Search
Recommended Products
Related Links


 

 

Informative Articles

Job Interviews -- What Your Pre-Interview Research Should Cover
When you go in for a job interview, you're not just a candidate seeking a job. You're a potential problem solver and contributor. To play that role effectively, you must be armed with the right kind of information. That's what pre-interview research...

TAKE THIS CAREER AND SHOVE IT -- IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!
TAKE THIS CAREER AND SHOVE IT -- IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION! Are you listening to that little voice in your head telling you how much you dislike your job? If not, you may become angry with those around you, when in fact, you'll be angry at yourself...

The Four P's of an Informational Interview
A critical part of the pharmaceutical sales job search is the informational interview that you will conduct with your networking contacts. Obviously, these information-gathering meetings will provide you with valuable insight into things like day...

The Power of Effective Coaching Skills
The most valuable assets of a 20th century company were its production equipment. The most valuable assets of a 21st century organization … will be its knowledge, workers and their productivity. -Peter Drucker Peter Drucker is a respected author...

The World's Best Ditch Digger! An Inspiration for Leadership Training
I would like to depart from my traditional articles to describe a great leader who was also a great friend. This departure is partly selfish, but I welcome an opportunity to describe a person from whom I learned many management and leadership...

 
Google
"5 Ways to Drastically Improve Your Resume in 10 Minutes

Follow these quick and easy tips to build yourself a better
resume in under 10 minutes flat.

* Use strong, action oriented language that describes
specific skills or accomplishments.

Go through your resume from top to bottom and eliminate weak
language. Don't write "Was in charge of large graphic design
department that increased company revenues" when you can say
"Managed 12 graphic artists in major creative projects that
increased revenues by over 3 million last year."

Whenever possible, eliminate all forms of the verb "to be"
(is, are, was, am and so on), as demonstrated in the
previous example. Instead, replace them with strong action
words that paint a compelling picture.

* Add bullets.

Bullets are a great way to transform lists that would
otherwise make tedious reading in paragraph form, or that
would benefit by a cleaner layout. They make the job of
reading your resume more pleasant for the reader. A perfect
candidate for bullets is a list of accomplishments related
to a single job. For example, "Postmaster, 1998 -2003"
followed by 3 or 4 major accomplishments in bullet form.

* Write a specific, concise job description.

If the job you really want is "Director of Human Resources
at a Fortune 1000 company," say so. Don't write "Middle
management position at a large or mid-size company" or
something equally vague. That covers a lot of territory. You
need to help the company with the exact job you're looking
for find you. Put yourself in the hiring manager's shoes.
Would you call a candidate for an interview in the hopes
that she is a good match, or would you call the person whose
job description


specifically indicates she wants the job?

* Don't include every single position you've ever held.

Your resume is a document designed to land you an interview,
followed by a job offer. There will be times when omitting a
position - especially if it has no relevance to the position
you are seeking, may be in your best interest. This is easy
to do where omitting short term positions or special
projects conducted as part of an ongoing job assignment will
not create an obvious "hole" in your background that you
will need to explain.

(There are ways to avoid making an employer suspicious of
resume rough spots, like gaps in experience or experience
that lacks relevance to the position you are seeking. A
professional resume writer can offer you specific advice on
ways to do so, considering your unique background.)

* Spell check.

When you're finished improving your resume, run a final
spell check. Your word processor's spell checker probably
won't contain all the acronyms and specialized industry
jargon that your resume likely contains. In that case, take
the time to manually check each flagged item to make sure
your resume is spelling error-free.

Follow these five easy tips for a better resume, fast!

Copyright 2005 by Vincent Czaplyski, all rights reserved.

You may republish this article in its entirety, as long as
you include the complete signature file above without
modification.

About the Author

Copywriter and consultant Vincent Czaplyski is founder of
www.impressive-resumes.com, your online source for
professionally written "industrial strength" resumes and
cover letters guaranteed to land you an interview.