The Resume

The Cover Letter

Scannable Resumes

The Resume

In many respects, the resume is your personal "agent". It is a direct reflection of and on you as it offers employers a first, perhaps only, glimpse of your abilities and accomplishments. For this reason, crafting a resume is of vital importance. The resume serves four basic functions: it acts as a self-inventory, as an extended calling card, as an agenda for an interview and as a memory jogger for employers. The two most common resume styles are the chronological, and functional formats.

The chronological resume is one which presents your abilities through a historical sequence of job experiences, starting with your most recent. It may also contain a list of selected accomplishments after the responsibilities are outlined, or in place of listing responsibilities. This is the resume style recommended by most recruiters and is especially useful if your most recent work experience directly relates to the position you are applying for and if you have had a solid work history with demonstrated progression through the years. If you have little or no relevant work experience for the position of interest, if you wish to change career directions, or if there are noticeable gaps in your experience, then this format is not recommended.

Functional resumes, on the other hand, describe experiences by categories of skills such as "budgeting", "administration", etc. This resume format is flexible and the skill headings can be tailored to the job requirements. It is a good choice when your direct experience is limited, when you wish to change career directions, when your work history is sporadic or when your experience has been gained in activities outside traditional employment for e.g. volunteer work, academic studies, job placement or travel. It is also useful if your work experience is very repetitive. For those who have not done a skills assessment this style of resume is useful as it forces them to think in terms of job requirements and transferable skills. However, recruiters generally do not prefer this style; they are often suspicious that you are trying to hide some gaps in your work history or experience. They also find this resume style more difficult to screen as the information is usually presented in a fairly generic style which may not provide the recruiter with enough information to make an accurate assessment.

Whichever type of resume you choose, each with its unique advantages and disadvantages depending upon your situation, certain fundamental tips on resume writing hold true.

1. use simple action words to describe your skills/experience


2. use short, bullet statements and clearly set off headings/sub-headings with lots of white space


3. outline accomplishments

1. utilize a computer and quality paper (bond), quality printer (laser copier)
2. proofread! avoid any typos or grammatical errors; have someone else check it a second/third time

Of course, in addition to presentation, the most important aspect of the resume is its content. As both an extended calling card and memory jogger for the employer, your primary critical goal must be to provide complete and relevant information for the employer. This should include: educational training, work experience, volunteer activities and references. Make sure the information provided, such as dates or addresses, is accurate (applicants with names which may be culturally unfamiliar to employers should also include gender identification in the form of Mr. or Ms.). Finally, keep your resume concise: two or three pages should serve to highlight all your skills and experience.

While the sheer abundance of resumes on the "market" may be discouraging, "How will my resume ever get noticed?", it can also teach us some valuable lessons. In any group of resumes it is possible to identify common mistakes. Essentially, resume problems result from two main sources: errors of omission, things left out of a resume, and errors of commission, usually consisting of irrelevant or inaccurate information. According to employers, career counselors and employment agencies, who see thousands of resumes, the ten most common resume writing mistakes are:

1. Too long.
2. Disorganized: information is scattered around the page, hard to follow.
3. Overwritten: long paragraphs and sentences, takes too long to say too little.
4. Poorly typed and printed: hard to read, looks unprofessional.
5. Too sparse: gives only bare essentials of dates and job titles.
6. Not oriented for results: doesn't show what the candidate accomplished on the job.
7. Too many irrelevancies: height, weight, sex, health, marital status are not needed (and should not be included) on today's resumes.
8. Misspellings, typographical errors, poor grammar.
9. Tries too hard: fancy typesetting and binders, photographs and exotic paper stocks distract from the clarity of the presentation.
10. Misdirected: too many resumes arrive on employers desk unrequested, with little or no apparent connection to the organization.

The Cover Letter

In addition to resumes, cover letters are of great significance. The cover letter is your introduction to the employer. It should summarize who you are and what you want. The cover letter displays your writing skills, highlights your professional approach, communicates motivation and demonstrates your research on the employer and/or field. It can also illustrate your awareness of those skills or training that are relevant to effective job performance. As with the resume, cover letters should be typed on standard paper and be carefully proofread. They should be direct and concise, usually no longer than 3/4 of a page. The following are a few guidelines for the covering letter and samples provided.

