Selling yourself on paper: Create the Ideal resume

Not too long ago employers were desperately searching for qualified professionals to fill vacant positions in a variety of industries. Back then it was a job seeker's market. Times have certainly changed. For many people the past year has been quite a struggle. As the economy started to decline in early 2001, thousands of employees found themselves thrown into a job search with other displaced workers. And after the Sept. 11 attacks the economy took a nosedive. Currently the United States is dealing with a 5.8 percent unemployment rate, the highest in six years. Because competition among job seekers is growing at a rapid pace, creating the "perfect" resume is more crucial than ever.

Job market sparks new trends

Resumes are still considered the primary tool employers utilize to screen job candidates. However, because there are so many people looking for jobs now, the focus of the resume has changed. The worst mistake people can make in the current job market is focusing on themselves instead of the employer, stresses Kevin Donlin, owner of Minneapolis-based Guaranteed Resumes. "Today, more than ever, your resume must quickly answer the one question that's on every employer's mind: 'What can you do for me?' Unfortunately most resumes don't," he says. Many resumes begin with an objective that reads something like this: "Seeking a position where I can utilize my skills in an atmosphere with potential for career advancement." While this may sound fine to the person writing the resume it completely alienates the individual who is reading it. What really matters when writing a resume is focusing on helping the employer meet his goals.

With competition tight among job seekers, the generic resume is pass‚. The targeted resume is in. "When the job market was super-hot and companies were eager for new hires, applicants could get by with informal, breezy, and less detailed resumes - a sort of 'casual Friday' approach to the resume," says Debra A. Chomika, director, Career Education Center, Alverno College, Milwaukee. "The generic, untargeted resume can create the perception that the writer is unaware of the changed climate in business. Hard as it might be to accept, a more formal approach to resume writing is back in vogue because employers have become more selective."

Does your resume need an overhaul?

Rather than creating a brand new resume, many people just make minor adjustments to their existing ones. This won't work in today's market. "The bottom line is that job seekers must write a new, targeted resume for each job they apply for that shows them being successful at tasks similar to those described by the job ad," Chomika explains. 

Resume preparation should start by identifying the job or jobs the individual would like as well as the actual job requirements. In order to do this, the person must do some research in regards to the position he is applying for. "Match your qualifications to the job requirements in experience, accomplishments, education, training, skills, and credentials," says Robbie Miller Kaplan, author of How to Say It In Your Job Search. "Write and format your resume to reflect how your qualifications parallel those requirements."

The resume should focus on the future, not the past. "Does it read like an obituary? Is it a dry recitation of past duties and responsibilities and not much else? If so, your job search is taking longer than it should," Donlin says. In order to stand out, job seekers must create a clear picture of what they can provide to the employers. Individuals should put major emphasis on the two or three most valuable skills they will bring to the job. Many people base their entire resume on job duties. Although it is necessary to indicate duties, it is important to keep the resume from sounding like one giant job description. This can be boring to read and won't help the candidate get an interview, let alone a job. "The resume should really only focus 20 percent on duties and 80 percent on achievements," Donlin points out. Before writing the resume, the job seeker should answer the following questions about each job he has held:

What were some obstacles you had to overcome in this position?
What type of recognition have you received in your job? Have you received any special awards or earned a promotion?

By concentrating on accomplishments, the job seeker is setting himself apart from the rest of the crowd. For instance, "Managed the sales department," won't get the job seeker's foot in the door. However, "Managed the sales department and as a result increased revenue by $500,000," describes the job seeker's achievements.

The job seeker should also keep in mind that the hiring manager will probably have as many as 50 to 100 resumes to sift through. With so many to read, he won't have too much time to spend on each one and he will maybe scan one to two lines of each paragraph. Instead of paragraphs, the individual should always use bulleted job descriptions, which are much quicker to read. Also, the resume should not be any longer than two pages. The hiring manager won't take the time to read much more than that. 

The art of selling yourself on paper

In order to get an interview people must develop resumes that reflect today's economy. The most important aspect of creating a resume in 2002 is focusing on the employer's needs. "Job seekers have to look at themselves objectively and market themselves realistically," Miller Kaplan says. A functional resume can mean the difference between getting a great job and a very long job search. - SHERRI PFEIL, Staff Writer 

Resume do's and don'ts 

  • Create visual interest by using short para-graphs, bullets and white space. 
  • Use an 11- or 12-point font for text to ensure readability. 
  • Create hierarchy of information. 
  • Include a summary statement. 
  • Include your most relevant accomplishments. 
  • Use action-oriented words. 
  • Highlight responsibilities with bullets to empha-size your skills. 
  • Include your complete employment history, orat least the last 10 years. 
  • Check your spelling and grammar. 
  • Have someone else proofread your resume before it is printed. 
  • Don't Overuse highlighting techniques such as bold and italics. 
  • Give the same weight to both the heading and a company name. 
  • Use "I," "me," "my," and "we." 
  • Underline - it clutters the page. 
  • Use long, complicated sentences or "buzz words." 
  • Include salary desired. 
  • Bore your reader with too much information. 
  • Make your resume more than two pages.