1.WhatISaresumeanyway?
　　Remember:aResumeisaself-promotionaldocumentthatpresentsyouinthebestpossiblelight,forthepurposeofgettinginvitedtoajobinterview.It'snotanofficialpersonneldocument.It'snotajobapplication.It'snota"careerobituary"!Andit'snotaconfessional.

　　2.Whatshouldtheresumecontentbeabout?
　　It'snotjustaboutpastjobs!It'saboutYOU,andhowyouperformedandwhatyouaccomplishedinthosepastjobs--especiallythoseaccomplishmentsthataremostrelevanttotheworkyouwanttodonext.Agoodresumepredictshowyoumightperforminthatdesiredfuturejob.

　　3.What'sthefastestwaytoimprovearesume?
　　Removeeverythingthatstartswith"responsibilitiesincluded"andreplaceitwithon-the-jobaccomplishments.(SeeTip11foronewaytowritethem.)

　　4.Whatisthemostcommonresumemistakemadebyjobhunters?
　　LeavingouttheirJobObjective!Ifyoudon'tshowasenseofdirection,employerswon'tbeinterested.Havingaclearlystatedgoaldoesn'thavetoconfineyouifit'sstatedwell.

　　5.What'sthefirststepinwritingaresume?
　　Decideonajobtarget(or"jobobjective")thatcanbestatedinabout5or6words.Anythingbeyondthatisprobably"fluff"andindicatesalackofclarityanddirection.

　　6.HowdoyoudecidewhethertouseaChronologicalresumeoraFunctionalone?
　　TheChronologicalformatiswidelypreferredbyemployers,andworkswellifyou'restayinginthesamefield(especiallyifyou'vebeenupwardly-mobile).OnlyuseaFunctionalformatifyou'rechangingfields,andyou'resureaskills-orientedformatwouldshowoffyourtransferableskillstobetteradvantage;andbesuretoincludeaclearchronologicalworkhistory!

　　7.Whatifyoudon'thaveanyexperienceinthekindofworkyouwanttodo?
　　Getsome!Findaplacethatwillletyoudosomevolunteerworkrightaway.Youonlyneedabrief,concentratedperiodofvolunteertraining(forexample,1dayaweekforamonth)tohaveatleastSOMEexperiencetoputonyourresume.Also,lookatsomeofthevolunteerworkyou'vedoneinthepastandseeifanyofTHAThelpsdocumentsomeskillsyou'llneedforyournewjob.

　　8.Whatdoyoudoifyouhavegapsinyourworkexperience?
　　Youcouldstartbylookingatitdifferently.GeneralRule:TellwhatyouWEREdoing,asgracefullyaspossible--ratherthanleaveagap.Ifyouweredoinganythingvaluable(evenifunpaid)duringthoseso-called"gaps"youcouldjustinsertTHATintothework-historysectionofyourresumetofillthehole.Herearesomeexamples:

　　1993-95Full-timeparent--or
　　1992-94Maternityleaveandfamilymanagement--or
　　Travelandstudy--orFull-timestudent--or
　　Parentingpluscommunityservice

　　9.Whatifyouhaveseveraldifferentjobobjectivesyou'reworkingonatthesametime?Oryouhaven'tnarroweditdownyettojustonejobtarget?
　　Thenwriteadifferentresumeforeachdifferentjobtarget.AtargetedresumeisMUCH,muchstrongerthanagenericresume.

　　10.Whatifyouhaveafragmented,scrambled-upworkhistory,withlotsofshort-termjobs?
　　Tominimizethejob-hopperimage,combineseveralsimilarjobsintoone"chunk,"forexample:

　　1993-1995Secretary/Receptionist;JonesBakery,MicroCorp.,CarterJewelers--or
　　1993-95Waiter/Busboy;McDougal'sRestaurant,BurgerKing,TradersCoffeeShop.

　　Alsoyoucanjustdropsomeofthelessimportant,briefestjobs.Butdon'tdropajob,evenwhenitlastedashorttime,ifthatwaswhereyouacquiredimportantskillsorexperience. www.dxs56.com

　　11.What'sthebestwaytoimpressanemployer?
　　Fillyourresumewith"PAR"statements.PARstandsforProblem-Action-Results;inotherwords,firstyoustatetheproblemthatexistedinyourworkplace,thenyoudescribewhatyoudidaboutit,andfinallyyoupointoutthebeneficialresults.

　　Here'sanexample:"Transformedadisorganized,inefficientwarehouseintoasmooth-runningoperationbytotallyredesigningthelayout;thissavedthecompanythousandsofdollarsinrecoveredstock."

　　Anotherexample:"Improvedanengineeringcompany'sobsoletefilingsystembydevelopingasimplebutsophisticatedfunctional-codingsystem.Thissavedtimeandmoneybyrecoveringvaluable,previouslylost,projectrecords."

　　12.Whatifyourjobtitledoesn'treflectyouractuallevelofresponsibility?
　　Whenyoulistitontheresume,eitherreplaceitwithamoreappropriatejobtitle(say"OfficeManager"insteadof"AdministrativeAssistant"ifthat'smorerealistic)ORusetheirjobtitleANDyourfaireronetogether,i.e."AdministrativeAssistant(OfficeManager)"

　　13.Howcanyouavoidagediscrimination?
　　Ifyou'reover40or50or60,rememberthatyoudon'thavetopresentyourentireworkhistory!YoucansimplylabelTHATpartofyourresume"RecentWorkHistory"or"RelevantWorkHistory"andthendescribeonlythelast10or15yearsofyourexperience.Belowyour10-15yearworkhistory,youcouldaddaparagraphheaded"Priorrelevantexperience"andsimplyrefertoanyadditionalimportant(butancient)jobswithoutmentioningdates.

　　14.Whatifyouneverhadany"real"paidjobs--justself-employmentoroddjobs?
Giveyourselfcredit,andcreateanaccurate,fairjob-titleforyourself.

　　Forexample:

　　A