Resume Writing Tips & Free Resume Examples

Answering the following questions to find out the effectiveness of your resume.

1. Did you write with your reader in mind?

______________
Yes
____________
No

The first rule of effective resume construction is to understand the audience that will receive the document and to write to that audience. Whether you are applying for a particular job as vice president of marketing in hi-tech or mailing your resume to recruiters who specialize in senior technology marketing positions, your resume must show that you have the exact skill-set required to be successful in that job, even if you are coming out of business development.

2. Does your resume start with an objective statement?

______________
Yes
____________
No

Most objective statements are the same as saying “I want.” Since employers are more interested in what you offer than what you want, describing the product “you” in terms of a profile or summary of qualifications is the way to go. If you use an objective statement at the top of your resume, it has the potential of being too broad, too narrow, or too self-serving. What you are specifically seeking can be customized and addressed ten times better in a cover letter than across the top of your resume.

3. Have you included a four-to-five sentence summary statement at the top of your resume?

______________
Yes
____________
No

A summary statement can act as a positioning statement. Strong positioning statements will set the tone for the rest of your resume. If the summary positions you incorrectly, your resume becomes a handicap instead of an effective marketing tool.

4. Is your resume too vague?

______________
Yes
____________
No

Far too many resumes fail by making claims that are vague to the point of banality. Examples include: “good interpersonal skills,” “fast learner,” and “conscientious.” If your resume reads like a politician’s stump speech, start over. The above examples are considered “invisible phrases” and should be avoided.

5. Is your resume too short?

______________
Yes
____________
No

Brevity may be the soul of wit, and you won’t win any prizes for droning on-and-on, but you are no longer required to cram your accomplishments onto a single sheet of paper. Excessive editing of a resume tends to cut into muscle; you are left with company names and job titles, but nothing about what you actually did.

6. Did you overstate your personal contributions?

______________
Yes
____________
No

Here are two statements that illustrate the point: “Personally developed a plant expansion plan that improved capacity by 40% within two months.” Few achievements occur without multiple contributors. It doesn’t diminish your role to acknowledge that being a team player is a salable characteristic. I recently read a statement made by a 26-year-old job candidate, which stated: “Spearheaded and oversaw strategic senior executive management team meetings for a $1.2 billion publicly traded company.” Whether true or not, how believable do you think this statement sounds to a resume reader, especially when made by someone who has been in the workforce for only seven years?

7. Does your resume reflect a lack of hard numbers?

______________
Yes
____________
No

Accomplishments need to be quantified whenever possible. Try dollars, ratios, and percentages, but whatever you do, use numbers. The fact is, as long as you are not giving away proprietary information, using hard figures is an excellent way to enhance the credibility of your resume. Hard figures are definitive, objective, and measurable. If your resume doesn’t have them, readers may infer that you didn’t accomplish anything. To enhance the readability of a resume, always use numerals when talking about money. One hundred fifty thousand dollars does not jump off the page like $150,000.

8. Did you mention bonuses and awards?

______________
Yes
____________
No

Creatively show that you have consistently received them, but never list dollar amounts on your resume. List company-wide productivity and quality awards, but not employee of the month awards. The latter is viewed suspiciously unless you have won several times. People like to hire candidates who can give them a significant return on investment and time. Awards and bonuses are third party endorsements that inform potential employers that you will be a good investment.

9. Is your resume results-oriented?

______________
Yes
____________
No

A resume must be results-oriented; it verifies (use numbers to validate whenever possible) the payoff to the organization. Always focus on the result or impact your actions engendered on the organization. Don’t be too general. If you increased productivity, how great was the increase? If you cut costs, tell by how much. A well-stated accomplishment will describe what you did and give a tangible measurement of its result to the company. Readers shouldn’t have to ask how many, how much, or how often.

10. Does your resume reflect a sense of progress and increasing responsibility?

______________
Yes
____________
No

It is a sign of steady growth and increasing ability if past employers have recognized your contributions and promoted you within the organization with some degree of frequency. How high up did you reach in each organization you worked for and how much responsibility did you enjoy before leaving?

