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Some people out there have been laid off and feel that the circumstances weren’t ‘fair’. I was talking to someone I used to work with. He was laid off from the company he worked for with no reason why. Now, we live in an at-will employment state, which means that either the employer or the employee can leave at any time for no reason. He feels he is still owed some vacation time, which isn’t really worth contacting an attorney, but I suggested he fill out a wage dispute with the WA State Bureau of Labor and Industry.

Since I am in the HR field, I am aware of some of the resources available to both companies and individual, but many people don’t have any idea about how to go about pursuing or even finding these resources.

If you feel you are the victim of any sort of discrimination, the State EEOC office is where you want to start.

The key to any sort of action, be it legal or any other sort of mediated resolution, is documentation. This means you will need copies of correspondences (ie offer letter, performance reviews, separation agreement, termination letter, etc.) Include copies of emails as well. Use all this information to document your case so that an informed decision can be made. Remember that the Unemployment office can also direct you to appropriate resources as well.

Be sure to ask questions about the process, what you can expect at the end of it as far as a resolution, and ask for a full copy of the file and all correspondence with your former employer.

There are resources out there if you look for them.

You aren’t alone. Lots of folks don’t understand what all the hype is about. So here are some suggestions for starting out on Twitter.

Like all social networking sites, Twitter is about building community. That means that people find what you have to say interesting for some reason. So the first thing you have to do is decide what your Twitter ‘personality’ is about. In my case, it’s mostly about staffing and career with a bit of writing in there; recruiting, resume construction, job leads/openings, articles of interest. It’s also about promoting *me*. I consider Twitter a marketing tool. I am using it to establish myself as a SME (Subject Matter Expert) in the areas I am concentrating on.

For people to find me, I need to post information of interest. Resume tips, job hunting etiquette and tools, articles of interest. I am selective about who I follow and who follows me. It’s about quality instead of quantity. I have a couple of hundred followers and folks I follow. Part of the ‘building community’ aspect is forwarding other people’s tweets, commenting on things I do or don’t agree on, occasionally responding privately to someone to build relationships.

Once you start tweeting enough, people that run searches will find your content and start watching you, following you, and sharing *your* posts. The more people that see you as a resource for valid and valuable information, the more you will get noticed and contacted for opinions and expertise.

It is similar to the ‘Answers’ section of LinkedIn, using 140 characters or less.

Try it for a couple of weeks. You don’t have to continue if it doesn’t seem to be netting you any success. Oh, and if you want to follow me, I’m @employeeze. />

It’s Intern Season for college students. While I was at Microsoft, I hired over thirty Computer Science interns for Microsoft Research, from around the globe. I still keep in contact with a couple of them as well.

Internships are one of the single best things you can do as a student to improve your resume when you leave school. An internship gives a prospective employer the impression that you are motivated and ready to learn. You come to a full time job with an understanding of the working environment and industry under your belt. You gain valuable networking and reference relationships. If it is a paid internship, you make money in your field. But probably the most important reason for *you* is that you get to see what you can expect once you graduate and are in the ‘real world’. It can be a way to excite and motivate you, or a vehicle for you to realize that you don’t necessarily enjoy the work you thought your education entailed.

There are a number of sources for finding internships. The best job board is probably Vault where they have a dedicated Intern section, although most of the large job boards and Craigslist have internships listed. Just use the keyword ‘intern’.

Your collegiate/university career center should be able to help you with researching companies and local businesses offering internships.

More and more people are getting on Twitter ; I follow Lauren Berger, who has created the site Intern Queen . She has a ton of information and resources on her website, and tweets opportunities. You can also check out Intern Bridge to see what are current Best Practices advocated for employers, and possibly to form some networking opportunities.

But internships aren’t always just decided upon and posted by large companies. You can approach smaller companies and ask them to create an internship, especially if you have done any work for them in the past. You may need to take it unpaid, but the experience can be invaluable. The key to creating an internship is to define a project or set of objectives that can be accomplished in a very set amount of time. And, if you manage to create your own opportunity, when you are updating your resume with that information, make sure you outline the steps you used to identify the need, indentified objectives, the scope of the project, timeline and the milestones. (Hint: these are all elements of Project Management.) The process of *creating* an opportunity is probably more interesting to a potential employee than the internship itself.

Check out some of the resources listed and good luck!

