An effective professional resume is a crucial component
in any executive job search. A resume should be skillfully
designed to convey essential employment information.
A well-designed resume will emphasize strengths and
use vital keywords to ensure a high ranking in both human
and computerized screening. Avoid negative or tentative
phrases.
A powerful and effective resume should:
- Open doors to job opportunities.
- Showcase a candidates
strengths, accomplishments and career potential.
- Result in a personal
call from a potential employer.
- Substantially shorten
the job search time.
- Create a positive and enthusiastic
response from hiring organization.
- Minimize or eliminate screen-out factors - elements
that can cause a resume to be screened out rather
than selected.
- Rank high with automated applicant
tracking systems: i.e., resumes scanned into computer
databases, resumes submitted through e-mail, and
resumes posted on job sites.
- Help candidates maintain
control of interviews by directing the interviewer
toward their strengths.
Choosing the right resume format ::
Since each individual possesses a unique set of talents,
skills, abilities, experience, and training, there
is no one format that best suits everyone. However,
it is essential to choose the appropriate resume format
suited to your individual circumstances.
Although there are numerous different formats, they
are all a variation of 3 basic categories:
Chronological Resume ::
The chronological resume - with a summary of qualifications
- is typically the most effective format to quickly
show a candidate’s relevant job skills to a potential
employer, thus enhancing the first impression.
The chronological
resume format - without a summary of qualifications — stresses
a candidate’s
past, rather than current goals, so it is easy to be
marked unfavorably and/or screened out if the work history
does not match the candidate’s current employment
objectives.
The chronological resume format works well
if your past employment meets several criteria, including:
- Your work history is related to your current objectives,
and ideally shows progressive job responsibility
in a specific career direction.
- The amount of experience
you have falls into an appropriately marketable range.
- You
are presently employed or have not been unemployed
for a long period of time.
- Your length of employment
in each job falls into an acceptable range.
If you're most recent position is not directly
related to your current career objectives, it may
be best to use a Combination Format that focuses
more completely on your relevant functional skills,
training, and accomplishments before listing your
employment history.
Functional Resume ::
The functional resume presents qualifications that support
your current career objectives by highlighting only
your functional skills.
A functional format may show
a brief work history at the end of the resume, but
without job descriptions and accomplishments.
The functional
resume format is often used to hide unfavorable elements
in a candidate’s employment history; therefore
human resource professionals may view it with caution.
This is particularly true when the work history is omitted
(which is not recommended)
The functional resume format
gives candidates more control than a chronological
format over the way in which skills, experience, and
training are presented. This format is appropriate
for candidates whose current career goals are unrelated
to their previous work history. Remember, it is best
not to combine non-complementary skills as it can do
more harm than good.
Combination Resume ::
The combination resume combines the features of the chronological
and the functional resumes. It allows candidates to
focus on marketable job skills and qualifications,
before presenting the candidate’s employment
history. This is the favored resume format.
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