Resume writing is putting together an effective resume to use in your job search. An important part of Office Skills training is to learn how to create a resume that you can use in your job search. Creating a Resume in the 21st Century is a whole different ball game than it was in the not so distant past. Today your resume no longer goes straight to the recruiter or hiring managers desk but most likely into into a resume database. If your resume is not prepared properly with the specific keywords and phrases for your target job description, you may just never get found in the resume database and consequently get no interviews and job offers.
Putting your Resume Together
Depending on your years of experience, there may be a couple to at least half a dozen different jobs you could do. However, to create a good resume suitable for todays job climate, you need to first decide on a primary job that you can do and be successful at. It also needs to be a job that you can convince skilled interviewers that you can do. If you are qualified to do multiple jobs, you can eventually create a resume for those different jobs but pick a primary job first.
What is a Resume?
Before you begin exploring the resources below, you need to understand the purpose of a resume. A Resume is a document containing a summary or listing of relevant job experience, accomplishments, skills and education that relate to your career objectives. The purpose of a resume is to obtain a job interview and ultimately obtain a job. If you do not have any job skills or experience, you can include volunteer or community work on your resume. If you have obtained certificates in Office Skills, you may include this training as part of your Education.
How to Write a Resume.
A resume should never be more than a couple of pages long so learning how to summarize your skills is important. Most experts agree that the best way to get started writing your resume is to do a job search for your chosen occupation on some of the major job sites like Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com or Linkedin. Most job descriptions list the most important requirements for the job, credentials required and skills needed. For each of the requirements listed, write down examples of when and how you performed the task.Information on requirements can also be found in the Bureau of Labor Occupational Handbook at http://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Start with a Resume Questionnaire
The US Department of Labor in their handout on Resumes, applications and cover letters suggests you get started by collecting and reviewing information about yourself such as previous positions, job duties, volunteer work, skills, accomplishments, education and activities. Using a Resume Quesionnaire is a good way to gather and organize your personal information for your resume.
Contact Information
This includes your full legal name, home and/or mobile phone number and professional email address
Resume Writing
We’ve researched the following websites and found them to offer good free resume writing advise:
How to Write a Resume by http://www.how-to-write-a-resume.org provides a wealth of information on resume writing, tips on how to find a job, cover letter writing and interview tips and tools.
Resume Example
Below is an example of a resume created in a table using Microsoft Word. See the blog post on How to Create a Resume in Word using Tables.
