A Chance to Craft a Winner

The job search is a process with several critical elements. An important early element would be the creation of a basic resume.

The effort to produce the resume requires you to define and develop your future goals and targets as well as digging into your past for all the many facts and details of your life to-date.

It’s important to consider your work interests, your skills, the things you are particularly good at (as demonstrated by specific results achieved on previous jobs or personal situations).

A Selling Tool

The resume is one of the tools you use to sell yourself to a potential employer so you must focus on that particular employer’s needs during the development process. Keep the resume on your computer or on a disk and modify based on your research of the targeted employer and location. The hiring company is always looking for how you can bring something more or unique to the job that would add value. Again you are selling……why would they want to buy?

In the Workforce Alliance process we look at the information record first, so that instrument must be completed in detail. Much of our initial screening is done at the application review. It’s not ok to give this document a quick or incomplete job or to say, “see resume” in certain sections. (See application section on this web site for more)

There is a whole lot of talk today about designing your resume for the new “e-world”. Advice such as keeping it plain rather then fancy and making sure you include “keywords” or “key phrases” so the resume can be scanned successfully are some of the more common musts.

Elements of a Successful Resume

The resume whether designed for an e-reader or a real person reader should still have the fundamental elements in place in order for it to perform its function which is to communicate to the potential employer that you are the best choice.

These elements should include:

• All of your personal contact information
• Your work/career goals
• A short paragraph summary of your particular or unique qualifications and how these elements could be a benefit to the targeted employer.
• Your education history including special training
• Your work history in reverse chronological order including some descriptive detail for each job.
• A special skills section for any unique job related training, skills or certifications achieved that might be of interest to the potential employer.
• Military experience should be covered either in a special section or as part of your work history. Relate this information in industry equivalent descriptions that would be more likely to be understood by a potential employer, not in military terms.

There are many helpful sites on the Internet with very useful guidance on resume preparation. One with a large group of helpful articles can be accessed at http://careerjournal.com under the Job-Hunting Advice tab.

Also refer to our Resumes101 page.

Good luck in your search for that perfect job.