A curriculum vitae should market you
May 02, 2010
A RESUME or curiculum vitae (CV) is meant to market and sell your background, skills, accomplishments, and experience to those who have a need for your expertise or a problem that you can solve. Its role is to create interest, show that you indeed have the requisite skills and experience, and to get
Paula Kyabaggu Mukama
A RESUME or curiculum vitae (CV) is meant to market and sell your background, skills, accomplishments, and experience to those who have a need for your expertise or a problem that you can solve. Its role is to create interest, show that you indeed have the requisite skills and experience, and to get a hiring manager interested enough to invite you for an interview.
Your resume is one of your most important marketing tools. Remember, no matter how great it is, your resume will NOT get you a job. However, if it is written properly, the odds are much greater that you may gain a recruiter’s interest and be invited for that interview.
The following tips can help you write a resume that can attract the attention of recruiters immediately.
Make them short. Your resume should, at most, be four to five pages long. Condense and write your most important information on two pages.
Recruiters have lots of resumes to go through, so they might not have time to read a lengthy resume. Published professionals like doctors, academicians, who often need a few more pages to list their credentials and published works, can be an exception. But they should also keep it as short as possible. Have someone whose opinion you trust to proof-read your resume and edit where necessary before sending it out.
Choose an appropriate format. The best and easiest resume format to review is chronological - starting with most recent job and date, and working backwards through your job history. If the top-half of your resume does not quickly differentiate and sell you as a viable candidate with recent and relevant skills and experience for the specific job for which you are applying, the recruiter will simply move on to the next one.
Create a brief summary at the top of the front page of your resume that highlights your most compelling skills, experience, accomplishments, training and education. This summary should be located somewhere within the very top section of the resume, close to your name and contact information. The reader should be able to quickly scan the summary section and determine at a glance that your resume is worth reading to the end.
Focus on your most recent and relevant job information. Recruiters want to know what you have done most recently that is relevant to the position for which they are hiring. Write the bulk of your resume information about your skills, experience and accomplishments for the most recent five to seven years of your job history. Beyond seven to 10 years of job history, just list one or two lines for each position held. Save the rest of the details of those positions for the application form and interviews.
Place your key certifications, and educational experience sections in a conspicuous place. A bachelor’s degree should typically be located near the end of the resume under the educational section heading. If you have a job-related advanced degree like an MBA, PhD, or other certifications that you want to make sure a recruiter sees, place them at the top front section of your resume, right before or after the summary section. Why? If you bury them at the end of your resume, they may never be seen.
List Organizations, Associations and Affiliations of which you are a volunteer or member. Often overlooked, this information can be a great way to show an employer that you stay current with information and contacts in your industry. If you volunteer for positions, especially leadership roles, be sure to list those as well. This information is especially important for those applying for roles in financial services and sales and marketing firms who need to show that they already have an established network. Place this section of information near the end of your resume.
Always tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth on your resume. Never, ever misrepresent what you did or be tempted to tell a "little white lie" on your resume or to a recruiter! Be especially careful with job titles and job responsibilities you list. Make sure that the job title and responsibilities you put on your resume can actually be verified if someone were to call your current or former employer or colleagues and ask about you. Untrue and misrepresented statements, no matter how innocent they may seem, are a breach of integrity and can come back to haunt you many years later. You could even be fired as a consequence! It just isn't worth it.
A RESUME or curiculum vitae (CV) is meant to market and sell your background, skills, accomplishments, and experience to those who have a need for your expertise or a problem that you can solve. Its role is to create interest, show that you indeed have the requisite skills and experience, and to get a hiring manager interested enough to invite you for an interview.
Your resume is one of your most important marketing tools. Remember, no matter how great it is, your resume will NOT get you a job. However, if it is written properly, the odds are much greater that you may gain a recruiter’s interest and be invited for that interview.
The following tips can help you write a resume that can attract the attention of recruiters immediately.
Make them short. Your resume should, at most, be four to five pages long. Condense and write your most important information on two pages.
Recruiters have lots of resumes to go through, so they might not have time to read a lengthy resume. Published professionals like doctors, academicians, who often need a few more pages to list their credentials and published works, can be an exception. But they should also keep it as short as possible. Have someone whose opinion you trust to proof-read your resume and edit where necessary before sending it out.
Choose an appropriate format. The best and easiest resume format to review is chronological - starting with most recent job and date, and working backwards through your job history. If the top-half of your resume does not quickly differentiate and sell you as a viable candidate with recent and relevant skills and experience for the specific job for which you are applying, the recruiter will simply move on to the next one.
Create a brief summary at the top of the front page of your resume that highlights your most compelling skills, experience, accomplishments, training and education. This summary should be located somewhere within the very top section of the resume, close to your name and contact information. The reader should be able to quickly scan the summary section and determine at a glance that your resume is worth reading to the end.
Focus on your most recent and relevant job information. Recruiters want to know what you have done most recently that is relevant to the position for which they are hiring. Write the bulk of your resume information about your skills, experience and accomplishments for the most recent five to seven years of your job history. Beyond seven to 10 years of job history, just list one or two lines for each position held. Save the rest of the details of those positions for the application form and interviews.
Place your key certifications, and educational experience sections in a conspicuous place. A bachelor’s degree should typically be located near the end of the resume under the educational section heading. If you have a job-related advanced degree like an MBA, PhD, or other certifications that you want to make sure a recruiter sees, place them at the top front section of your resume, right before or after the summary section. Why? If you bury them at the end of your resume, they may never be seen.
List Organizations, Associations and Affiliations of which you are a volunteer or member. Often overlooked, this information can be a great way to show an employer that you stay current with information and contacts in your industry. If you volunteer for positions, especially leadership roles, be sure to list those as well. This information is especially important for those applying for roles in financial services and sales and marketing firms who need to show that they already have an established network. Place this section of information near the end of your resume.
Always tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth on your resume. Never, ever misrepresent what you did or be tempted to tell a "little white lie" on your resume or to a recruiter! Be especially careful with job titles and job responsibilities you list. Make sure that the job title and responsibilities you put on your resume can actually be verified if someone were to call your current or former employer or colleagues and ask about you. Untrue and misrepresented statements, no matter how innocent they may seem, are a breach of integrity and can come back to haunt you many years later. You could even be fired as a consequence! It just isn't worth it.