Accentuate your Achievements

Remember to accentuate your job related achievements and describe your experience in terms of the job for which you are being considered.

Simplicity will work in your Favour

Do not overdo each point. Be concise and simple in the description of each item. Do not use too many flowery adjectives and words. Be aware your potential employer, although is interested in your resume, will only peruse or skim it for the important items. Make sure those items are perfectly clear and shine above the rest so that they will be the first thing that catches an employer’s attention when reading it.

Your Objective

An objective tells an employer what position you are seeking. Instead of having a statement about your life goals, an objective refers just to the very next immediate step you hope will be on your career path. Second it lets the employer know that you are conscious of the obtainable positions within that business or organization. If you do not clearly know what position it is you are looking for it is probably a better idea not to have an objective since it will be vague. Have the objective convey useful information about you, and have it demonstrate that you know what they are looking for.

Mention your Teamwork Skills

Most recruiters look for evidence of being able to work with others- Teamwork is crucial. Many examples on your resume can attest to that. Examples could be 2 years on intramural volleyball team; played electric guitar for 4 years in a 5-member Rock band. Or more preferably have examples that pertain to your past work experience- working on a group project, putting together a joint proposal, worked on a committee etc...

Show Leadership Qualities

Show evidence of leadership abilities. Although it is important to show cooperation and group skills, it is as important to show you taking control in situations. This will convey to the prospective employer that you have the skills to lead and take charge. Example of this could be spearheading a project at work or in school. It could also be being on the executive of an organization whether it is a school one or a sports league (captain); all these show that you have leadership skills

List your Activities

Activities/Interest section of the resume is optional. Here's why you might want to incorporate it when writing your resume: in this section you will be able to showcase skills and attributes that were not possible to convey in the other sections of your resume. These skills may show that you are a well-rounded multidimensional person.

The appearance of your resume will definitely reflect upon you in a positive or negative way. Since the recruiters only glance at your resume, spending a few minutes (oftentimes less), it is really important that you display your skills and assets on the page in a way that is both concise and visually pleasing. Don't forget, the employer receives a multitude of resumes and they will turn candidates down based on its appearance - those resumes that have typos, cheap printing and an unprofessional look. Check out some of these tips that will be of help in properly presenting your resume.

Keep it Short

Although one might think the longer the resume is the more it shows one's accomplishments and prowess- the more concise it is the better. A two page resume really is the maximum number of pages you should have. If you can have all the information (accomplishments, jobs, awards) on 1 page, this is ideal.

Key Achievements

What works today is a conservative style and a focus on key achievements – especially those that are of particular interest to the potential employer. Make your key achievemtns stand out. Pay attention to how you lay your points out in order of importance

Printing

Laser print it on plain, white paper- Handwriting, typing, dot matrix, and even ink jet printing does’t come across well. Stick with laser prints. You are probably thinking that that is extremely expensive. You will probably have to shell out a few extra bucks. It is worth it. Copy centres have printers you can use and so do University and College computer labs.Keep the resume on plain white paper. Although having it printed on glossy or bonded paper seems like a professional thing to do, it is an exercise in futility because more often that not, your resume will be faxed and photocopied.

Spacing

Play around with the spacing. Look at several different versions and try and see which rendition has the most pleasing space usage. When your resume is typed, leave lots of white space in margins and between blocks of typed text. Having it look too dense and too full on the page is often a hindrance. Again the employer wants to look at something where he/she can get the global picture of you quickly without having to read superfluous information. Simplicity is Best- something too complex detracts from the important stuff. Keep it clean and sharp.

Print Enough to Go Around

Make clean, legible copies. Make enough so that you always have some handy when you go to interview.

We have provided you with action verbs that are best used describing duties and functions in prior jobs and experiences. There are more verbs to be used than the list provided, but you will find that this is a good base for achieving a well written resume.

Proofread, proofread, proofread your resume- Be sure to catch all spelling errors, grammatical weaknesses, weird punctuation, and random capitalization's. Although these do not seem like major errors they are often a sign of one's skills and attention to detail.

Get Someone's Objective Account

One good idea is to let an external party read your resume over. They will be able to provide an objective account. Ask them after reading the resume if they paid attention most to the areas that you want to highlight. They might have some good suggestions for you and point out things that you would not have seen. You might want to bring your resume to your university or college's career centre and someone there can go over your resume with you. If you know someone in the industry that you are applying to, ask them to review it. They might give you some very helpful suggestions to help your resume stand out.

Sign the Cover Letter

Most common oversight - students forget to sign the cover letter.

Don't Mix and Match

If you are sending a slew of resumes and cover letters at the same time, before sealing the envelope, make sure you have put in the right cover letter and resume matched to the right person. Your resume will be automatically shredded if a Ms. Lambert at Dixon Technologies receives a letter with a Dear Mr. Taubman for Capital Strategies Inc.

Making sure your Resume gets There

If there is a particular deadline for the resume and cover letter make sure that you use some sort of shipping or courier service so as to make sure your resume is received on time. Do not count on our trusty Canada Post. They have screwed up in the past and they will screw up again. For the extra 5 dollars go with the safer route.

Do Some Digging

Find out who the interviewer(s) is and make sure to direct your resume to that person. Sending resumes blindly seldom works. It is a good idea to call the company and ask for the person who is in charge of hiring. Let them know about yourself and that you are forwarding your resume for their perusal. Follow up and call them to make sure they received it and answer any questions they may have. The best way to get this information is to call the Human Resources office of any organization. They will have all the proper information for you and will direct you to the appropriate person.

Make Yourself Easily Available

Make it easy for the employer to reach you: Make sure that you include all the pertinent contact information on your resume; i.e. that it lists your current address and phone number. If there are other ways to reach you, list them (e.g., e-mail address, campus or office phone number). Do not go overboard however. They do not need your pager number nor your cell phone unless that is the best mean by which to contact you. The last thing you want is to be contacted while out for a drink at a bar with friends.

Be Ready to get Messages

Make sure your phone has an answering machine, and that it works properly. If it does not the employer, might try once, twice but they might give up if they always end up with a never ending ring. If roommates or relatives take messages for you, alert them to the importance of these phone calls and make sure they promptly get the message to you. Too many a time- roommates or siblings may forget about a call and potentially negatively affect your job hunt.