I was over on Twitter a few weeks ago, and there were several blurbs aimed at job seekers for ‘resume blast’ sites such as Resume Zapper. Basically, you pay them a fee and they ‘blast’ your resume to tons of recruiters. What they don’t tell you is that all they are doing is sending emails to email addresses like ‘jobs@microsoft.com’ or ‘careers@acmewidgets.net’. They don’t have any real ‘in’ to specific companies and they aren’t targeting your job search for you.

Now, you may think that this would be helpful from a sheer numbers point of view, but here’s the thing. At least in the US, *most* companies are bombarded with resumes, and recruiters are only looking at applicants that apply directly (via website or referral, or with an email specifying the position in the subject line) to a specific position, and often times the ‘blasted’ resumes are treated as spam and just deleted, so you have just wasted your money.

One of the worst things you can do is receive a call from a recruiter and have no idea what company they are calling from. *If* your resume somehow manages to defy the odds and ends up in the hands of a recruiter that is interested in your candidacy, will you have any idea who they are when they contact you?

I’ve performed Headhunting Services for clients before. This means that they contract with me to find opportunities for them. But I run every opportunity by them to judge their level of interest before I vet them to the company. This is the role of the external recruiter. The truth of the matter is that this is *your* job search, and you should be in control of it and know what is going on with it at all times.

It’s your money to spend, but I’d recommend investing it somewhere that will generate positive returns, like taking former colleagues out to coffee or attending networking functions.

Cover Letter and References

I’m wrapping up my resume series with the documentation that brackets your resume; the cover letter and references. I’ve mentioned a bit about cover letters, but I will go into a bit more detail.

A high percentage of recruiters don’t read cover letters. We don’t have the time. There are a couple of ways to ‘sneak’ a cover letter in front of recruiter or hiring manager if you absolutely believe it’s crucial to make your case. The first way, quite simply, is to include it as part of your resume. If you do this, do *not* have a templated coverletter. You will be best served writing a targeted cover letter for each employer you feel the need use it. It is ESPECIALLY important to follow the KISS rule.

Candidates seem to stress out over how to address the cover letter. ‘Dear’?’ Who? If you don’t have a name, you are best served keeping it generic and *gender neutral*. ‘Dear Hiring Professional’; ‘To Acme Widget’. It is also perfectly acceptable to *skip* the salutation. Whatever you do, avoid ‘Dear Sirs’.

So, onto the meat of the cover letter. Reiterating what I’ve said before, it should be no more than three paragraphs, the meat of which is in the second. The first paragraph should address the position/department of interest, how you heard about the opportunity (this is where you mention that you were referred by Mary O’Malley in accounting). If it was a job board, indicate which one. Believe it or not, jobs may be tailored for different job boards, and mentioning the particular one can help the recruiter orient him/herself quickly.

The second paragraph is where you build the case as to why you are a strong candidate for the position. In no more than 3-5 sentences, tell the reader the relevant skills (including the company that are applicable to this opening/business group. This should include detailed examples such as a project, role, or client you handled.

Final paragraph (which is optional) is your availability and the best way to contact you (phone, email). End on a positive note, telling them you are looking forward to communication from them.

Closing should be your name and contact info.

Example:

Respectfully,

Joshua Greene, PMP

334-555-0333

Things to avoid in a cover letter include too much personal information (avoid the hard luck story), and covering every thing you have done that *might* qualify you for the job. Don’t gush on and on about how much you respect the company, it’s reputation, etc. You’ll have time for that in conversations.

Let’s happily assume you have gone through interviews and there is an offer pending. The company asks you for references. It is amazing some of the references I have seen out there. Do *not* put your references on your resume. Keep them until you are asked for them.

Your references should know your work; this means not just *what* you did, but how you interacted with other teams and your general work ethic. You should include at least one manager who oversaw your work, preferably someone that had the authority to give you feedback on your performance.

Try and keep your references updated. If you’ve been at Procter and Gamble for four years, listing your manager from your previous job but no one from your current company sends up huge red flags. Always try and keep tabs on who is where (LinkedIn is great for this). Personal phone and email addresses are often preferred by your references.

Make sure you ask your references if they are OK with you using them, don’t assume they are willing to. If you are in a situation where you cannot give references (for example, much of my own recent employment history is contracting at Microsoft, and they have a very strict policy against managers giving professional references for contractors), find someone like a client or business partner that can do it.

