Professional Resume Writing

Professional Resume Writing

Professional Resume Writing: Choosing a Resume Format.

1. The Many Uses of Resumes
1.1 Why Do You Need a Resume?
1.2 Your Personal Road Map
1.2.1 Win Interviews
1.2.2 Answer Tough Interview Questions
1.2.3 Set the Tone for the Interview
1.2.4 Start Salary Negotiations Now!
1.3 Ready, Set, Network!
1.4 Unit 1 Summary

Just about everybody has created a resume at some point in their lives, and for most people, it’s a list of their last few jobs and where they went to college.

A resume can and should do a lot more.
The difference between a resume that catches attention, gets interviews, and explains your strengths and a resume that just lists your previous jobs is like the difference between the Mona Lisa and a finger painting. In this course, you’ll get off on the right foot for creating the Mona Lisa.

In this unit, you will learn about what a resume is and what goals it should accomplish. You’ll also learn about other job-hunting benefits that come from creating a resume.

After completing this unit, you should be able to:

• List some of the benefits of the resume creation process
• Explain the importance of a job objective
• Describe how creating a resume can help prepare you for an interview
• Explain how networking can be a very effective job-hunting technique

*You Need a Job
The reason you need a resume is that you’re probably looking for a job or planning to change positions in the near future.

Maybe it’s your first job out of school, a move up the career ladder, a promotion within your company, a career change, or a job to save you from an imminent or recent layoff.

Before you start writing your resume, let’s talk about how a great resume makes your job search more successful.

*Resume
The most common meaning of the word resume is a short account of one’s professional experience and qualifications, typically used by a job applicant.
However, resumes are also used for projects that don’t involve a job search, such as business plans, school applications, and consulting proposals.

*Benefits of the Resume Process
Resumes, and the process of creating resumes, serve all of the following functions:

• Set your personal road map
• Win interviews
• Answer tough interview questions
• Set the tone for the interview
• Provide your own recommendation
• Start salary negotiations

Let’s look at each of these functions in more detail.

Topic 1.2: Your Personal Road Map

*Job Objective
The very process of writing your resume helps you put your job search in perspective. To sell yourself to an employer, your resume should be focused on a job objective.
That means you have to figure out where you’re headed on your career path (or at least what your next step is). If you feel completely lost with this "where am I going" thing, don’t panic! There’s lots of help available.
Take some time to do what many job changers do — see a career counselor or consult a career guidance book.

*It Only Gets Easier
Once you know what your job objective is, it will be easy for you to take inventory of your skills and present your favorite and most marketable ones.
If you apply for multiple positions, you will probably end up with multiple resumes . Whenever possible you should tailor your resume to match the specific skills and experience each position is looking for.
Now, that’s a powerful package — a resume that says what you want and why you should have it!

Topic 1.2.1: Win Interviews

*Getting Attention
For most people, the resume’s most important job is to solicit interviews. It’s your brochure or marketing piece to potential employers. Because your resume may stand against hundreds of other resumes in competition for a job, it needs to present you in the best light possible.

Write your resume with the idea that it’s a marketing piece for your future instead of a boring description of your past.
This "marketing approach" to creating your resume is the surest way to convince an employer that you’re a promising candidate for the job.

Topic 1.2.2: Answer Tough Interview Questions

*Interview Preparation
A resume also prepares you for job interviews. Just the process of putting your resume together will help you figure out the answers to interview questions such as:

• What makes you think you’ll do well in this new job?
• What achievements are you proud of that relate to this new position?
• Why do you think you’d fit into our company culture?
• What do you consider your biggest strengths and weaknesses?
• How has your previous work experience prepared you for this position?
• What kinds of challenges have you faced in past positions and how did you handle them?

*You’ll Know It When You Know It
Don’t worry if you don’t know the answers to these questions right now. You’ll have a handle on them by the time you finish writing your resume.

