Resume formats: do I write my interests in my resume?

Should you write your interests in your resume?

Answer: it depends!

If your interests are strongly connected to the position for which you are applying, or any part of that job, then yes, it's a good idea to include them if you have room. But if you're short of space, it's not that important.

If your interests have nothing to do with the type of work you want to do, in any way, shape or form, then no, do not put them in. All you might do it attract attention away from your relevant skills.

The one time your interests absolutely should be included are when you are using skils gained through them, to get this job.

Let's say I want a job working in a music store.

I have never worked in a music store, and have very little customer service experience at all. Why would they hire me?

Well, if I could put a section of "interests" in my resume in which I outline in detail what I have done that is music related: if I play instruments, sing in a choir, listen to any specific type of music, go to live band shows etc.

All of this would show not only a keen interest, but a general knowledge of the subject built up through my interest and would therefore very good to put on my resume when looking for a music related job.

So be very selective about the interests you include in your resume.

More about successful resume writing.

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Resumes: How to hook the employer

How long will the average employer look at your resume?

15 - 30 seconds!!

Not long to take in all your life's achievements.

So how on earth can you get the employers attention if he's just going to skim over your resume?

When an employer looks over resumes quickly, what is read is on the first half of the first page of the resume.

Also what is read is in bullet points, for quick and easy reading. Not in paragraphs that take more time and concentration.

So, when you put together your resume, after your name and contact information, and your job objective, put a bulleted list entitled "Highlights".

Make this list of short, one liners, and include the main skills and experience that this employer is looking for, so you will hook him in that crucial first few seconds.

One way to find what is likely to hook any employer, of course, is to read the job ad if there is one, carefully. Whatever you have that's in the advertisement, you reword, so you don't come across as a parrot just regurgitating the ad, and put in your highlights.

If you have any special skill or experience that you know will interest this employers, put that in the highlights whether or not it's mentioned in the ad.

About 6 - 8 highlights only.

If the employer is hooked by that, he will probably go on to read the rest of your resume.

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Résumés that work: include accomplishment statements

Résumés that include accomplishment statements, or the results of the work the job seeker did, get results faster.

The accomplishment shows the benefit to the employer of hiring this job seeker.

For every statement in your résumé, ask yourself the question “So what?”

So what was the benefit of this to my employer? Why would this be a worthwhile thing to have done?

Here are some phrases to get you started thinking about your accomplishments.

- Saved money
- Reduced time taken
- Improved performance
- Boosted sales
- Increased efficiency
- Enlarged customer list
- Provided excellent customer service
- Increased reliability
- Increased productivity
- Streamlined production
- Reduced costs
- Reduced waste
- Solved problems
- Took initiative

Follow these steps to create your accomplishment statements:

- Write out what you did
- Include the benefit to the employer
- Remove any unnecessary information
- Use statistics, and quantitative words wherever possible (25%, by $4000)

Here are some samples:

Increased sales by 15% in first 6 months, by instigating a regular follow-up/ call back system

Reduced customer service/ problem calls by an average of 25 per day by creating more effective one call resolution policy

Computerized all printed staff information sheets, streamlining performance and making all information instantly available to all staff

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Resumes: Employers don't read, they scan

How long will the average employer look at your resume?

15 - 30 seconds.

That's not long so here's how to give maximum readability in that short time span.

• write bulleted items, preferably of one line and no more than two
• do not use unnecessary words, such as "the" and "a" - just miss them out
  
• do not use "I". "my" or "me"
• use powerful descriptors such as effective, efficient and successful
• use statistics where ever possible: Increased sales by 15% in 6 months

Other information:

• group bulleted lists under different heading so no one heading has more than about 6, or at the most 8 bullets, and no less than 3
• Whenever you tell the employer you did something, the last bit of that one-liner should tell him/her what benefit that is to them
• for example: Reorganized filing system, saving 3 hours filing work per week, ensuring quick, easy access to files for all staff

Success happens when you:

• Take time to write your one liners.
• Use simple bullets, no fancy checkmarks or designs.
• Make your resume on that will stand out enough in the first 15 - 30 seconds that the employer will give the time it takes to read it in entirity.

Resumes for returning to the workplace

How to you write your resume if you're returning to the workplace after, say, being at home for some years raising a family?

There are two things to do.

Firstly, under the list of your previous employment, list "Worked from home raising family" and the dates, just as you would for any other job.

If you took courses, voluteered or did anything other than raise your children during this time, make sure these are highlighted in the appropriate places on your resume.

