Sample Resume Blog

Simply put, a resume is a piece of paper that tells an employer about your relevant education, job experience, and skills. The objective of a resume is to land a job interview, so that you can then “wow” the employer in person and secure the job. Many people think that they are trying to land the job with their resume, but that is not the case. Your resume is simply a tool to help you get in front of the employer.

Since the employer can’t tell much about your from a piece of paper, you are likely to never have a resume that is good enough to actually land you the job — no matter how hard you try. Instead, you should be focused on this question: “Would this resume pique an employers interest in me, enough to call me in for an interview? Will it make him want to know more about me?”

What NOT to include on your resume …

If you have your resume template in front of you, then it is easy enough to see what you should include on a resume. Therefore, I am going to take a little bit of time to talk about what should NOT be included on your resume.

The first culprit: Things those are not relevant to your current job or industry. It doesn’t matter what you did in another field or how high you climbed up the ladder — if it is not relevant to your current job or field, then it is just talking up valuable space.

Culprit two: something that could be seen as an exaggeration or an untruth. Of course, many people use large words and fancy sentence arrangement to try and “inflate” their pat job titles, skills, and accomplishments, but there is a line that you should try not to cross. For example, saying you managed a group or team when you didn’t or saying that you are an expert at using a certain program when you aren’t.

If you avoid these two things, it will help keep you from making a mistake in the interview, being excepted for skills and accomplishments that you never had, and avoid the “rejected” pile altogether. Of course, avoiding these two things won’t guarantee that you will land an interview, but they will help keep your resume relevant and keep you out of trouble.

There are certain aspects that need to be a part of most resumes. You, of course, start with your contact information; your name, address, phone number(s), and your e-mail address. Once you have that down, you need to figure out what your objective is — in other words, what do you hope to accomplish with your job search? Other information to include: your work history, educational background, and special skills. What exact details you enter for each depends on what type of resume format you choose, as examined next …

How to Select a Resume Format

Group 1: You have a significant work history and significant educational history for the job you are applying for. These qualifications meet what you think the employer is looking for. This group should always choose a chronological resume format.

Group 2: You don’t have the work and/or educational experience that is significant for the job you are applying for. This includes those who have significant job and educational experience in one field, but who are applying for a job in another field. They may also be people who are reentering the work force after several years — such as stay-at-home moms — or newly-graduated college students who have the educational background, but no the work experience. This group may be better served by a chrono-functional or functional resume format.

Once you have collected the needed information and selected a format, simply sit down and type it out. Once you are finished, you may print our several copies to mail to employers and headhunters. You may also wish to post in online at a job search website, such as CareerBuilder.com or Monster.com. To do this, you simply register, find a job you are interested in, click the “Apply Now” button, and upload your resume.