Description
Polish up that old resume—and land your dream job
We've all been there: it's time to apply for a job or internship and you have to create or revise your resume. Many questions pop in your head. What do employers want? What skills should I highlight? How do I format this? How do I get noticed? But resume writing doesn't have to be a daunting task.
The latest edition of Resumes For Dummies answers all of these questions and more—whether you're a resume rookie, looking for new tips, or want to create that eye-catching winning resume. In this trusted guide, Laura DeCarlo decodes the modern culture of resume writing and offers you insider tips on all the best practices that’ll make your skills shine and your resume pop. Let's start writing!
- Write effective resumes that will stand out in a crowd
- Understand Applicant Tracking Systems and how to adapt your resume
- Keep your resume up with the current culture
- Position a layoff or other career change and challenge with a positive spin
- Leverage tips and tricks that give your resume visual power
In order to put your best foot forward and stand out in a pile of papers, it’s important to have an excellent and effective resume—and now you can.
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Foolish Assumptions 2
Icons Used in This Book 2
Beyond the Book 3
Where to Go from Here 3
Part 1: Getting Started with Resumes 5
Chapter 1: Getting a Job in the Digital Age 7
Resumes Are Here to Stay 8
Keeping Up with Resume Times 8
Targeted resume rules 9
Unfit resumes are zapped 10
Tried-and-true techniques remain 11
Technologies Facilitate Job Searching 12
Social networking scoops jobs 13
Mobile’s on the move 13
Quick-change process customizes content 14
Bios gain new importance as profiles 14
YourName.com becomes vital 14
Chapter 2: Enlisting Social Media 15
The Sweeping Reach of Social Networking 16
Eyeing the Big Three of Social Networking Job Searches 17
LinkedIn focuses on professionals 17
Facebook hands adults important search tools 19
Twitter opens quick, slick paths to employers 20
Making Sure Online Profiles Capture Your Best Side 23
Let’s hear it for profiles! 23
Not all profiles should be cheered 24
Great tips for great profiles 25
Writing Your Social Profile 26
Summary section 26
Specialties section 28
Experience section 29
Fine-tuning your profile 31
Putting Your Best Face Forward 32
Chapter 3: Going Mobile 35
Earning New Rewards with Mobile Search 36
Knowing When and Where to Stick to Home Computer Searches 37
Powering a Mobile Search 37
Choose job search apps wisely 37
Watch type size and font 38
Empower RSS to send job news 38
Stay in the running with a rehearsed salary strategy 39
Choose your work site with GPS 40
Score with proven keywords 40
Avoiding Mobile Job Search Mistakes 41
Thinking technology overcomes poor resume quality 41
Going on too long when going mobile 41
Looking naive in following up 41
Chapter 4: Leveraging Familiar Search Tools 43
Plain-Text Resumes Are Still on the Scene 44
Creating an ATS-Friendly Resume 47
E-Forms: Fill in the Blankety-Blanks 51
Online Screening Guards the Employment Door 52
Sample components of online screening 53
Pros and cons of online screening 54
Can your resume be turned away? 55
Blogs Give a Global Brand 55
RSS Delivers Job Alerts on Your Time 56
Resume Blasting: A Really Bad Idea 57
Privacy and identity theft problems 57
Overexposure to recruiters 58
Going directly makes all the difference 59
Making recruiters work for you 59
Chapter 5: Checking Your Online Image 61
Your Online Life Is an Open Book 62
A look at the dark side 62
A look at the bright side 63
Cleaning Up Your Act 63
Restoring Your Online Reputation 64
Keeping Watch on Your Online Reputation 66
Staying out of trouble online 66
Looking like a champ online 69
Look Who’s Talking about You 71
Part 2: Pulling Together a Winning Resume 73
Chapter 6: Selecting the Best Resume Format 75
Resume Formats Make a Difference 76
Reverse-Chronological Format 77
Understanding the RC format’s strengths and weaknesses 77
Deciding whether you should use the RC format 79
Creating a reverse-chronological resume 80
Chrono-Functional Format 81
Understanding the CF format’s strengths and weaknesses 83
Deciding whether you should use the CF format 83
Creating a chrono-functional resume 84
Hybrid Format 84
Understanding the hybrid format’s strengths and weaknesses 85
Deciding whether you should use the hybrid format 86
Creating a hybrid resume 86
Other Resume Presentations 89
Resume letters 89
Portfolios 90
Chapter 7: Understanding the Parts of a Resume 93
Breaking Down the Parts of Your Resume 94
Leading with Contact Information 95
Placing Your Job Target in the Objective Header 96
Grabbing the Reader with the Summary Section 97
Maximizing the summary section 98
Selling yourself in your summary 99
Matching the Job Target with Key Skills 100
Hard skills 100
Soft skills 101
The Proof Is in the Experience 101
Defining the parts of your experience 102
Playing up target expertise 102
When competencies come into play 104
Education Makes the Grade 105
Detailing your degree 105
Featuring your certifications 107
Listing your licenses 108
Gaining Extra Points 108
Activities 108
Organizations and affiliations 109
Honors and awards 109
Endorsements 110
Shaping Your Content on Application Forms 111
Notable Content to Leave Off Your Resume 112
Avoid addressing the salary question 112
Hold off on providing your references 113
Chapter 8: Making the Details Shine 115
Getting Started by Gathering Data 116
Compiling the Content for the Basis of Your Resume 117
Starting with your employment history and responsibilities lists 117
Going down the rabbit hole to identify challenges 119
Showing how action and results overcame challenges 121
Taking the Next Steps 123
Considering other accomplishments 123
