Writing your Resume
Your resume is a direct reflection on you as a person and although this sounds hard it’s the truth as based on your resume you will either be asked for an interview or not. Your resume is really just a tool to get you to the next stage and that’s meeting someone face to face, so how do you write a good resume?
Covering Letter First let’s look at cover letters, if you are going to write one then make sure the grammar is well constructed and it is targeted to the role you are applying for and ensure you put the person’s name that you are sending the application to in the letter. A covering letter reads much better e.g. ‘Dear Mark’ rather than ‘Dear sir / Madam’ however if the advertisement does not have the persons contact details then the latter will suffice. Make sure your covering letter is short and to the point and more importantly sells you to the role. Don’t sound arrogant in your writing but at the same time sell yourself and your abilities in a positive light.
Resume We are not going to give a long list of all the things to cover on a resume as everyone has their own style and way of presenting information, but we are going to cover the essentials that need to be included.
Contact details should be first on your resume including your e-mail address, mobile number, home number and home address and don’t put your work number if you do not want someone to call you on it or if you cannot really speak in the office about your application. Make sure you put a brief summary of your experiences and skills that you have acquired at the beginning of the resume, this is a snap shot of you as a person.
Education – cover all qualifications, courses and also depending on the qualifications any studies you may be in the process of completing such as a degree or a course you have put on hold.
Work history – cover exact dates of employment, titled positions and company. Under each heading for each company enter your responsibilities and also any achievements or skills developed. If there are any large gaps don’t miss them out but put a brief explanation of what you were doing during this time i.e. traveling, career break etc. Make sure your work history is in chronological order starting with the most recent position and finishing with the oldest – you don’t want people to read first of all on your resume about the paper round you did at school years ago when you are applying for a senior position!
Hobbies / Interests – at the end of your resume put in some personal information about yourself including hobbies, outside interest, personal achievements. Sporting achievements always go down well along with any expeditions you have been on or goals you have achieved. You can tell a lot about someone’s personality and strength of character from not just what they have achieved at work but also what they have participated / achieved outside work.
References – one point to bear in mind is that unfortunately some people will just ring referees without asking you first, which can cause problems to you if you are trying to keep everything confidential. If you want to be notified before someone calls a referee then say so next to the reference’s name in your resume. At Tonic Recruitment we do not contact any referees without asking the candidates permission first of all, unfortunately not every organization works this way.
Last of all make sure the overall presentation of the resume reads well, it’s spell checked and the grammar is conscious. Also pay attention to the fonts you use and the text type as the overall presentation to the eyes is in some cases just as important as the actual information that is written. Most importantly of all your resume and covering letter represents you so make it professional and take your time – first impressions count not just in person but on paper too !