I usually recommend 3-5 references. Keep in mind that professional references are *different* than employment references that you put on an application.

Good luck, and hopefully you’ll have clearer understanding of the tools in your sales kit.

Newly graduating (or recently graduated) students have slightly different needs from their resume. Many of them don’t have a lot (if any) paid work experience, and add to that the fact that they have so much coursework to choose from, and it can be a difficult task to figure out what goes on the resume. This post is addressed to those young adults that are graduating from a collegiate program right out of HS, as opposed to someone going back to school or with military experience.

At the panel I was on last week, there were a fair number of students in the audience and two campus recruiters on the panel to answer questions. That, coupled with my own work with software interns, inspired today’s post.

A few things to know from a recruiting perspective. A ‘campus candidate’, someone who ‘just’ graduated, generally refers to someone for up to *one year* after receiving their degree, be it undergrad or graduate programs. Campus Recruiters are different from ‘industry recruiters’ by the very nature of their work. Not all companies have a separate campus recruiter, but most larger companies do. Once you have gotten past the one year from graduation mark, you should change your resume to reflect your status. Thus, even if you don’t find a job in your primary field right out of college, it behooves you to do *something*, even if it is working a part-time job at the mall until you find something.

Common resume questions that students ask:

Should I put my GPA on my resume?

-Generally only if it is over 3.5; or, if your overall GPA is lower than that but you have a high GPA in your major, you can indicate that.

GPA: 3.1 overall, 3.8 in my major.

One word: your resume should *also* be tailored. When you are applying to a company and they ask for your GPA, you should give it to them on your resume, regardless of what it is.

How long should it be?

-A recent graduate should be able to keep their resume to one page.

What classes should I list?

-You don’t need to put your entire cirriculum on your resume. A good rule of thumb is that if you had a project that taught you something in your major/minor fields that could translate as ‘experience’, definitely put that on there. Highlight the skills that are relevant to what you want to do in the work world. Stick to the last few quarters/semesters, unless you did something outstanding or that was a definite building block for your profession. If you have a dual major, have two resumes, each one emphasizing one major and the coursework you did, projects, etc.

I had a part-time job in the summers; where should I put that on my resume?

-Your resume is your *professional profile* and as such, this experience should be close to the top. Keep in mind that recruiters aren’t just interested in jobs, they also want to know about leadership, extra-cirricular, or volunteer experience that can be relevant to your profile as an employee.

Should I put my references on my resume?

-No, nor should you volunteer them until asked for.

How long should my cover letter be?

-The answer to this question is no different than for any other job seeker. SHORT. The first paragraph should be what job you are applying for and how you heard about it. The second paragraph should be about why you believe you are a good fit for the position (highlighting in 2-5 sentences those items in your resume that will be of the most relevance to the job and employer). Finally, your closing should thank the reader for their time and tell then when you would be available to speak to them.

One thing that both campus recruiters stressed was that too many students go into personal or inappropriate details/stories in their cover letters. Keep the content professional, sticking only to the job and your eligibility for it. If the recruiter has questions, s/he will ask them. If you have some extraordinary break in your education, call it out on your resume, and wait for the recruiter to address it with you. Above all, keep it *concise*. Your cover letter should be no more than 3/4 page or 10-15 sentences total.

It also should go without saying that you should spell check your cover letter, use full sentences (no cell text abbreviations) with proper grammar and capitalization. Have someone else read it over before you send it; preferably someone that has been in the workforce a few years.

Should I put anything from High School on my resume?

-Generally not, unless you did something in high school that was relevant or unusual. For example, if you were an Exchange Student to Ecuador for a year, that is something you might consider using, especially if it affected your course of study or choice of profession. A way to think about it is that your high school years should *never* be more impressive than your collegiate accomplishments.

One last thing a lot of students forget is to list the tools they know, such as Microsoft Office, or HTML, or other skills that might be valuable for a company. This information can go at the end of the resume for most graduates unless you are in a specialized field where industry tools are standard (ie, programming languages for a computer science major, or editing tools for a multimedia degree). In that case I would suggest putting it after your education, before your professional history. You can label it ‘Skills’ or ‘Summary of Skills’ or ‘Summary of Qualifications’.

