By Chris Archer
Contemplating a job change or seeking the next opportunity in the near future? To keep any career on track, it’s necessary to have a game plan in mind that includes moving up the ladder once approximately every two to three years. One of the first things any job seeker must do prior to engaging in a career search, is to create or update their resume.
What exactly is the purpose of a resume, besides the obvious? What is the most widely accepted format for resumes? Is it perfectly acceptable to add “flare” to your resume, to ensure recruiters and employers take notice? Let’s take deeper look at your resume, and discuss these issues in detail.
According to Wikipedia, the formal definition of a resume, is a document containing a summary or listing of relevant job experience and education, usually for the purpose of obtaining an interview when seeking employment. Additionally referred to as a Curriculum Vitae, which is the Latin term for “course of life,” a resume should be updated on a regular basis, to reflect new employers, additional educational courses, and relevant work experiences that are in direct line with target career goals. For instance, if an individual is a professional author, who was recently had a published work in a major magazine, he or she would want to add this to their resume, so that this experience could embellish their current successes in their chosen field. Conversely, should a person take a needlepoint class at a local Junior College, this would not be added to the resume; because this serves only for personal pleasure, and in no way furthers professional qualifications. When it comes to preparing or updating any resume, the key should be on past accomplishments which enhance the individual’s ability to reach their short and long-term career goals.
There are several types of resume formats to choose from, including the following:
~ Chronological
~ Functional
~ Chrono-Functional
~ Hybrid
~ Combination
~ Scannable
~ Web-based
The purpose of formatting the resume in any one, or all of the formats listed, is to disclose one’s career record to prospective employers and recruiters, in a way that is acceptable to them, for the purposes of providing the job seeker with target employment opportunities. Honestly, there truly is no right or wrong way to prepare a resume, as all serve to deliver qualifications to the intended party. However, it is important that the resume be comprehensive, and essentially, market the individual’s skills and work experience in such a way, that a hiring manager or recruiter will be motivated to consider this person for their open position. When a person crafts their own resume, and does not receive interview requests from hiring managers, hiring a professional resume writing service is recommended.
Think about this for one minute. Everyone receives sales brochures in the mail. When leafing through this marketing literature, some companies present the information better than others. In fact, some sales documents do such a good job of presenting their unique product or service in a compelling manner that the recipient reads all of the information – even though they are not in the market for the item. Relating this analogy to resumes, many job seekers believe they can power up their word processing program and obtain the same results as those achieved by a professional resume preparer. Experienced writers may have the ability to obtain excellent results. In this competitive job market, it may be necessary to seek help in preparing the best possible resume.
When an individual creates or updates their own resume, it is okay to add their own personalized style to the resume. In fact, in the sales, public relations, marketing or advertising industries, this is one way for a candidate to show their prowess, and rocket their resume to the top of the hiring managers’ stack.
On the other side of the coin, if attempting to land a job in a conservative field, the use of creativity may not be appreciated. To prevent submitting the wrong type of resume to a prospective employer, always research the acceptable format for a given industry.
In order to perform a successful job search, the preparation of a quality resume is essential to receiving interview invitations. Each job seeker must focus on creating a captivating, personal marketing document that enables the hiring manager to visualize the person’s value to their company.