10. What if you have a fragmented, scrambled-up work history, with lots of short-term jobs?
To minimize the job-hopper image, combine several similar jobs into one chunk, for example:
1993-1995 Secretary/Receptionist; Jones Bakery, Micro Corp., Carter Jewelers -- or
1993-95 Waiter/Busboy; McDougals Restaurant, Burger King, Traders Coffee Shop.
Also you can just drop some of the less important, briefest jobs. But dont drop a job, even when it lasted a short time, if that was where you acquired important skills or experience.
11. Whats the best way to impress an employer?
Fill your resume with PAR statements. PAR stands for Problem-Action-Results; in other words, first you state the problem that existed in your workplace, then you describe what you did about it, and finally you point out the beneficial results.
Heres an example: Transformed a disorganized, inefficient warehouse into a smooth-running operation by total
ly redesigning the layout; this saved the company thousands of dollars in recovered stock.
Another example: Improved an engineering companys obsolete filing system by developing a simple but sophisticated functional-coding system. This saved time and money by recovering valuable, previously lost, project records.
12. What if your job title doesnt reflect your actual level of responsibility?
When you list it on the resume, either replace it with a more appropriate job title (say Office Manager instead of Administrative Assistant if thats more realistic) OR use their job title AND your fairer one together, i.e. Administrative Assistant (Office Manager)
13. How can you avoid age discrimination?
If youre over 40 or 50 or 60, remember that you dont have to present your entire work history! You can simply label THAT part of your resume Recent Work History or Relevant Work History and then describe only the last 10 or 15 years of you
r experience. Below your 10-15 year work history, you could add a paragraph headed Prior relevant experience and simply refer to any additional important (but ancient) jobs without mentioning dates.
14. What if you never had any real paid jobs -- just self-employment or odd jobs?
Give yourself credit, and create an accurate, fair job-title for yourself.
For example:
A&S Hauling & Cleaning (Self-employed) -- or
Household Repairman, Self-employed -- or
Child-Care, Self-employed
Be sure to add Customer references available on request and then be prepared to provide some very good references of people you worked for.
15. How far back should you go in your Work History?
Far enough; and not too far! About 10 or 15 years is usually enough - unless your juiciest work experience is from farther back.
16. How can a student list summer jobs?
Students can make their resume look neater by listing seasonal jobs very simp
ly, such as Spring 1996 or Summer 1996 rather than 6/96 to 9/96. (The word Spring can be in very tiny letters, say 8-point in size.)
17. What if you dont quite have your degree or credentials yet?
You can say something like:
Eligible for U.S. credentials -- or
Graduate studies in Instructional Design, in progress -- or
Masters Degree anticipated December 1997
18. What if you worked for only one employer for 20 or 30 years?
Then list separately each different position you held there, so your job progression within the company is more obvious.
19. What about listing hobbies and interests?
Dont include hobbies on a resume unless the activity is somehow relevant to your job objective, or clearly reveals a characteristic that supports your job objective. For example, a hobby of Sky Diving (adventure, courage) might seem relevant to some job objectives (Security Guard?) but not to others.
20. What about revealing race or religi
on?
Dont include ethnic or religious affiliations (inviting pre-interview discrimination) UNLESS you can see that including them will support your job objective. Get an opinion from a respected friend or colleague about when to reveal, and when to conceal, your affiliations.
21. What if your name is Robin Williams?
Dont mystify the reader about your gender; theyll go nuts until they know whether youre male or female. So if your name is Lee or Robin or Pat or anything else not clearly male or female, use a Mr. or Ms. prefix.
22. What if you got your degree from a different country?
You can say Degree equivalent to U.S. Bachelors Degree in Economics-Teheran, Iran.
23. What about fancy-schmancy paper?
Employers tell me they HATE parchment paper and pretentious brochure-folded resume presentations. They think theyre phony, and toss them right out. Use plain white or ivory, in a quality appropriate for your job objective. Never us
e colored paper unless theres a very good reason for it (like, youre an artist) because if it gets photo-copied the results will be murky.
24. Should you fold your resume?
Dont fold a laser-printed resume right along a line of text. The ink could flake off along the fold.