And, as always, your career center should be able to help you, or you can seek guidance from a temporary staffing firm that might place professionals in your field. You might also ask family and friends if they know any recruiters that can take a look at it. Most of us are happy to help out students entering the work world.

The style of your resume is as important as the content. Margins, font, how the information is presented are all important. One of the easiest lessons to keep in mind when creating or overhauling your resume is K.I.S.S.

One of the biggest mistakes I see as a recruiter is a resume that is too fancy. Tables, logos, font, designs. Not only does this sort of content detract from the meat of the resume, it can be difficult to read especially if the document containing them is uploaded to a database (job board, Applicant Tracking System.) I mentioned that when I open either of these that I get a text version of the document. Databases are built with software programming languages which use only the letters, numbers and symbols that you find on a basic typewriter keyboard as the base for their programming. Everything is assigned a value based on those symbols. Maybe you have gotten email that looked like a bunch of gibberish? That is your email provider trying to translate the mail it cannot read.

So ideally, you should use only the keys on your basic keyboard and spacing you can accomplish with the tab key and basic word processing commands. When choosing a font, a study found that the best font to use for a resume was corbel. It is also a good rule of thumb to never use a font smaller than *10 point* for ease of reading.

I’ve mentioned that most recruiters and hiring managers prefer bullet points to read; keep in mind that you can choose the symbol you want to use for bullet points. Stick to simple choices like a dash, asterisk, carat, or the basic circle. Otherwise, that ‘bullet point’ translates to something like #(** in front of the line you are trying to highlight.

When choosing the layout of your resume, the very first suggestion I have is *don’t* use the templates such as you find in Microsoft Word. It wastes space, and honestly labels you as someone unprofessional. Use bold, italics, and different sizes of font combined with indented space to vary your content and call attention to different areas.

Your margins in large part will determine the length of your resume, as will the spacing you use for indentation. The narrower the margins, the most space you will actually have for content. The more spaces you use for indentation, the less space you will have for the lines of text.

One way to make sure your resume is ideally adapted to online databases is to make sure you have a text version of it. All computers have notepad, the program that strips all the fancy formatting away. On the Windows Operating System, this is how you access Notepad:

Start

Run

Type the word ‘ notepad ‘ into the dialogue box.

Once you have the program on, align everything to the left and on the command bar, go to the ‘format’ key and make sure to check ‘Word Wrap’.

Save the document as a .txt file.

It’s that simple. You can copy/paste the entire contents of this document into databases that don’t have an ‘upload’ feature where they offer you to ‘copy/paste’. When I am preparing a resume for a client, I always include a .txt version for them.

As a recruiter, one of the things that is very annoying is when a candidate sends me a resume and embeds his/her contact information in a header/footer. This makes me work harder to see *who* I am reading about. Do us all a favor and just don’t do it. I may just pass over your resume if it is too much effort to glean all the information.

One question I get a lot on panels and from job seekers is whether or not to use a photo? The answer is in North America: absolutely not, unless you are in the entertainment business (actor, model, etc.) We have strict laws in the US and Canada about privacy and discrimination, and as a resume is supposed to be a sales tool for your *experience and background*, a photo has no place on it.

Again the style of your resume comes back to the same message as the content: targeted, concise, with every piece of the document geared towards pointing out your work history, not your graphic design prowess.

Let’s consider what a resume should do. We know the end audience is generally going to be a recruiter/HR representative or a hiring manager. And we know that their time is very valuable and they scan resumes quickly to find out if they are interested in the content for whatever position they are hiring for. I’ve discussed the top 1/3 of the page, the ‘prime resume real estate’, creating an impactful first impression and generally addressing job content for a chronologic resume.

I’m going to address the functional resume here.

I mentioned what a functional resume looks like and that they aren’t very well received by most hiring managers and recruiters except if you are in a portfolio industry. By that, I mean the essence of what you are doing is the same skill set across multiple concurrent clients. Examples would be a producer/director, PR account exec, attorney, stock broker/financial planner, actor/entertainer, freelancer but not a career contractor (1099, you own your own business). In these cases, using a functional resume makes a lot of sense.

A functional resume is a list of skills (can be grouped many different ways) that you have followed by a list of employers with name, date, title, and location with no more information than that. There are a few reasons why functional resumes are unpopular.

1) Often they are used to cover a gap in employment. Recruiters would rather just have you tell them that you took a leave or were a primary caregiver for your family.