Topic 1.2.3: Set the Tone for the Interview

*Look What I Can Do
What you decide to put on your resume will also suggest the topics for discussion during the interview. In other words, it’s your chance to say, "Hey, let’s talk about my strengths. Here’s what I’m really good at…"
A strong resume encourages a job interview that focuses on your strengths rather than your previous experience, educational background, or salary history.

If a job announcement says, "Include salary history with resume," what should you do? Normally, you should avoid mentioning your exact salary figure until the interview, when you can discuss it in person.
If you must comply with a request for salary history, include a general range in your cover letter, but never in your resume.

* Exercise 1
You can help both the resume-building and interviewing processes by brainstorming a little bit here. Think about what sort of job objective you’re seeking in your search. Here are a few questions that might help you to narrow down what you’re looking for:
Do you like your current line of work (if applicable)?
If not, what type of career would you like to start?
Do you think your background will allow you to get started in this new field?
If not, what do you need to do to get there?
What is the salary range that you’re looking for in your next job?
Where would you like to be in five years?
How far are you willing to commute to work?

*Help Them Help You
Once you’ve had a successful interview, your interviewer may need to get hiring approval from someone higher up the ladder. And if you’ve armed your interviewer with a dynamite resume, the recommendation has a better chance of being approved.

Topic 1.2.4: Start Salary Negotiations Now!

*Plant a Seed
Believe it or not, salary negotiations start with your resume. Even though you don’t include monetary expectations on your resume, the bargaining begins by the way your resume presents you.
Here is some information that prospective employers can gather from your resume:

• How much experience you have
• How old you appear to be
• How focused you are in your career objective

 

Topic 1.3: Ready, Set, Network!

*Start Networking
Once you have your resume in hand, you’re ready to exploit one of the most powerful job-search tools: networking.
The importance of networking can’t be overestimated.

*Networking
Picture a carefully crafted net — like a fishing net — with you (the job hunter) in the center, reaping the benefits of all that falls into your net.
Made of invisible "threads" that extend from you to all the people you know, to the people those people know, and so on, your network becomes a conduit for ideas, favors, and information for your job search.
With a strong net-work, you could land the job of your dreams!

*Networking Success
Here’s a story that demonstrates that point. Dave got laid off from his job at a software development firm.
One weekday morning when he went outside his home to pick up the newspaper, he struck up a conversation with the garbage collector who was making his rounds in the neighborhood. "What are you doing home at this time of day?" asked the collector.
Dave explained that he had been laid off, to which the collector asked, "What kind of work do you do?" Pretty soon the garbage collector was telling Dave that he should speak to a woman who lived around the corner who worked for a software company. You can fill in the rest of the story — Dave gave the neighbor his resume and he ended up with a new job at her company.

*A Friend of a Friend…
This story may seem hard to believe, but opportunity does come in unexpected ways. So arm yourself with your resume and use it to stimulate networking.
Circulate it among your friends, relatives, and business associates. They may know someone who knows someone who knows of the perfect job for you!

* Exercise 2
We all know people who can’t walk two blocks without running into someone they know. You might even be one of these people. Each one of the people you meet on the street has another whole set of people they run into every day. Announcing that you’re looking for a job has a ripple effect, and if you do your networking right, someone who is several people removed from you might get your resume and call you for an interview. To help your resume to end up in the right hands, it’s good to know and mention where you want to go.

In the worksheet below, list five companies that you would like to work for. Then, next to each company, put the type of position you’d be interested in, and someone you know who can tell you about the company. If you don’t know anyone offhand who works there, that’s OK. Mention to people that you’re interested in a particular place and you’ll be surprised at the number of sisters or uncles or friends of people that can provide you with information and help you get a foot in the door.
*Networking Worksheet
Company Name            Job You’d Like            Contact

Topic 1.4: Unit 1 Summary

In this unit, you saw that a resume is not just a list of your past jobs. You learned that in creating an effective resume, you can better define your career goals, get the interviews you want, answer interview questions, provide your own recommendation, and start salary negotiations.