11. Did you thoroughly edit and proof your resume?

______________
Yes
____________
No

Ask any novelist or screenwriter and they will say the same thing: a great piece of writing is 10% creation and 90% editing. Expect to rework your resume extensively. Think of it as a living document, continually being polished and “spun” for its next outing. Proof your work obsessively. Get someone else with fresh eyes to proof it too. Use your PC’s spell-checker, but don’t rely on it alone. Almost every resume that contains typos will end up in the trash can because these errors signal sloppiness.

Well, how did you do? If your resume fell short in only one or two areas, then congratulations, your resume is on the right track. You are not likely to be in a job search very long. For those of you that fell short in over two areas … back to the drawing board, as they say.

A few more formatting guidelines to remember: Use an 11-point font to ensure good readability; you don’t want the reader to need a magnifying glass to read your resume. Additionally, don’t expect readers to struggle with 10-15 line paragraphs; substitute two or three shorter paragraphs or use bullets to offset new sentences and sections. Spell out all abbreviations when they first appear. Finally, I repeat, proofread your resume at least three times.

Joe Hodowanes, Career Strategy Advisor
J.M. Wanes & Associates
www.jmwanes.com

Joe Hodowanes, M.P.A., SPHR, is a nationally recognized career coach, syndicated columnist, and president of Tampa-based J.M. Wanes & Associates, www.jmwanes.com. J.M. Wanes & Associates is a career coaching, outplacement, and executive search firm specializing in executive-level opportunities.
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Hard work and dedication are the best job hunting skills, but other hints might help you in your quest. Consider these tips:

• Involve friends and family. They can offer encouragement and assistance in your job search.
• Check job listings in the classified advertising sections of your local newspaper. Your state employment office may also be able to offer some job search assistance.
• Know what you want. Don't accept a job just because someone offered it to you. Find out what you'll have to do once you're hired and make sure that's what you want to do. But don't be too picky. If this is your first job, you can't be the boss the first day. You will have to do what someone asks you to.
• Don't be shy. Contact people and businesses in your area that hire people with your career interests. Ask to speak to someone in the employment office. Find out if they offer special summer programs, internships, or part-time opportunities for people with a desire to work hard. Such employment can be a great way to gain experience while trying out a career to see if it really is what you want to do.
• Devote time to your job search. A thorough job search is hard work. Set aside a couple hours a day for hunting.
• Allow a reasonable amount of time. Don't expect to find a job within a few days or weeks.
• Be organized. Keep a record of all the places to which you applied, the name of the person with whom you spoke, and what response you received.
• Meet with people in your field of interest. They might be able to tell you the best sources of job information or what you need to do before you can get a job.
• Ask people who know you well to write letters of recommendation for you. Ask them to emphasize the skills you have that may seem missing because of a lack of formal experience. The best help is a letter designed to fit a particular position, not a general one that just talks about you separately from a specific job.
• Have a back-up plan. If the first person or company you contact can't help you, try the next one on your list. Continue working to find a job even after you apply. You may need to apply for and even interview for several positions before finding the right one.

When you are writing a cover letter you have to keep in mind that it is an introduction to your resume and you are trying to get the employer to give you a call for an interview. Here are the main things you need to include in a Cover letter.

First off, you need to begin a cover letter with the correct information of the person doing the hiring. This would include their name, specific title, company name and complete address. For example:

April 13,2008

Mr. John Doe

HR manager

Acme Company

123 Happy Street

City, State 90210

Once you have the correct information for the cover letter heading you move into the Greeting of the Cover letter. This part is exactly what it means-a salutation or greeting to the person responsible for making the hiring decision. For Example.

Dear Mr. John Doe:

The first paragraph you write should accomplish two goals: make a connection and grab attention. Here is where you tell the employer where you heard about the open position, by doing so you are making a connection. You are also providing feedback, since they like to know what marketing method worked. For Example.

I am responding to the graphic designer position advertised in the Chicago Tribune.

By the way, this is one of the only times you start off a paragraph with "I" the cover letter is specifically tailored to the reader, so you use "you,""your," and "you're" as much as possible. Next is grabbing the employer's Attention. Not surprisingly, one of the best ways to grab an employer's attention is by complimenting their company. So you try a bit of strategic personal flattery...

I understand your company is a pioneer in the direct mail marketing industry.