Then think of exactly what raising your children entailed. Write down all the skills and use them in your skills based resume.

For example:
Demonstrated excellent organizational and time management skills ensuring each of 3 children arrived on time for various extra curricular activities, complete with the necessary supplies, picking them up again on time to prevent the anxiety of having to wait for their ride.

That's what you did, but let's see if we can make it sound more "businesslike."

Demonstrated excellent organizational and time management skilsl in creating and regularly maintaining complex schedule involving 4 people, in spite of delays and unexpected events.

So now we've taken out the "kids" in name, but the skill is still there.

Employers often don't think of what you do around the home and with the family as employable skills, so it's up to you to put it into words that they can relate to.

So write down what you did, then reword it in "employese" and use it to write yourself a great skills based resume.

Resumes: what to put in and what not to in

What to put and what not to put in your resume

You do not have to put everything you have ever done in your resume.

The only information that belongs in your resume is information that is relevant to the job for which you are applying, and enough work history to show continuous employment, wherever possible.

You don't have to go back to when you left school, unless you are still very young.

The last ten years is all you have to put on your resume, unless previous to that you had experience which is highly relevant to the job for which you are now applying.

You do not and should not include any personal information such as your date of birth, weight, state of health (unless specifically asked, ie "must be able to lift 100 lbs."), or weight.

What you should include are all the skills that you have which make you qualified for this job.

Notice I said skills, not job duties.

To perform any job duty you use various skills. The job duties, if you are applying for a different type of work, may not be relevant, but perhaps the skills you used to do the duties are relevant.

For example: if you used to be a server in a restaurant and now you want to work as an event planner.

The job duties would seem pretty irrelevant, but the skills of being well organized, able to handle multiple tasks, meeting tight deadlines, working in a busy environment, excellent communication and people skills.... etc etc.

There are a multitude of skills a good server has that would transfer easily to the work of an event planner, but if you don't tell the employer what they are, s/he probably won't take the time to work them out.

Think about your skills. Write them down and make sure you include the relevant ones to each resume you write.

Need more help with your job search.

Great resume guide that will get you the interview.

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Do you need a cover letter?

Do you need a cover letter? The short answer is yes.

About 50% of employers don't even look at a cover letter, but for the other 50% who do, it's imperative that you have a powerful letter to go with your resume.

Why do 50% not read your cover letter? Imagine you are an employer, advertising a job. You get 300 responses. That is 600 pages, if the resumes are generally one page long, 900 pages if they are two pages long. If you ditch all the cover letters you have just saved yourself reading 300 pages. Quite a time saving.

But back to those who do: what do they want to find in your cover letter?

Firstly say where you found the advertisement and the position title.

Then highlight the main strengths and experience you have that the employers seems to want the most. This can take one or two paragraphs.

Next, visit the employers website, or look them up in the yellow pages, and to your cover letter add a short statement about something you find interesting or exciting about the company.

Lastly is the call to action. This is where you tell the employer what you expect to happen next.

With an advertised job, this will mean just stating that you look forward to hearing from him/ her, and hope they will interview you.

With an undavertised job, you state that you will call in a few days, or a week, in the hope of setting up an interview. (And then make sure you do call!)

Thank the employer for taking the time to read your material, and close with "Sincerely", and your name.

One page, no more and lots of white space.

That's your cover letter. It's job is not to get you the job. It's job it to get the employers to read your resume so take time and put some thought into what you write, just in case you hit one of the 50% of employers who read cover letters.

Need more help and detail on writing a powerful, result-driven cover letter?

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Your Resume: Show the employer the benefit of hiring you.

How can you show the employer the benefit of hiring you in your resume?

By including benefit statements in each line of your resume.

Change your focus from job duties to skills. So instead of writing
"Responsible for all filing",
which is a job duty, it might read something like:
"Simplified document and report retrieval by prompt and accurate filing"

From this it is understood that one of your duties must be filing, but in addition it tells us you did it well and by doing so created a benefit to your company.

The benefit of course is that you simplified document and report retrieval.

Who should use this type of resume?

Answer: Everyone.

No matter what format you use for your resume, turning duties into benefits is a positive idea that reaps great benefits for you, the job seeker!

Welcome to the Resume Blog

Welcome to the Resume Blog.

On this blog I will be writing regular tips, tactics and advice on how to prepare an resume and cover letter that will get you the interview.

There is lot more to a successful resume than a list of the jobs you have had.

And there are some great ways to attract the attention of the employer so s/he takes the next step and invites you to an interview.

Check back often. I intend to create an extremely valuable resume writing resource here for you.