Effective
Resume Writing
by:
Dave
Lympany
A lot of places around
the world call it A
Curriculum Vitae, in North
America, it's a Résumé. This
is definitely one of the
most important tools that
any jobseeker has at their
disposal. You may be THE
best candidate for a
particular job by a long
way, however, if you don't
make it to the interview
stages the company will
never know.
Many companies
(especially the larger
corporations) will use
computer software to "read"
all the résumé’s and reject
any that don't fit a
particular template. This
may seem unfair, but it's
cost effective.
So, for some jobs you
have to beat the computer
and still read well enough
for someone who may not have
any knowledge of the
position you are applying
for. It is definitely
worthwhile to adapt your
resume for the position that
is advertised. There may
well be some of the "buzz"
words the "filter" is
looking for mentioned in the
job description.
It is very important that
you can substantiate all the
claims you make, preferably
with physical examples or
letters. This will be
essential in any in
interview situation.
There is now a wealth of
information available
online, from books, local
employment offices and with
professional writing
agencies. You can also
access other people’s
résumé’s that are posted
online which will give some
great ideas for style and
content.
Professional writers may
seem the answer, but, all
the research I have done
seems to lean away from
them. I have never used one
and feel that it will give a
good impression if you have
written it yourself (this
will display literacy).
Apparently, if they are
professionally written, they
are easy to spot; however,
they may be worth the
expense if you are stuck.
You can always "customise"
what has been written to
make it your own work.
In my case, I had been in
the military since I left
school and had never written
a resume or had an
interview. I spent a lot of
time writing, copying other
people’s styles and changing
things. I didn't realise how
difficult it is to catch up
on 16 years - I'll never
allow mine to go out of date
again! I found the hardest
part was to actually start
writing. The best advice I
was given was to just write
anything that you can think
of and it will soon start to
flow. With modern word
processors it's relatively
quick and easy to cut and
paste so you can keep on
changing it until you are
happy. More detailed
information can be found at
http://www.onestopimmigration-canada.com/resume.html
Good Luck!!!!! |
