Resume Tips

“The best way to become acquainted with a subject is to write a book about it.” Benjamin Disraeli

Your resume is your most important calling card in your career search. It should include the following information:

Contact information. Include phone, mail and email contact information. In addition, make sure your voicemail message is professional. A message that is too casual can create a negative impression.

Career objective. Listing a career objective can help or hurt you depending on the circumstances. If your objective doesn't match the employer's needs, you may miss out on a golden opportunity. However, a clearly stated career objective can help your search consultant find your ideal career match.

Summary statement. Your summary should be brief.

Include your title and years of experience.
List pertinent skills.
Discuss your character traits or work style.

Example: “Financial Accountant with over 10 years experience with two Fortune 500 companies. Technical skills include P&L, budgeting, forecasting and variance reporting. Bilingual in Spanish and English. Self-starter who approaches every project in a detailed, analytical manner.”

Professional experience. List each position held in reverse chronological order, dating back at least ten years. If you held multiple positions within the same company, list them all to show advancement and growth. The body of each position description should describe your responsibilities and accomplishments. One of the most common mistakes is to leave out accomplishments on the resume. If you don't list specific quantifiable results, the assumption is you didn't have any. The top accomplishments employers want to see are:

Revenues/sales increased
Costs reduced
Productivity improvements
Profits/margins increased

Other components. Include education, professional training, affiliations/appointments, licenses, technical skills and languages.

Personal information. Do not include personal information such as marital status.