2) People using functional resumes are claiming skills that may be in their professional toolkit but that they haven’t used in a long time, causing longer ramp-up time and outdated training.

3) Most importantly, hiring managers want to see a progression of your skills as it relates chronologically to your work history. There is no context for how you gained the skills and how they have been applied. A functional resume gives no information of career progression and how you take ownership of your career and move forward.

Let’s take a portfolio resume for example. (This is a completely fictitious representation):

Cindy Smith

http://emeraldcityproduction.info

(206) 555-0988/cs@emeraldcityproduction.info

-Deep understanding of creative production tools including Flame, Smoke, Combustion, After Effects, Final Cut Pro, Softimage XSI and Quicktime.

-Expert knowledge of Mac-based production tools including Photoshop, and Illustrator.

-Over twelve years experience working with industry tools such as lighting instruments, cameras, microphones.

Strong project management skills including working with budgets in excess of $1M, vendor management, contract negotiations (including media licensing agreements).

-Projects range from music video, feature films and documentaries, to television commercials and streaming media ad campaigns.

Film Projects:

The Keeper’s Son ‘ Associate Producer (67 minutes) 2007 (Documentary)

*Honorable Mention, Seattle International Film Festival; shown at the Toronto Film Festival

Jewels of the Amazon: Endangered Species – Producer (41 minutes) 2002 (Documentary)

Animal Planet 2004; Discover Channel 2002

Coming of Age -1999 ‘ Production Coordinator ‘ Warner Brother’s Feature Film

Television:

Two For One ‘ Season 1-2 1996-1997; Writer/Researcher for 32 episodes for CBS detective drama.

Thicker Than Water ‘ Special Effect post-production Editor 1996 ‘ NBC mini-series- three-episodes; vampire thriller.

Commercials:

Microsoft Studios: Gobi Experiment 2008; Butterfly Kiss 2006; Easy 123 2005 ‘ Producer

Thirteen Coins Restaurant 2005 ‘Producer, writer

Tyee Chamber of Commerce 2002 ‘Producer Post Production Editor

Music Video:

Portents of Doom: ‘Sunday’s Kiss’ ‘ 2008 Camera, Post Production Editor

*Video reached 1 million hits on YouTube in one week.

Portents of Doom: ‘Any Man’s Guess’ -2006 Camera, Post Production Editor

*Alcazar Records signed Portents of Doom after seeing this video on MySpace in less than three weeks.

Streaming Media:

Bungie Studios: Halo 4 ad ‘ 2008 Post Production Editor

Comcast (Internet) ‘ Video Editor 2006

Extap Studios ‘ Turner’s Revenge feature film trailer -2004 Special Effects Editor

Education:

MFA ‘ American Film Institute Conservatory 2001

BA Multimedia Design ‘The Art Institute of Seattle 1995

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As we can see, there is no indication of what tools/knowledge were used for each position, which is problematic in other industries. We also have to piece together what she worked on at what time, which in the corporate world is the key experience indicator hiring managers are looking for. The lesson is: unless you are using the same skills consistently over a period of time, avoid the functional resume.

Many old-school resume advice sources say ‘always put an objective on your resume.’ I, personally, despise objectives except in a very few cases. I find them too limiting. Many recruiters, however, like them because they tell the person reading the resume exactly what you are looking for. Below are examples of real objectives taken from real resumes:

Objective: ‘ Goal-oriented individual with strong leadership capabilities. (This isn’t an objective, it’s a statement.)

Objective To obtain a challenging and professional position, that will enable me to utilize my technical skills and communications skills in a growing and stable Internet technology environment that will enhance my career growth.

Objective:

Seeking a challenging position as an administrative assistant/receptionist with an opportunity for advancement, which will allow me to further utilize my existing skills and enable to acquire new abilities.

OK, here’s the thing. As a recruiter, I have found/received your resume. I know by this fact that you are looking for a job. And generally you are either A) unemployed B) have no room for advancement C) don’t get along with your manager D) looking for more money. As a recruiter, I am going to *assume* you want a challenging job that utilizes your skills, teaches you new ones, gives you opportunities for growth and rewards you (money, recognition, etc.) So *don’t waste valuable space telling me things I already know*.

