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Summary

Resumes can be the key to getting your foot in the door -- and keeping it there. They are an opportunity to sell yourself. (For more information about a subject, please click on the link.)

  • Organize your resume to your best advantage. Preferably, open with a bang.
  • Make your resume easy to read and understand.
  • Include a brief summary of your capabilities and accomplishments. 
  • Rewrite your resume for each employer to emphasize the specialty or special skills the employer is looking for. A rewrite can include changing style depending on the circumstances and desired impact.
  • A resume does not have to be chronological. To cover a gap, you can mention years Instead of including months. 
  • Focus of content
    • Focus on the last ten years.
    • Include a focus toward the future and a career goal or goals.
  • Feel free to use prose with respect to skill sets.
  • Bullet points can help provide a lot of information without a lot of words that will waste a reader's time.
  • Most larger employers use a computer search mechanism to initially review resumes. Write your resume to maximize chances of being picked out by the computer.
  • Always proof read a resume before sending it. (Preferably also have some else review it for you before sending.)

Think of a cover letter as part of your resume. While applications are frequently processed by computer, someone reads resumes before deciding who to call. To learn how to write a strong cover letter, click here.

If you look healthy, consider creating an online video resume in addition to a written resume. However, do not let the online video replace a paper resume. (To learn how to create a video resume, click here.)

If you are asked about gaps in your resume, swivel. By "swivel," we mean to acknowledge what is being said, and then change the subject - in this case to the positive. Do not lie. On the other hand, you do not need to tell the full story. For instance: "I was dealing with a family issue that is resolved now, and I am thrilled to discuss how my management skills can build the team and grow your business."  (For more tips about acing an interview, click here.)

Two groups that we know of have a free resume review service. (If you learn of additional groups, please let us know: info@survivorshipatoz.org).

  • Cancer and Careers has a free resume review service for people with cancer. One of their career coaches will provide individual feedback. For information about the service, click here offsite link.  
  • AARP has a similar service for members. To access the AARP service, click here. offsite link

NOTE:

  • Some people want to disclose their health history on their resume on the idea: "If they don't want a person working there who has a history of XXXXX, I don't want to work there." If you are one of those people, be sure to include mention that you are now healthy and able to perform all the necessary aspects of the job for which you are applying.
  • For information about  your legal rights with respect to a job interview, click here. For tips about how to ace an interview, click here. For benefits to focus on, click here.

How To Organize A Resume To Best Advantage

This article is divided into Resumes on paper and Electronic Resumes.

RESUMES ON PAPER

Make your resume clear, simple and easy to read.

  • At the top of the first page, include your name (not a nick name) and contact information. If there is more than one page, put your name at the top of each additional page. (Do not exceed two pages.)
  • For contact information, use your mobile phone number and e mail address. 
    • Do not put a parenthesis around the area code. It looks outdated
    • A gmail account looks more current than one from AOL or Yahoo.
    • If you have a custom address, use that one. For example: jane at janedoe dot com
  • Do not use more than one phone number. Do not include a  fax number.
  • Use a simple, 11 or 12 point, easy-to-read font such as Arial, Calibri or Verdana. Avoid se rif fonts such as Times New Roman.

Consider starting your resume with your employment objective - the type of work or specific job you are seeking.

  • If your history is particularly strong for a particular job, start with a summary statement about your career history, accomplishments, experience, and education.
  • Focus on how your skills and experience can contribute to the company.

If you are applying for a particular job, consider rewriting your resume to feature the experience and/or skills required by the employer for the job in question.

List your experience, both paid and volunteer.

  • Focus on the most recent 10 years.-For each job, include the job title, name and location of employer and dates of employment (in years, not months). 
    • The dates should be to the right after your title and name of the employer.
    • If the employer is not a well known company, such as a Fortune 500 company, add information about what the company did when you were employed. For instance: "A privately held company that manufactures widgets."
  • Organize your resume by dates of employment and include the dates. 
  • Briefly describe your accomplishments in each job, rather than just "duties and responsibilities." 
    • Use action-oriented words, like "planned," "developed" "demonstrated" and "generated."  As one career coach puts it: tell "PAR" stories —a thorny Problem you faced…the smart way you Approachedit…and its positive Resolution. For example:  “Our pizza shop was struggling, so I asked local bakeries if they wanted to rent our ovens after midnight so that they would have more fresh-baked goods for the morning. One said yes, which yielded us $8,000 a year without our lifting a finger or investing a dime.”
    • If there are no accomplishments, emphasize the duties and responsibilities that will be helpful experience for the job for which you're applying.
  • Include as part of your experience:
    • Special skills relevant to your industry and job, such as computer skills and foreign languages. If you list computer skills, only list specialized software such as Quickbooks or newer technologies. Saying you are expert at Word or PowerPoint makes it look as if you just learned them.
    • Achievements, and membership in organizations. Do not include memberships that could rule you out -- such as a membership in the National Rifle Association. Some of the people will like that and others won't.
    • Periods of self employment. During the period, describe what you did. If clients give permission,  you can use their names.
    • If this section is labelled "Experience" instead of "Work Experience" you can list v olunteer work
    • Any life experiences that will benefit the company hiring you. For instance, a seat you held on the school board or church committee signals experience in making decisions and team work.

