look".
Leave lots of "white space" around the edges and throughout your resume. No less than a 1" margin is mandatory - up to 1.5". It is better to go two pages than to have a crowded, difficult to read, one-page resume.
And, regarding the debate over how many pages is appropriate, don't let anyone tell you that more than one page is unacceptable. If you can reasonably get all the important stuff on one page, that's great, but it isn't a crime if you don't. Either way, you shouldn't go beyond two pages.
More and more companies are accepting (and sometimes requiring) an electronic version or a resume. If this is the case, paper color, etc. don't matter. What you say does matter -- the issue then is your use of KEYWORDS.
Keywords are those words specific to the position you seek. Most likely, these will be in your resume anyway, but it is a good idea to make sure that any industry-specific verbiage you may be aware of is in your resume. Some companies use computer software that searches resumes that have been scanned into a database. This software looks for specific keywords so if your resume has them, you make the cut. But, if it doesn't....... In this instance, it doesn't matter how qualified you may be. Be sure to get those keywords in your resume!
Be sure to say the most important things at the beginning. You must grab the reader's attention within the first two or three inches (15-30 seconds) of page space. If you don't, you may lose them.
If your strong point is your education, put it first. If your strong point is your general accomplishments or awards and it is relevant to the position you seek, put it first. If your strength is your employment, put that first.
Be consistent in your use of numbers. Although there may be exceptions, a good rule of thumb is, if the number is less than 100, use the word - otherwise, use the number.
Use a consistent date format. Don't switch back and forth between 1/1/1999 and 1-1-1999 and Jan. 1, 1999.

Objective vs. Summary

Many people advocate the use of the "Objective" section at the beginning of the resume. The FacilitatorGuy approach uses, instead, a "Summary". An "Objective" states the obvious. You want a particular job or to be part of a particular company or industry - something that can be stated in your cover letter, etc. Rather than wasting your precious resume space in this way, use a "Summary".
A "Summary" describes you - who you are, your strengths - what you do. Think about this...write your thoughts down and come up with two or three sentences that describe you.

Experience

For each employer in your career, think about those things you did that helped the company, saved the company money, made a process more efficient, etc.
Use active verbiage in your resume. Say "directed" or "managed" instead of "was responsible for".
Instead of saying "saved the company money", think of a specific thing you did to reduce costs or make things more efficient. If you came up with a program to reduce overtime, for example, think of how many hours times the number of employees times the number of occurrences or days. You will end up with a tangible dollar amount. This may only be an estimate or projection, but it at least shows that you put some thought into it and can back up your statements!
Spend more time on your more applicable work experiences and less time on your less applicable ones. You don't have to do a "memory dump" on everything you ever did. This wastes time and space on your resume.
Let your first "bullet" be the typical "job description" section and let each subsequent bullet describe specific contributions you made or significant projects you worked on.

Management/Team-building Philosophy

This is a section you may never have seen on a resume and that may be just the reason it works so well. Almost no one ever talks about the intangibles, their personality, work ethic, motivational style, attitude, etc.
You don't have to ever have managed anyone to have a philosophy (and you can take the "team-building" approach if it makes more sense to you).

Awards

In this section, include nominations received for awards as well. Also, if you were selected to participate in a special organization, include that as well.

Education

Expand on those areas of education that are relevant to the position, but include them all.
Some say only include your GPA if the average is better than 3.0. Following that reasoning, if you include them for some education and not for others, what message are you sending. Except for graduating college students with a real strong GPA and no work experience, etc., it is best just to leave the GPA out altogether.

Personal Development

Use this section for self-improvement courses taken, technical training, etc. Briefly describe those items that may not be easily understood by the reader.

References

Just like the "Objective" section, it is assumed that you have references. The oft-used phrase, "references available upon request" is a given and just wastes space. If you are short on space, you are just as well served to balance your items over the document or try to expand a section.