Creative Resume Writing Tips To Get You Noticed

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Resume Tips Articles : Creative Resume Writing Tips To Get You Noticed by Stephen Long

When you are job hunting, your resume is a valuable tool. While just about everyone has a resume, few people know just how to write one correctly. If your resume has not been getting you the interviews that you want, it may need a little polishing. Follow these tips to perk up your resume and get you noticed!

1. Focus your resume to reflect the job that you want. Generic resumes may be easy and convenient, but they are not efficient. Review the job description for the position for which you are applying. Think: knowledge, skills and abilities and allow your resume to reflect your knowledge, skills and abilities for each requirement. Use industry buzzwords and show what you know that directly pertains to the position.

2. Keep your objective short and sweet. Your objective should sum up your intended position and tie it into your experience, education and skills. Use power words like dynamic, experienced and qualified. One or two lines is all you should have and definitely no more than three. Just make sure that you pack those few lines with real punch that will grab the interview and get their attention, making them want to know more.

3. Utilize your resume as a marketing tool. Your resume should sell yourself to interviewers. Structure the resume in a way that it is easy to read, gets the employers attention and gets you an interview. Highlight your experience and skills with bulleted lists and brief descriptions. You are not writing a book here, so don't go into great details.

4. Your resume is meant to get you an interview, not a job. You don't have to explain in great detail every duty for every job you have ever held. Highlight the jobs that you have had that tie into the position you are seeking. You can mention the others to fill in gaps in time, but don't feel compelled to go into great detail about those positions. You can list your main jobs in one section and list the less significant ones under a heading "Other Employment" or something similar.

5. Use a lot of action words. Your resume will really stand alone when you use descriptive words like negotiated, implemented, conceptualized and streamlined in your descriptions. These action words let your potential employer know that you are a "doer" and that you are assertive. Use the words that show what you have accomplished and can do, don't just tell.

6. Jot down all of your strengths in the upper third of your resume. You have about 30 seconds to really impress the interviewer when they pick up your resume before they either move on to the next guys resume or pick up the phone to set up an interview with you. With that in mind have a powerful objective and step right into your expertise and skills. Also, use things that stand out in your resume such as symbols like %, # and $. For example, you led a team that increased its sales by more than 20%.

7. Create your resume to be easy to read. Stay away from long paragraphs and use bullet points to highlight instead. Be concise and get to the point. You want it to be easy to read and understand. Make sure that you don't say anything to detract attention from what you can do and your qualifications.

Let your resume show who you are and what you can do. Use it to sell yourself and get your foot in the door with an interview. Keep it simple and to the point and try to keep it to one page. Use these tips to polish your resume and get the job that you want.

About the Author
Learn the cutting edge resume writing tips that get you the interview and upgrade your career at the Employment Search Guide.

Source: http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=686747