Not only are you tooting their horn, you're showing him that you did your homework on the company. The body of the cover letter is where you get downright ruthless...because you're going to convince the employer that you're a perfect fit for their company. In the body you will answer the questions that the employer will have about you.

"Why should I hire You?"

"What makes you stand out from all the rest?"

By answering these questions, you talk about how your strong, related skills qualify you for the position. Keep in mind that you should highlight the skills and capabilities that are most important to the employer. By doing so, the body becomes an interest builder. It induces the employer to look at your resume to learn even more about your qualifications.

Now that you have sold yourself to the employer, you need them to do something about it. The close of the cover letter is where you get the employer to make a call of action. Here is an example.

At your convenience, I look forward to speaking with you early next week. I am available for interviews Monday through Friday between 3:30 and 6:30 p.m.

That's it. Powerful... Simple... and straight to the point.

The appropriate way to end the letter is with a "Sincerely," "Sincerely Yours," or "Yours Truly," Don't sound like you are desperate and don't try to get cute or creative. Well, there you have it That is how you should write a resume cover letter.

By Aseriah Jordan

Its important to keep yourself fresh in the mind of the employers. To do this, you must send follow-up or thank you letters within two days. Always refer to the date and location of the job fair. Try and highlight any part of the conversation that stood out to make it easy for them to remember you. Always include a copy of your resume. You might also want to follow-up with a phone call.

Also its important to re-group after a career fair and evaluate your experience. Try and understand what you did right and what can be improved upon, as this will help you be more productive at the next fair.

Most importantly, just have a very positive attitude. Always have a smile and thank each person you speak to for his/her time. You have something to sell and employers are there to shop around, and vice versa.
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MY Name
1234, 12 Street,
Some, MU 01123,
(123)-456 7890.

Objective

Advertising agent for a developing company.

Summary of Experience

• Opened and retained several million dollar accounts.
• Developed brand positioning for important company product lines.
• Submitted bids and developed proposals.
• Maintained an extensive nationwide network of business contacts.

Major Accounts

Adidas
Irving's Steakhouses
Reader's Outlook

Employment History

Advertising Executive

1999 - Present

Dallas Weekly Publications, Dallas, TX
Performed sales of advertising space to a big group of clients and built content for several famous publications. Provided and monitored constructive suggestions for increasing magazine's standing in the market. Built long-lasting relationships with vital community advertisers, which resulted in amass revenue growth.

Advertising Sales Coordinator

1994 - 1999

Tri Star Media, Austin, TX
Provided support to the sales process by searching out probable and potential business opportunities and staying updated on relevant industry information. Researched product, contact and general information on advertisers. Served as a primary contact for advertising agencies and clients on inquires and requests regarding invoices, schedules, pricing, etc. Managed customer account database and maintained client contracts and files. Interacted with multiple departments including Credit, Production, Marketing and Accounting. Also successfully conducted ongoing monitoring of competitor's brands. Managed territory forecasting, revenue, and prospect reports. Monitored, tracked and managed positioning reports. Maintained and prepared marketing and sales materials for the sales team.

Project Manager

1993 (Contract Position)

Ambrosino Muir & Hansen (Political Advertising Agency), Washington, D.C.
Scheduled and managed art work, offset and web printers, freight companies and mailing houses to insure on-time delivery of political print material for National and State-wide political campaigns.

Education

B.A., Business & Communications, 1991
University of Texas, Austin, Texas

This sample advertising resume will give you a quickstart on building an effective and optimized resume for your job application. Visitors can feel free to customize and edit our sample advertising resume as per their requirement for job application. We hope that our sample advertising resume will go a long way in portraying your abilities and skillsets efficiently.

Want to write a great resume? My free report reveals 10 of the best trade secrets that will get you the interview. Get your report on resume writing here .

Finding out whether a position is new or a replacement can be a great help in preparing your resume. If the position is new highlight skills in hiring, budgeting and planning – show the employer you have the skills to get the job started quickly and effectively. If you will be replacing someone find out why as again this will help you to shape what skills are most important on your resume. If the department has been performing poorly then highly any experience you have in turning operations around. Read More..

Architect Resume Tips
Contact Information :

1. Full name
2. Campus and permanent addresses
3. Telephone numbers
4. Email address

Education : List most recent degree first.