I already mentioned the fact that using trite or cliche verbiage on a resume is bad; to be honest, it can be the kiss of death depending on the position. Every single thing you put on your resume needs to be concise, targeted, relevant, and show you at your best. And the first few lines/paragraphs on your resume set the stage. I was at a panel last night with three other recruiters, and one of the questions we were asked was how long we look at any given resume. Three of us answered the same: 10-15 seconds. The other recruiter answered 30 seconds, because she takes the time to read cover letters. (Hint there’the majority of us skip cover letters; more on cover letters later).

As a recruiter, when I open any sort of resume, I am looking at the top 1/3 of the first page to decide if I want to read more. That equates to approximately 20-30 lines of most size 12 fonts. Your contact info takes up 3-5 of those lines, and that leaves you with not very much space to make an impression. So make the most of it.

If you choose to use an objective, it should be no more than one sentence and very precise. It should tell me what sort of opportunity you are looking for; ideally, for each job you apply for, you will have a different objective mentioning the company and exact position or department you are interested in. At the very least tell me *specifically* what you are looking for.

Objective: Seeking a software engineering position in the Embedded Software division at Microsoft.

Objective: Architect with over fifteen years of commercial experience seeking opportunity at Waxer and Sons.

Objective: Sales Executive with consumer goods and packaging experience seeking position with manufacturing operation.

I mentioned that I find objectives too limiting. Let’s just say that I look at your resume and see that you are looking for an administrative or receptionist opportunity. I may stop right there because I don’t have any openings of that sort. But for some reason your resume came up in a keyword search for a customer support role I have. Your objective is going to probably tell me you aren’t interested in anything I have, and there are 33 other resumes for me to consider. See my point?

I did mention there *are* a few times to use an objective. One of them is to tie your past experience to a position you are looking at outside of your most recent industry. This is often the case when someone gets a degree in a new field.

Objective: recent graduate with a degree in Human Resources seeking an opportunity to leverage my five years as a physician’s assistant in the field of benefits administration.

Perhaps your spouse has been transferred from Chattanooga to Dallas, and his/her company is paying your relocation. You need to find a job in your new city. This goes back to discussing your contact information and letting a recruiter know you are ‘local’. Very few companies are offering relocation these days, and many aren’t even recruiting outside their own territories. Budget considerations combined with the decline in the housing market are the main reasons for this.

Objective: recently relocated hospitality manager seeking new opportunities in the Dallas area.

To me, an objective is best used as a bridge from one thing to another.

In the last decade, two other types of openings have become much more prevalent than an objective. A profile statement, generally a short paragraph outlining your skills, or a summary section, preferably with bullet points, pulling out *tangible* highlights from your career demonstrating your expertise in your field.

Profile statement:

HR Generalist with expertise in HR policies, project management, strategic initiatives, and systems solutions.

Expertise includes employee relations, designing and implementing global training programs, evaluating and managing vendor contracts (IE:recruiting, benefits, outsourced payroll.)

Summary of Qualifications:

* -Product Manager responsible for launching three new product offerings in two years resulting in $2.5 million increased revenue during this period

* -Delivered an in-depth competitor analysis resulting in a savings of 35% in advertising costs

* -Create product roadmap for two new product lines which decreased RTM time from 22 months to 13 months

Either choice should be heavily supported by your employment history with detailed experiences and accomplishments. Remember, your resume is how you tell an employer why *you* are the best person for *their* opportunity.

So what if you feel you don’t have enough experiences or accomplishments to warrant any of the above? The your best bet is just to launch straight into your employment history. Recruiters want to get to the meat of your experience sooner rather than later.

So use that valuable real estate at the top of your resume. Tell me right off the bat why I should consider *you* over the other 3466 people that have applied for the job.

There are three types of resumes, including the Curriculum Vitae (CV) which is used more in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. With the number of immigrants to the US importing this type of document, it is important to acknowledge and know about it as a major format. In the US and Canada, a CV is primarily used in research and academic circles. A chronological resume lists your employment history in reverse chronological order by company with a brief description of the work you did. Generally this includes the company name, location (city and state/province) your title, dates of employment, basic responsibilities and key accomplishments.

A functional resume is a list of both soft and hard skills and experience followed by a brief employment history showing company, title, location and years only. A CV is an extensive list of projects and publications.

Most recruiters and hiring managers prefer a chronologic resume or a CV over a functional resume which is what we’ll concentrate on. I’ll address the functional format later on.