Brainstorming your way to success 124
Your Core Resume: Turning Your Data into Dynamite 126
Assembling the bones of the resume 127
Tackling your most recent professional or job-related experience 128
Focusing on older positions 129
Playing up other experience 130
Building your brand in the summary section 130
Polishing Your Core Resume to Hand Out in Person 131
Chapter 9: Using the OnTarget Approach 133
Is Targeting Your Resume Really Necessary? 133
Why One-Size-Fits-All Never Works 134
First-line human resume screening 135
First-line computerized resume screening 135
Final destination with decision-maker 136
Taking a Custom Approach 137
Drawing words from job descriptions 139
Using crossover language to be OnTarget 139
Part 3: Resume Strategies to Wow Them 143
Chapter 10: Working Wonders with Wow Words 145
Bringing Good News with Wow Words 146
Wow words for administration and management 146
Wow words for communications and creativity 147
Wow words for sales and persuasion 148
Wow words for technical ability 149
Wow words for office support 149
Wow words for teaching 150
Wow words for research and analysis 151
Wow words for helping and caregiving 152
Wow words for financial management 153
Wow words for many skills 153
Helping Recruiters Find You 154
Keywords for administration and management 156
Keywords for banking 156
Keywords for customer service 156
Keywords for information technology 157
Keywords for manufacturing 157
Keywords for human resources 158
Finding Keywords 158
Using Keywords 160
Getting a Grip on Grammar 161
Focusing on Spelling 162
Chapter 11: Refining Your Design 165
Leaving Space 166
Measure your margins 166
Balance blank space 167
Employing Basic Design Elements for a Readable Resume 168
Come on, break it up! Avoid blocky text 169
Group content under a job description 169
Draw attention with text boxes, charts, and graphs 170
Create eye-catching headers 172
Have fun with fonts and font styles 173
Consistency, consistency, consistency 174
A few more tips on appearance 174
Tips for Printed Resumes 175
Chapter 12: Opting for a Creative Resume 177
Understanding Why Creative Resumes Are Game Changers 177
Defining creative resumes 178
The yes and no of creative resumes 179
Using Design Strategies That Pop 180
Lines and shading 181
Text boxes 181
Charts and graphs 182
Monograms and logos 184
Graphics and icons 185
Chapter 13: Dealing with a Major Life Change 187
Scoring Big with Your First Gig 188
Promoting your strengths 188
Recognizing your rookie soft spots 188
Demonstrating how recent graduates add value 189
Avoiding gaffes common to new graduates 193
Moving Beyond “Too Old” to “In Demand” 195
Selling your strengths as a seasoned worker 195
Busting myths about seasoned workers 196
Tips for the seasoned worker 197
Taking a lower-level job 199
Watching out for gaffes common to seasoned workers 201
Moving from Military Work to Civilian Employment 202
Highlighting your military strengths 202
Identifying potential strikes against you 202
Tips for transitioners 203
Getting the message about milspeak 204
Chapter 14: Overcoming Career Roadblocks 209
Navigating Job Gaps 209
Viewing a gap as a good thing 210
Minding the gap 211
Returning to the Workforce after Being a Caregiver 213
Seeking a Job When You Have a Disability 215
Deciding whether to disclose a disability 216
Explaining gaps in work history 216
When substance abuse is the problem 216
Seeking a Job When You’re an Ex-Offender 217
Negative info kills your chances 217
Avoid the chronological format 217
Present prison experience in nonprison terms 218
Get help with job search moves 218
Addressing Experience Dilemmas 218
Too much experience in one job 218
Too little experience 220
Addressing Situations Not in Your Control 220
Several layoffs 220
Mergers and acquisitions 220
Handling Red-Flag Circumstances 221
Demotion 222
Job-hopping 225
Concurrent positions 226
Self-employed or family-employed 226
Part 4: Bringing It All Together With Sample Resumes 229
Chapter 15: OnTarget Resumes by Industry and Career Field 231
Chapter 16: OnTarget Resumes by Experience and Age 271
Chapter 17: OnTarget Resumes for Special Circumstances 307
Chapter 18: Award-Winning Creative Marketing Resumes 351
Part 5: The Part of Tens 395
Chapter 19: Ten Ways to Improve Your Resume 397
Match Your Resume to the Job 397
Use Bulleted Style for Easy Reading 398
Discover Art of Lost Articles 398
Sell, Don’t Tell 398
Show Off Your Assets 399
Make Sure Your Words Play Well Together 399
Reach Out with Strength 399
Trash a Wimpy Objective 399
Deliver the Right Document 400
Erase the Leave-Outs 400
Chapter 20: Ten Ways to Increase the Odds of Landing a Job 403
Send Your Resume in the Right Tech Form 403
Don’t Chase Every Job 405
Hit the Bull’s-Eye with Your Resume 405
Move Fast, Follow Guidelines 406
Neutralize Chilling Information 406
Go Directly to the Hiring Manager 407
Find an Inside Advocate 408
Keep on Keepin’ On 409
Find It on Company Websites 409
Use Job Boards with Caution 410
Chapter 21: Ten Tips for Choosing Professional Resume Help 413
Choose a Resume Writing Service, Not a Clerical Service 414
Zero in on Certified Professionals 414
Request a Free Initial Consultation 416
Evaluate the Writer’s Resume Samples 416
Ask for References 417
Watch Out for an Overuse of Forms 417
Identify Generalists and Specialists 417
Look for a Fair Price 418
Take Aim 419
Know That a Cheap Resume Is No Bargain 419
Chapter 22: Your Ten-Point Resume Checklist 421
Qualifications 421
Image and Focus 421
Format and Style 422
Accomplishments and Skills 423
Language and Expressions 423
Content and Omissions 423
Length and Common Sense 423
Social Media and Other New Things 424
Sticky Points and Sugarcoating 424
Proofreading and More Proofreading 424
Appendix: Directory of Resume Writers 425
Index 431
