Resume Guidelines
By Martin Buckland, Master Resume Writer, AnAmericanResume.com

Where do I begin?

First, let me address the issue of a “perfect resume.” Forget it; there is no such document. As a Master Resume Writer, a professional who has attained the highest resume writing designation, I don’t write the prefect resume. Yes, I come close, but there are so many variables that come into play in creating and distributing the resume.

The resume is your sales tool, the window to the world to broadcast to decision makers that you have the assets, attributes, experience and credentials required. Accompanied by a cover letter, it relays the message, “I am the best for this position, hire me!”

I find that people can sell their products and the company they work for more than themselves. Ironically, the worst at selling themselves are sales and marketing professionals. Strange, but true.

It is a complete fallacy that the resume gets you the job. It secures the interview, then it’s down to you to make the sales presentation!

A resume is an advert; you are creating the image, the brand, unique to only you. If your resume is sent via e mail or on paper the strategy is the same. Make yourself look great!

The main thrust of the first page is to stop people in their tracks and entice the reader. This is accomplished by the visual appeal, the correct format and the text. Words contained on the first page will have the buyer buy what you are selling, which is you. If you attract interest on the first page, it optimizes the chances of the second page being read.

The twenty second test. There are varying figures on how long decision makers initially spend reading the resume; one thing is for sure, not long! You have to be able to portray who you are, what you are offering and your accomplishments.

Remember, a resume should be two pages in length with a few exceptions to maximize your chances of having it read. Two pages equals 22 inches of selling space. I see so many people who emphasize their name in 20 points with the address and other contact information in 14 points. This alone takes up 3 inches of valuable real estate. Don’t waste space on this information and condense the address to one line, the communications on the next. Do not include your age, marital status and health. These facts are irrelevant and dangerous, as they lead to discrimination.

You graduated from school, college or university; education most likely secured you your first job. All following positions are probably not obtained purely on your education. Therefore, education can be placed on page two. Keep valuable selling space on page one.

Sell yourself, not the company. I see so many resumes where the company name is capitalized and bolded and the position in initial capitals and not bolded. The question is, what do you want to sell? You? Or the Company? Sell you! Bold and capitalize the position and initial capital the company, no bold.

Scream accomplishments. Make yourself shine and soar above the competition by highlighting your most outstanding achievements; they speak volumes about you. Use action verbs instead of the personal pronoun “I.” Vary the verbs, check for duplication or redundancies; the English language is so wonderful in having numerous verbs with the same meaning. Instead of ‘increased’ have you considered, ‘elevated,’ ‘boosted’ or ‘propelled’? Quantify your accomplishments. If you reduced expenditures, say by how much, over what period?

References available on request. Eliminate this, it’s a waste of space. You can utilize the space more to sell yourself. It is assumed that you will take a list of references with you to the interview.

Delete the weak objective “A challenging position where I can utilize my skills and attributes to provide the company with growth.” It’s fluff. What does it tell a company? Nothing. Everyone wants a challenging position etc……. Replace it with the title of the position or if you are target marketing, hoping to open up an opportunity, Senior Sales Executive is fine.

Always check and recheck your resume for spelling mistakes, poor grammar and syntax. Proofread endlessly.

Don’t shift tenses; current experience should be in the present tense and past experience in the past tense.

Don’t use fancy scripts that are hard to read and also may not be transferable in the computer’s operating system and certainly no more than two fonts in the document.

Forget about using Times New Roman, make yourself stand out from the rest. Some of my favourite fonts are MS Trebuchet, Verdana, Tahoma, Century Gothic, Century Schoolbook and Bookman Old Style. You are branding yourself, creating an image to entice the reader.

Remember the best people don’t always get the interviews. Why? Because their resume is inferior. Your resume is one of the most crucial documents. Spend time preparing this document, it is time well spent! Alternatively, invest in a credentialed resume writer to sell you! Money well spent!

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