Episode 125 Introduction to Resume Writing How to Create an Appealing Resume

Welcome to Alanis Business Academy.
I'm Matt Alanis and this is Introduction to
Resume Writing.
A resume is a staple in the job search process.
Unfortunately many fail to put in the time
to present themselves professionally and obtain
that coveted interview.
Although a resume won't guarantee your chances
of landing a job, a resume that is lacking
will almost insure your chances in not moving
forward in the hiring process.
As someone who has looked through hundreds,
if not thousands, of resumes I can say confidently
that a resume can help you stand out from
other applicants and put on the track to an
interview.
After all, a resume may be the first thing
an employer sees and you want them to develop
a positive opinion of you.
The first thing that you need to decide is
whether you will use a chronological resume,
functional resume, or combination of the two.
A chronological resume focuses on an applicant's
education and experience.
This is by far the most common type of resume
and is meant to provide an employer with a
snapshot of your employment history.
Employers tend to prefer this type of resume
since it helps them identify any gaps in employment
and is very easy to follow.
The second type of resume is known as a functional
resume.
A functional resume focuses on skills or qualifications
as opposed to places of employment.
This type of resume is typically organized
by skill, and is often used to not draw a
giant red flag to gaps in employment.
However, this type of resume may also work
well for someone who wants to downplay their
past employers and actual job titles in the
hopes of transitioning to a different career
path.
The last type of resume, often referred to
as a chrono-functional resume, incorporates
both education and experience requirements
along with a focus on skills or qualifications.
This help satisfy employer requirements while
also allowing an applicant the opportunity
to highlight several important skills.
In this video we are going to focus on developing
a chrono-functional resume.
To the left side of your screen you likely
already noticed a template similar to those
generated by many types of word processing
software.
Although templates are great to start with,
I recommend altering your resume so that it
stands out.
Put yourself in the position of the applicant
screener or manager looking through a pile
of resumes.
You don't need to get too flashy, but differentiating
your resume in some way can help you stand
out so at least it gets a second look.
Unfortunately the best resume layout in the
world will not make up for a lack of content,
so that is going to be our focus.
So lets go through this resume section by
section and discuss some different things
you can do to enhance your own resume.\
\
The first section includes your contact information.
This is very straightforward.
The only thing I'll mention is that you want
to have a professional appearing email address
to display on your resume.
Lets go ahead and set aside your own unique
individuality and desire to express yourself
for just a few moments and get an email address
other than that own you picked out on the
eighth grade.
You certainly don't want the employer getting
the wrong idea.
The next section that we commonly see on resumes
is an objective.
To be honest, I'm not the biggest advocate
for an objective section.
The reason is that many objectives that I
have seen don't tell me really anything new.
For example, writing to obtain a position
in sales doesn't add a great deal of value
since your application expresses your desire
to obtain a position in sales.
Now before you feel bad about yourself know
that I was once guilty of the same thing.
The second reason I dislike an objective section
is that they are largely redundant.
Since I recommend that everyone drafts a cover
letter tailored to the employer, an objective
states nothing new.
In a cover letter an applicant will express
how they heard about the job, the reason they
are applying, and why the believe they are
a good fit for the job.
So including a watered down version of this
in your resume does nothing more than waste
valuable space.
The way you want to look at your resume is
like a piece of real estate.
The most valuable space is located at the
top of the resume since this has the highest
probability of being seen by an employer.
As you go down the resume the chances of that
information being seen go down significantly.
So in addition to placing the most important
and relevant information towards the top,
you do want to avoid filling it with information
that does not provide value.
The next section we have here is labeled experience.
This is where an applicant lists in reverse
chronological order the jobs that they have
held.
Employers commonly want to see names of employers,
dates of employment, and the position that
you held as well.
Since a job title does not necessary help
explain what you did on the job, you may want
to list the tasks, duties, and responsibilities
of your position as well.
When doing this, try to stay away from things
that are obvious.
For example, if you worked as a cashier don't
list that you rung up transactions at a cash
register.
Although this is accurate, you are not telling
the employer anything that can't be assumed
based upon your position.
Instead, focus on transferrable skills as
well as other responsibilities that can not
be assumed based upon your job title.
Maybe you pioneered a new customer service
initiative, developed a new process for tracking
inventory, or received some type of award
that highlights your work ethic.
Whatever you list, make sure there is a specific
reason that it is going on the page beyond
simply filling in empty space.
The next section we have listed is education.
Like experience, an applicant's education
is also listed in reverse chronological order.
In addition to listing the institution and
your degree, it is also a good practice to
list your grade point average.
The reason is that a high G.P.A. sends the
message that your conscientious, which is
a very desirable quality in an applicant.
If your G.P.A. is less than stellar you may
want to omit it just in case it works against
you.
The last thing that I recommend is to list
any awards, accomplishments, or professional
societies that you were a part of.
These can listed in bullet form under the
institution and can help set you apart from
other applicants.
The last section in our example resume is
a skills section.
This section is a common feature in a functional
resume.
By including a skills section an applicant
has the opportunity to highlight relevant
skills.
What this means is that the skills you list
should be important to the position that you
are applying for.
Once again, you want to focus on transferrable
skills, meaning skills that are important
regardless of occupation.
These can be listed in bullet or paragraph
form depending upon your preference.
Bullets tend to make it easier for the reader
to digest the information so certainly keep
that in mind when crafting your own resume.
One last thing about resumes is that you should
feel the freedom to change the order in which
each section appears.
For example, on my resume I list a skills
section first that highlights transferrable
skills as well as skills targeted towards
specific occupations.
After that section I list my work experience
in education since that is my area of interest,
followed by my education.
But you could list your education prior to
your work experience if your educational background
is more important to the job.
This is common for recent college graduates
who may not have a great deal of comparable
work experience.
If you are applying for a finance job at a
bank, chances are your bachelor's degree in
business administration with an emphasis in
finance is more relevant than your job at
the local fast food chain.
This has been Introduction to Resume Writing.
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