When you are crafting the content for your various jobs, there are a number of factors to keep in mind. Many resume books tell you that this should *not* be just a ‘list’ of your duties. For the most part, that is true. However, you do need to lay out your role/responsibilities, personalized with examples of your accomplishments on the job. How do you figure this out?

The two tools I use when I’m talking to a new resume client are job descriptions and performance reviews. The job descriptions should be position(s) you are interested in, and if available, the one you were hired under. This allows you a chance to look at where you ‘were’, the bridge to where you were heading (performance reviews), and the new challenge or opportunity you are pursuing.

For example, I am a recruiter. My job description has some basics that are consistent across the field but there are subspecialties and different tools that are used. I have done what is called ‘full lifecycle’ recruiting as well as the subspecialty of ‘sourcing’. I also have a further delineation as a Technical Recruiter, meaning that I have been hiring very specialized professionals in the hardware and software industry, which entails a thorough understanding of not only job descriptions but also the technologies, processes, tools, and terminology of the industry.

The presentation of my resume for a specific position is going to depend on what job I am looking at, what industry it is, etc. The content of my ‘roles and responsibilities’ is going to be targeted, along with specific projects or initiatives I have worked on. It is *vital* that even if you held the same basic ‘title’ that you show variance under each position to reflect your contributions to the overall team, company, project etc.

One thing to keep in mind when identifying your employer is to make sure you orient your reader immediately to the industry the company is in. If you were working for a company that isn’t either easily recognizable ( ie Microsoft, General Electric, Procter and Gamble, TGIFriday’s etc.) or that the company name isn’t descriptive (descriptive examples might include "The City of Tulsa Department of Accounting", "Bob’s Flooring", "Acme Trucking and Distribution") then you should include a brief one-sentence description of the company. You can generally pick this up from the corporate website or even a yellow pages ad. It’s the ‘hook’ or marketing phrase the company devises to create their brand.

‘F S Wholesale is the largest distributor of plumbing supplies in the state of Maryland.’

There are a lot of ways to present this information. Paragraphs, short sentences, bullet points or ‘lists’. The format is going to depend on 1) how much information you are presenting 2) your job content’IE a barista at the local coffee shop is going to be a much shorter entry than a regional Starbuck’s manager. 3) the length of your resume.

*One of the most common questions recruiters and career coaches receives is ‘how long should my resume be?

Usually job hunters are thinking in terms of pages. Since the 1980’s, we have been counseled to keep it to no more than two pages. This has been ingrained into our job hunting psyches.

But here’s the thing: nowadays, the *majority* of job seekers are using electronic media such as email and job boards/electronic applications for their job searches. Guess what? When you enter your resume content into any sort of an electronic system, I can’t tell how many pages it is. It comes up as a text box when I first start looking at it. When you send me an email attachment, I open it up and scan the top two-thirds of the page in front of me to see if there is a decent match. I don’t *care* how long it is from a recruiting standpoint.

That isn’t to say that your resume should be ten pages long. The rule of thumb is:

Two pages should be sufficient to showcase your professional history/qualifications going back 7-10 years. And that is *what you should be concentrating on*. If you have more years of experience than that, it probably isn’t relevant. Trying to fit every job on your resume going back to your college job in 1982 isn’t necessary.

Personally, I would rather have a three page resume that is clean and easy to read than trying to jam pack so much information into a document that it reads like a technical manual or dictionary.

Current trends lean toward bullet points for delineating your job content. This is best accomplished if you have a pretty steady job history, meaning you haven’t changed employers frequently (ie if you are a freelance consultant/contractor it probably isn’t your best format.) Keep in mind, the further back you go, the less content you need. The bulk of information should be in your last 1-3 positions, thinning out as you go further back.

Another question that comes up frequently is the date format. Do you use the mm/yy -mm/yy or just yy/yy?

I prefer the year-year format. I don’t care if you spent six weeks looking for a new job between May and July of 2002. Maybe you were taking vacation, or perhaps you got a severance package and took extra time to finish painting your family room. But it is true that almost all online applications want the mm/yy format, so even if you choose to use the year-year format, you should have the months of transition recorded and accessible. (Don’t even *think* about the day’choose a default of the 1st, 15th, or 25th if needed). Remember, your resume is a *sales tool*. The information should accurately and positively portray you as a valuable asset to potential employer.