1. Name of institution, city and state
2. Degree, major and year awarded
3. GPA (optional)

Experience : List the most recent first.

Activities : Campus and community activities, Memberships in professional organizations.

Personal : Certifications, security clearances, patents, special awards, citizenship.

Try to incorporate the following verbs when making your resume.

Try to use Action Verbs when constructing your statements Read More..

Sometimes an event such as losing a job, hitting a career stalemate or realizing that a chosen professional path is all wrong for you, can send someone soul-searching. Or the trigger can be personal: A relationship dissolves, or maybe there's no relationship to lean on at all. The end result, however, is similar: People are pulled apart, little by little, and pretty soon they feel like there’s nothing left.

Whether you're employed or unemployed, the basic question you always have to ask yourself about your current or most recent job is, "Is this really what I want to do for the rest of my life?" The answer often is "NO" for millions of people and maybe for you, too. This doesn't necessarily mean that you made a big mistake in taking your current job, though that happens often enough.

But even if it was a good choice, it’s common for jobs to change profoundly in a short period of time. You are given new responsibilities without any raise in salary, or your much-beloved supervisor moves on, leaving you working for a jerk. Or your workplace comes under stringent budget cuts and you can't do half the things you used to be able to do. The job that was a perfect match for you just a year ago is now the job from hell.

You may also want to change careers for other reasons. When we are very young, work is largely a matter of paying the bills and having money for the things we need. But as we move through the different stages of our lives, our work becomes increasingly a matter of how our soul lives out its dreams.

For example, if we have been working too hard, we want to figure out how we can take more time to enjoy life. And through each of our work choices during our lifetime, we increasingly find ourselves looking for the work we feel we were born to do. This is what career counselors mean when they speak of looking for your calling, your dream job.

It's always a great experience for me to see someone I know and like find the work for which he or she is best fitted and in which he or she can find himself or herself as a person. There is such work for each of us and finding it is the most important thing we can do.

Once upon a time, corporations were like ocean liners. Anyone fortunate enough to secure a berth cruised through a career and disembarked at retirement age. A clear agreement charted the voyage: In return for loyalty, sacrifice, bureaucratic aggravation, and the occasional demanding boss, you received job security for life. Unfortunately, in the last decade, organizations have started heaving their crews overboard. Instead of a lifelong voyage with only one company, most of us are now engaged in a life-long search for meaning in our work, a process in which career change plays an important part.

If people are bored by their work, chances are they haven’t found a creative way to make their time spent on the job interesting. Either that or they lack the courage or initiative to get into more interesting work. In either case, their problem is the result of the course they have followed. I know a woman who railed against her employers for 15 years: how they cheated her, how her bonuses never materialized, how promises were broken.

It never dawned on her -- until events finally pried her loose from the hated work -- that every time she complained about her bosses, she was saying that she lacked the intelligence and courage to quit and get into more agreeable work. Few people ever come to the realization that their worlds are description of themselves. If a person feels his/her world is too constricting, too uninteresting, too unchallenging, too unrewarding, then he/she needs to stand in front of the mirror and take a long look at the probable cause.

It's a good idea for adults to take stock once in a while and ask themselves, "Is this the right time to change careers?" In our innermost spirit, we know that waiting for the right time is often just another name for procrastination. I can tell you from personal experience that there probably never will be a right time. Conditions will always be difficult. Obstacles will always be in your way.

And yet, a time comes in each of our lives when we know we simply must accept that challenge. When we know we must do what we really want to do with our lives, no matter how hard the times and no matter how difficult the struggle may be. We tell ourselves we're not getting any younger. We know there’s a chance we may not succeed. But we know we’ll never live our life until we at least try.

So here’s the big question: “How do you know whether you're on the right path, with the right career, or in the right job?” The same way you know when you're not. You feel it! Each of us has a personal call to greatness - and because yours is as unique to you as your fingerprint, no on can tell you what it is.

Ignoring your passion is like dying a slow death. Your life is speaking to you every day, all the time - and your job is to listen-up and find the clues. Passion whispers to you through your feelings, beckoning you toward your highest good.

Pay attention to what makes you feel energized, connected, stimulated - what gives you your juice. Do what you love; give it back in the form of service, and you will do more than succeed. You will triumph.

ref:Joe Hodowanes Read More..