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Composing an Effective Resume
Is your resume being read or is it being put aside on indefinite hold? Why are some more effective than others? As strange as this sounds, most resumes are written without a clear understanding of their true purpose. Simply put, a good resume should motivate management to interview you. Generating interest is not the same as providing information.
Generating Interest
Accomplishments, achievements and detailed accounts of contributions to former and current employers that resulted in profit or revenue to your company. These can make a potential employer realize that you might be a valuable addition to his or her staff. Consider these two brief, hypothetical resume samples. These might be from two engineers who worked for the same manufacturer during the same time. They even worked on the same projects. However, their resumes might not look alike at all:
Engineer #1: 1992-1996 Production Engineer, ACME Aircraft Co. Worked on production of next generation space shuttle. Engineer #2: 1992-1996 Production Engineer, ACME Aircraft Co. Worked on production of next generation space shuttle. *Participated in development of new production technique which reduced manufacturing time by 3%. *Led Quality Assurance team which reduced scrap waste by 6%.
Which one would you be more likely to interview? It could be that Engineer #1 achieved more than Engineer #2, but the resume doesn't show it. Suppose they had attended the same college and Engineer #1 had graduated at the very top of the class, but didn't say so. While Engineer #2 said that she/he graduated in the top 10%. Who would you interview? Tell your story of accomplishment. Don't "save it for the interview" because you may not get that chance. A resume is a personalized and customized marketing document. If it is written as a routine, chronological record of your jobs, it will fail to generate interest. You need to get a strong message across in a very short amount of time. It's vital that your resume grabs the attention of the reader, and the achievements which make you a great candidate are presented in easy way for the reader to find. Your resume may not get more than 25 or 30 seconds of review before someone makes a decision to consider it further or throw it away.
• Information contained in a paragraph format may be missed.
• Bold, underlined, italicized, indented and bulleted text will jump out and get attention.
Regardless of your position, your contribution to your former employers should be made obvious on your resume. Companies are in business to earn a profit, and a resume which shows a positive impact on a corporation's bottom line is more likely to be considered and reviewed. Also, in this electronic age, it is a relatively simple matter to customize your resume for each position. Of course, we are not suggesting that you change facts; above all, your resume must be an honest document. However, with whatever knowledge you might have about your prospective company and position, highlight the four or five accomplishments and skills which are most likely to arouse their interest in you.
Organizing Your Resume
There is no right or wrong way to organize your resume. The following outline is one recommended approach which has proven to be effective in presenting your credentials in a clear and interesting way. Overview We suggest avoiding an "Objective" statement which can be limiting in terms of opportunities and may close some doors. For instance, the following statement may prevent you from getting an interview for a staff-level position which has the potential of becoming Plant Manager in one year. Or it may lock you out of certain industries where good opportunities exist:
Objective: To obtain a position as Plant Manager of a medium-sized, innovative consumer products manufacturing company.
Instead, focus on your areas of expertise and accomplishment, remaining open to any situations which could lead to future career opportunities:
Overview: Experienced Operations Management professional with 15 years experience, leading to the position of Manufacturing Manager with a multi-plant manufacturing organization.
Key Strengths and Skills Identify key strengths and skills that you have developed which are transferable and will interest potential employers. Items of importance here would include people skills, leadership, industry-specific positions, management style and techniques, experience in various professional disciplines, etc. A bulleted list would be good here. Accomplishments Provide a list of key accomplishments, in quantitative terms, which would excite employers about your abilities. This should include areas where you saved/made money/time for your company. Qualitative descriptions of accomplishments are not as positive and impressive as quantitative descriptions.
Avoid qualitative descriptions, such as: *lowered absenteeism *less disciplinary actions *fewer production problems Instead, use quantitative descriptions, such as: *improved attendance from 80% to 95% *reduced employee grievances by 20% *increased on-time schedule completion from 90% to 98%
Employment History or Work Experience Always place your most recent employer first. Clearly state the name and location of the company and a brief description of its industry or product lines. Include the size and sales level of the company, where possible. Indicate your position and the scope of your responsibilities, including professional disciplines or job titles and quantitative measures.
Once again, qualitative statements, such as: *supervised employees *provide customer service Are not as impressive and meaningful quantitative measures, such as: *supervised 15 engineers *supported customer base of 100 clients
If you have held more than one position with the same company, make sure this is clear. For instance, indent the titles under a single listing for the company to show varied experience and/or promotional growth. This will also help avoid the appearance of holding too many jobs during your career.
Education:
List your University/College experience(s) starting with highest level degree. List additional continuing education which are beneficial to your professional growth and career. Personal This section is strictly optional, in which some people include outside interests, language skills, hobbies, etc. Generally speaking, we suggest leave this section out, unless positively aligns you with the prospective company's culture. References Include references on a separate sheet, but do NOT submit them to a company with your resume. Instead, give them to your recruiter early on, who can have them ready for the hiring manager when the appropriate time comes. It is not necessary to include a statement like "References Available Upon Request" on your resume itself. You will most likely be asked to provide references during the interview process, so there is no need to state the obvious.
Do Not Make These Mistakes…
• DO NOT make any statements that are inaccurate or untrue. Always be honest with the information presented in your resume, stressing your positive accomplishments and responsibilities.
• DO NOT make your resume too long or too short. It needs to be long enough to include enough information to interest a potential employer, but should leave him/her wanting to know more about you. If the resume is too long, it may not be read at all. A generally accepted length is 1 to 2 pages. Please note: This comment does not apply to executives – Directors, VP, CEO’s, COO’s, Chief Engineers – Expand your resume, go 3 to 6 pages, but include a 1 page summary on page 1 so a reader captures your credentials on page 1 and details beyond.
• DO NOT make the font size too small. 10pt. or 12pt. type is best, but never go smaller than 9pt type.
• DO NOT make the text all capital letters, except for your name or section headings. All Caps make your resume difficult frustrating to read.
• DO NOT include such things as salary history or perks with previous employers. However, you should discuss these issues with your recruiter.
• DO NOT include reasons for leaving your previous or current position. Also, avoid any negative situations involved in your employment history. Your recruiter can help you address these issues at the appropriate time in the interview process.
• DO NOT include information that identifies you as a member of any protected class and could potentially raise issues regarding discriminatory hiring. Your recruiter is prohibited from passing on such information, because such information is irrelevant to the hiring process.
Remember, Your Resume Should…
• Be easy to read, concise, clear, and to the point
• Grab the interest of the reader and cause him/her to read on
• Provide quantitative accomplishments
• Clearly define scope of responsibilities and abilities
• Cause the reader to want to hear your story
About us:
At Fortune Personnel Consultants (FPC) of Naples, our recruiters specialize in employment in the Automotive OEM, Automotive Tier 1, Automotive Heavy Duty, Manufacturing, Electronics, Hardware and Software, Aerospace and Defense Industries. Jobs that we fill are Key Executives - CEO, COO, Manufacturing Engineering Jobs, Design Engineering Jobs Quality Management Jobs, Six Sigma Jobs, Manufacturing Specialists Jobs, Operations - Plant Mangers Jobs, Materials and Production Control Jobs, Environmental and Safety Jobs, Finance and Accounting Jobs, Purchasing and Supply Chain Jobs, Information Technology (IT) Jobs, Sales and Marketing Jobs and Human Resources Jobs and more.
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