The position you are applying for (including the competition number if given).Where you saw the ad (give name and date of publication).If someone who knows the employer referred you, give the name of that person. Your interest in the position.

Why you are suited for the job. How you match the specific job requirements listed in the ad, related experience, training, qualifications, skills, background and attributes.

State your interest in meeting with the employer for an interview. Make it easy for the person to contact you - list one or two phone numbers where they can reach you or leave a message number. (A person actively looking for a job should either have a answering machine or a reliable message number.)
Make sure you remember to sign your covering letter!

The question of whether or not to include references on the resume often arises. Generally you are advised to Note: "To be supplied upon request" in the reference section. However, if you are in an active job search and you always use the same referees, who have given you blanket permission to use their names, you may include them if space permits.

When you go to a job interview you should have a list of references prepared which includes Name, Title, Company, Phone #'s. References should be work-related, supervisory, whenever possible.

Scannable Resumes

Some companies use the latest technology for tracking and storing resumes. Formatting your resume so that it is 'scannable' may help you find your next job.

By using the latest in document imaging technology, your resume can be scanned into a computer system and maintained for years. The computer cross-references skills listed in your resume that are required by employers. This results in a more efficient job search process.

Your resume is scanned into the computer as an image. Special software then breaks down the image to distinguish every letter and number. Then artificial intelligence 'reads' the text and extracts important information such as your name, address, phone number, work history, years of experience, education and skills.

When you prepare a resume for the computer to read, you want it to be 'scannable'. A scannable resume is sharp and concise so that the scanner may obtain a high resolution image. A scannable resume consists of crisp, dark type, standard fonts.

A scannable resume contains detailed facts for the artificial intelligence to extract, the more skills and facts you provide, the more opportunities you'll have for your skills to match available positions.

Things to avoid in a scannable resume...

1. Poor quality copy
2. Unusual formats (i.e., newsletter style)
3. Adjusted spacing
4. Over or under sized fonts
5. Graphics
6. Light type

1. Use enough key words to define your skills, experience, education, professional affiliations, etc.
2. Describe your experience with concrete words (it's better to use 'managed a team of software engineers' than 'responsible for managing, training...').
3. Be concise and truthful.
4. Use more than one page if necessary.
5. The computer can easily handle multiple-page resumes, and it uses all the information extracted. It allows you to provide more information than you would for a human reader.
6. Increase your list of key words by including specifics, for example, list the names of software you use such as Microsoft Word or Lotus 1-2-3.
7. Use common headings such as: Objective, Experience, Employment, Work History, Positions Held, Appointments, Skills, Summary of Qualifications.
8. If you have extra space describe your interpersonal traits and attitude. Key words could include 'time management', 'leadership' or 'high energy'.

1. Use white or light colored 8 1/2" x 11" paper, printed on one side.
2. Provide a laser printer original if possible. A typewritten or high quality copy is acceptable.
3. Avoid dot matrix printouts.
4. Do not fold or staple.
5. Use standard sans-serif typefaces such as Helvetica or Arial.
6. Use a font size of 10 to 14 points.
7. Do not condense spacing between letters.
8. Use boldface and/or all capital letters for section headings as long as the letters don't touch each other.
9. Avoid fancy treatments such as italics, underline, shadows and reverses.
10. Avoid vertical and horizontal lines, graphics and boxes.
11. Avoid two-column format or resumes that look like newspapers or newsletters.
12. Place your name at the top of the page on its own line.
13. Use standard address format below your name.
14. List each phone number on its own line.

Download "Tips and Tricks" for your very own as a Microsoft Word document. Just "Click" on the little icon on the right!

Resource Professionals Inc.           #300, 840 - 6th Avenue S.W. Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2P 3E5           Phone (403) 269-3044 Fax (403) 264-8509           e-mail rpi@resourceprof.com