If you had absences from work due to your health condition:

  • Write your resume by skills or achievements instead of by dates. In fact, don't include dates. It will make absences from work less obvious. If this is the case, don't include any dates on your resume, even for education. Including some dates and not others will call attention to the ones that aren't there.
  • Instead of dates, you can use period of time. For instance: 3 years as ......    2 years as .......

List your education, including school name and address, dates of attendance, major, and highest grade completed or degree awarded.

  • Consider including any courses or areas of focus that might be relevant to the position. 
  • If education is critical to the job, consider listing it before experience.
  • Include updates to your skills that show you keep current with your field and have obtained or renewed professional certifications.

Tailor your resume each time you apply for a job. For example, if you have a batch of different skills, emphasize those which are most important for the job for which you're applying. Or if education is critical to the job, consider listing it before experience.

Include key words. These days, resumes are often chosen for review by how many key words an employer's search engine finds. (If the resume wasn't submitted via the internet, employers can scan the resume into their computer.) Key words are often nouns. Wherever possible use nouns, not verbs. For example, use "Writer/Editor" instead of "Writing."

  • Create a keywords section at the top of the resume.
  • Don't keep using key words. Computers only count each word once. You can increase your hits by using synonyms (other words that have the same meaning), instead of repeating the same word several times. (You can find synonyms on line at free sites such as www.synonym.com offsite link
  • If you are applying for a specific advertised job, the ad itself may contain some of the key words that will be searched so be sure to use those key words.
  • Make each word count. Instead of saying "Manager," say "Product Development Manager" or "Advertising Manager."

If you are over 50:

  • Play down your age by not including your birth date or the year you graduated or even your early employment history. 
  • Only list the last 15 or 20 years experience. (Earlier experience can be summarized or not included).
  • Emphasize your up-to-date skills such as computers.
  • Leave dates off of your education. The hiring manager may be younger than the date of your graduation. 

Only include references when requested. If you'd like, you can add something like "References upon request."

Use easy-to-read formatting:

  • Avoid long paragraphs.
  • Type in no less than 12 point type.
  • Avoid bullets (like those we use), tabs and indents, italics and serif-heavy (curlicue type) fonts. They can get messed up if you e-mail your resume, or misread by a scanner.
  • Limit your resume to one or two pages. Make it one page if you have less experience.

Print your resume on white or ivory good quality paper such as #25. Keep text to no wider than 5 inches.

Triple check to make sure there are no typos.

Ask at least two other people to read over your resume before submitting it. Ask them if the resume really describes you and puts your best foot forward.

If you are missing skills that are needed for the job for which you want to apply, see if you can learn them on a volunteer basis for a disease specific non-profit organization.

ELECTRONIC RESUMES

Electronic Resumes should follow the above advice about resumes  plus:

  • If you use a traditional order in your resume, consider reordering it to use the first screen to promote your strongest abilities.
  • Provide a list of keywords that highlight your assets for the job right after your contact information. The order should be strongest assets first. Some software programs stop reading keywords after they find a maximum number.

NOTE: Do not e-mail your resume from work unless your employer knows you are job searching.

Resume Cover Letter

If you mail your resume, include a cover letter.

Consider the following guidelines when writing your letter:

  • The letter should be typed. If you do not have your own stationery, buy decent stock from a local office supply store. (You don't have to spend a lot of money).
  • The letter should follow business form.
    • Centered at the top should be your name and mailing address.
    • Next, on the left hand margin, should be the date: for excample:  January 1, 2012.
    • Skip a few lines and type in:
      • The name and title of the person to whom the letter is addressed -- then
      • The company name (be sure to use the correct legal name - not a nickname)
      • The address: number, street, suite number, -- then
      • City and state (abbreviate the state using the 2 letter postal system code. For example, Missouri is MO)
    • Skip a few lines, and type: Dear (Mr)(Ms)(Mrs) XXXXXXXX
    • Skip a few more lines and write your letter.
    • After the body of the letter is complete, skip a few lines and type a closing such as: Sincerely yours or Very truly yours.
    • Leave a few lines, then type your name. 
    • Sign the letter above your typed name.
  • Open with a short statement which identifies the job for which you are applying, emphasizes how well qualified you are for the job, and states how much you can contribute to the company.
  • Sell yourself. 
    • One way is to make the letter as personal as possible - while being brief. You do not want to waste the reader's time.
    • Emphasize the skills you have that are similar to those desired or which will make it easy for an employer to picture you doing the job.
  • Do not mention the skills or experience you don’t have which the job description requires.

Ask someone who is good at it to proof read your letter (and resume) before sending. The letter is all the employer will see at the start. It 

Online Video Resumes

An online video gives you a chance to show your personality in addition to providing information about your work related experience.

Resumes can be posted at such online sites as YouTube (www.youtube.com offsite link).

You can create your own video or work with a service such as one of the following:

Experience indicates the following:

  • Look  the same way you would in an interview. This includes clothes, hair, and make-up.
  • Use a neutral background, or one that reinforces the part of your personality you want to feature.
  • Use lighting that helps you look good, and healthy.
  • Keep the video short. An accepted rule-of-thumb is to ilmit it to 3 minutes maximum.
  • Tailor your resume for each different employer (just  as you should a paper resume).
  • Review the video to make sure you look good.
  • Keep the video up-to-date.