2. Identifying Information
Put in the heading of your resume your name and contact information. List name, address, zip code, area code, phone number, and e-mail address where you can be reached during the day.
Place your name in the top middle or the upper-right corner of the page as you want it to be seen quickly and easily, even in a pile of hundreds of resumes.
List two phone numbers if no answering machine is available or if you can accept personal phone calls at work. Be careful if you list your work number on your resume! You only should do that if you can talk freely from that phone and messages can be left without jeopardizing your job. You never can assume a caller to be discreet on your behalf.
3. Job Objective
It is highly recommendable to prepare a brief, clearly-defined statement of the type of position for which you wish to be considered. Envelopes usually are opened by a clerk in Human Resources and if your resume has no objective statement you leave it up to the clerk to decide which department will consider your application.
The objective may be stated:
The career objective tells the reader the theme of your resume with the remaining information supporting your goal. Usually you will need several different resumes that target your experience and educational background to specific employers and positions. Defining clear career objectives is difficult for many job seekers and if you have problems you should consult a family member, a friend or a Career Services professional for assistance. Never define unrealistic or vague nor over-specific objectives as this tend to do more harm than good and might result in a rejection of your resume.
When responding to an advertisement, your potential employer has helped you with the hardest part of composing a resume - the job description. Most entry-level job descriptions will list desirable qualities such as: “top notch organizational skills”, excellent team player”, “excellent communication skills”, 'ability to work under pressure”, or 'computer skills'. Plug these descriptions straight into your resume and you improve your resume tenfold.
An example of an effective objective statement that gives a brief overview of the candidates experience and immediately generates interest on behalf of the recruiter is as follows:
“A highly experienced sales and marketing professional with comprehensive skills in strategic planning and implementation seeking a position as a Sales Manager where these skills will add value”.
4. Summary of Qualifications
With three to four brief statements about your key qualifications you show that you are the ideal candidate for the open position. In this section you can write about your experience, background, expertise, personal values, credentials, work ethics, or anything that makes you qualified for the job opening.
As an example, an IT specialist wishing to make a move into technical marketing might write: "Many different clients have told me that my explanations were very helpful in selecting the right software package for their company". The Summary Statement could be: Reputation for high quality technical support of clients and very good communicational skills.
Or someone staying in the field of technical management might write, "I've worked as a technical manager for a mid-sized company for the last 10 years." This person could use a summary statement as follows: 10 years as the technical manager of a company with current sales of $105 million.
Next: Professional Experience