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RESUME DO's AND DON'TS
RESUME DO'S:
Sell yourself. Be confident and make the screener understand that if you were in his or her shoes, you would hire yourself.
Be concise. Don't use unnecessary words or descriptive terms because it's a resume, not an autobiography.
Take your time to get it right. Create a draft copy and revise it several times. Set it aside for a day. Then revisit it and refine the resume.
Don't keep it a secret. Ask people to review.
Vary words and sentence length. If it's a monotone read, then it's boring and unimaginative and will probably be set down before the screener gets halfway down page one.
Try to have generous borders. Avoid wall-to-wall text. Screeners review many resumes during the day and it's hard on the eyes. The easier on the eyes, the more likely they'll keep reading.
Stick to using words and spell out numbers under and including ten. Always use four digits when referencing years.
Make the resume text flow logically and comfortably. Your style should be consistent throughought. Stick to standard fonts such as Arial or Times Roman. Make it between 10 and 14 points, readable and able to fit enough onto one page that you don't need a 5 page resume.
For printed resumes, use the same paper for the resume, cover letter, curriculum vitae and any references you may bring with you.
Be conservative in layout and print. And use the highest-quality paper, ink, etc. that you can.
Leave references in your binder. Let the prospective employer ask first. References are good, but you never know what the person is going to say. If the interview goes well, don't ruin it by submitting a bad reference.
Choose your references carefully. Usually at least one supervisor and one co-worker are important. But if your current boss is like Dilbert's, leave him out. Likewise, if your right-hand man in the office has the speaking manners of a South Park character, you don't need him.
In speaking and writing, be proactive. Use action verbs instead of passive verbs or adjectives whenever possible. "I ensured the safety of crewmembers..." sounds a lot more assertive and strong than "Responsible for safety..."
For awards and citations, be specific with names, dates, numbers.
RESUME DON'TS:
Don't use an unecessary heading like "My Resume" or be redundant. They know it's a resume. Your name, date, etc. should be in smaller text to the top left of the front page or on one line across the top of the page.
Don't be cutesy or your idea of "fun". The screener is doing his or her job and looking for a professional, not a friend.
Don't lie. Ever. Period. Or exagerrate. Ever. It will be discovered, either during reference checks or, worse, after you've been hired and end up having to put "terminated for lying and lack of ethics in the hiring process" on your next resume. If you don't believe you are worth the job without lying about yourself... then you aren't so don't bother trying.
Don't use low-quality photocopied resumes, cheap paper or anything else that project lack of professionalism. Remember that you're selling yourself.
Don't fold, staple or put your resume in an envelope. If the screener needs, he'll staple it or file it however he needs. If he has to remove a staple or unfold a crease, he'll probably just throw it away.
Avoid controversy or talking bad about previous employers or co-workers. You need to be positive and optimistic and make the employer understand that you can work in a variety of environments, around different kinds of people and are flexible dealing with people. A team player.
Avoid racial, ethnic, religious or any subject matter that walks the line of "political correctness". It's too hard to predict how the other person will judge you.
Don't abbreviate.
Don't forget a cover letter and complete and correct contact information.
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