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Quick and Easy Tips on Resume Categories
There are several factors that are essential to a strong resume. This
tutorial will explain the importance of each category in a resume.
>>>>>>>>>>>>VISUAL APPEAL<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Make it attractive and organized by being consistent! Be sure to use tabs
instead of spacing. Each element should be presented the identical way
from section to section. For example, if you center and bold a heading,
center and bold all of your headings. If you indent your experience under
an employer, do the same for the rest. If you use just the years for a
position held, do not use months for the other positions. If you skip one
line between two sections, skip only one line between all sections. When
you are done, examine the format. Does it look uniformed?
Many job seekers make the mistake of creating a simple, hard-to-read
heading or “Resume Letterhead.” To start your resume off right, bold and
capitalize your name and make it at least a 16-point font size. Place your
address in an interesting way. For example. break the address up on either
side of the name, placed in the center, and add a line to separate the
name and address from the body of the resume.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>FOCUS<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Indicate your objective so the reader doesn’t have to guess. Instead of
using an objective statement that really doesn’t say anything specific,
place an objective title in its place, all caps and bold. Or:
Boring/cliche:
OBJECTIVE: Seeking to secure a growth-oriented position utilizing my
experience and education.
Focused:
OBJECTIVE: Customer service representative with five years of experience
in automotive manufacturing seeking a sales position with a major auto
dealership.
>>>>>>>>>>>>QUALIFICATIONS<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
List several key qualifications (hard skills) that match the requirements
of a position. This could include length of experience, type of experience
(i.e. sales, customer service, technical expertise, licenses,
certifications, and degree).
>>>>>>>>>PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES<<<<<<<<<<<
Sparingly list soft skills and personality traits well suited for the
position. This should not be confused with qualifications. This could
include strong communication skills used as a group presenter, excellent
time management skills, people-oriented, project-oriented, team
leadership, problem solving skills, mathematical aptitude,
confidentiality, patient advocate, etc.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>EXPERIENCE<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Provide a presentation of where you worked, in what positions, and for how
long. Convey what the positions were about and what your main
responsibilities were. Take into consideration who you reported to, if you
supervised and trained anyone, who your customers were, how you interacted
with them, what type of projects you worked on, if you handled monies or
managed budgets, if you utilized the computer to retrieve and update
information, etc.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>SKILLS<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
If you possess certain technical skills such as patient care, computer
systems, automotive repair, scientific R&D, etc., be sure to emphasize it
in a situational way to show the reader how you used these skills. If you
have extensive computer skills, be sure to create a separate category
called Technical Expertise.
>>>>>>>>>>>>ACCOMPLISHMENTS<<<<<<<<<<<<<
List accomplishments to show you make a difference in the workplace. This
could include process improvements, streamlining workflow efficiencies,
training others when a new computer system was implemented, starting up a
new department, etc. You can include your accomplishment directly under
each position or in a separate category called Accomplishments,
Achievements, or Contributions.
>>>>>>>>>>>TECHNICAL EXPERTISE<<<<<<<<<<<<
This is an important category for an information technology professional
to itemize their expertise in hardware, software, operating systems,
protocols, programming languages, website development, etc.
>>>>>>>>>>LICENSES & CERTIFICATIONS<<<<<<<<<
This is mandatory for many positions requiring state licensure. For
example, a teacher (teaching certificate), nurse (registered nurse),
hairstylist (state licensed cosmetologist). Some occupations offer
certifications that demonstrate a level of proficiency, but is not state
mandated to work in that capacity. This is true in the case of information
technology, for example, it helps to maintain certain certifications to
advance professionally and demand higher pay.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>EDUCATION<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
As with licenses and certifications, many occupations require a degree.
Some certifications and licenses are not offered without appropriate
academic training. Again, these include teaching, nursing, and
cosmetology. These occupations require a certain level of training defined
by hours or semesters, such as student teaching, clinical training, and
hands-on classroom training. If you have experience and are not
transitioning, list your education at the bottom. If you are just starting
out or are transitioning, include your relevant education at the top. The
main idea is to place your strongest selling points first. If you are in a
higher education such as school principal, list your education at the top
because that is your field.
>>>>>>>>PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS <<<<<<<<<<
List only the current organizations that you are affiliated with. If you
were with an organization for a very long time and it would help to
include it, then list it with the years of membership. If you are involved
in doing things for the organization, include “active” in your
“membership” title. For example, Active Member, ABC Organization, 1998 –
Present. If you are actively involved in many unrelated organizations, use
your discretion when deciding to include it. You do not need to list
experience when listing your affiliations. Just your position, i.e.
Chairperson, The Organization, XXXX. You do not need to list locations.
The exception with the verbiage is if you are a college student or just
graduated. You would then want to include how involved you were in
fundraisers and special projects. That will show your character and
leadership potential. Once you have gained experience, be sure to remove
the verbiage so you don’t look “green.” By then you should have more
impressive information to include.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>COMPUTER SKILLS<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
If you are in information technology, use a Technical Expertise category.
If not, list your software without proficiency level. You do not need to
list email, faxing, and calculators. Those are expected.
>>>>>REFERENCES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST<<<<<<
This category is not necessary. You should bring copies of your references
to the interview to leave with the hiring manager if you feel you are
still interest in the company after the interview. The only time it is a
good idea to include this cliche category is if you are just starting out
in your career. If you are very seasoned and have lots of letter of
recommendation, you can always indicate that you have a "Portfolio of
Letters of Recommendation and Exceptional Professional References"
Written By
This resume tutorial is courtesy of Quick and Affordable Resumes, a
reputable online resume service that creates high quality resumes and
cover letters incorporating the use of online resume forms. For more
information visit http://www.quickandaffordableresumes.com
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This resume tutorial is courtesy of Quick
and Affordable Resumes, a reputable online resume service that creates
high quality resumes and cover letters incorporating the use of online
resume forms. For more information visit
http://www.quickandaffordableresumes.com
support@quickandaffordableresumes.com
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