Professional Resume Writing : Unit 2. Resume Commandments and Formats

2. Resume Commandments and Formats
2.1 Write about Your Future
2.2 Don’t Tell All
2.3 Write about Achievements
2.4 Don’t Write about Stuff You Hated Doing
2.5 Never Lie
2.6 Resume Contents and Formats
2.7 Unit 2 Summary

If you don’t get noticed, your resume may have failed you. While there’s no way of ensuring that you’ll get a particular job, there are a few things that you can do with your resume that will help get you noticed and on your way to accepting that job offer.
In this unit, you will learn the basics of tailoring your resume to fit a particular job description. You will learn some crucial dos and don’ts for resume writing that will help you avoid some common pitfalls in the job search game.

After completing this unit, you should be able to:

• Write a resume about your future instead of your past
• Exclude items from your past that are not appropriate for your resume
• Write about achievements instead of job descriptions
• Name the five main resume components and the five main resume formats

*The Five Commandments in Professional  Resume Writing
Outlined here are the Five Resume Commandments. Follow these and you’ll end up with a resume that’ll knock ‘em dead.

Examine the following table
I.	Thou shalt not write about your past; thou shalt write about your future.
II.	Thou shalt not confess.
III.	Thou shalt not write job descriptions; thou shalt write about achievements.
IV.	Thou shalt not write about stuff you don’t want to do again.
V.	Thou shalt not lie.

Let’s look at each one of these commandments in more detail.

Topic 2.1: Write about Your Future

*Thou Shalt Write about Your Future
The first commandment is "Thou shalt write about your future." The secret to getting a new and exciting job is to build your resume around your future, not your past. So, before you even start writing your resume, you need to plan what kind of work you want to do next. Your resume should paint a picture of you in that next job.

*The Employer Reaction
What will the employer think of your future-oriented resume? At first glance she may assume she’s reading about your past, but as she gets drawn into it, she’ll find herself imagining you working for her. And that’s what will make her want to call you for an interview.

Topic 2.2: Don’t Tell All

*Thou Shalt Not Confess
"Father, forgive me for I have sinned." If your resume sounds anything like that, you might as well go to the employer and declare, "Here are all the reasons you shouldn’t hire me."
"Thou shalt not confess" is the second commandment. Your resume is not a confessional — you don’t have to "tell all." Pick through all your information and choose only what’s relevant to your job objective.

To decide whether or not to put something on your resume, ask yourself these questions:

• Does it support my job objective?
• Does it cast me in the best light possible with regard to experience, ability, age, and personality?

*Don’t Appear Overqualified
Sharon Collar was having trouble finding a position as a marketing director. She needed a job desperately and decided to go for a position as an administrative assistant.
If she put "MBA" under Education, she knew she would look overqualified for a clerical job. Take a look at her resume on the following page. You’ll notice that she decided not to include her degree to improve her chances of getting an interview.
Remember: Not disclosing information is different than lying, and though you might choose to include certain information on one resume, it might be better to leave it off another, depending on the job objective.

Similar to the idea of disclosing only the most important information is the idea of putting the most important information at the top.
When an employer first receives your resume, you have only eight seconds to convince him to read your resume in detail. We’re talking about a quick scan by a very busy manager! For that reason, it’s vital that you order your material according to how relevant it is to your job objective.
Prioritizing correctly will make your resume scream out, "I’m the one you’re looking for!"

*Straighten Your Resume’s Priorities
Sylvia Benson had been a secretary and receptionist for a number of years and wanted to move into the field of human resources. In preparing for her career change, she had gone back to college and gotten her degree in human resources — all while continuing her occupation as a secretary.
Take a look at her new resume on the following page.

*It’s All about Emphasis
Notice how Sylvia prioritized information on her resume to make the most marketable items pop out at the reader. Since her degree was more marketable than her work history, she decided to show it off by positioning her Education section near the top of her resume. By doing so, the reader quickly saw that she was a new graduate in human resources who had worked her way through school. Sylvia then de-emphasized her former job titles by placing her Work History at the bottom of the page.

*Keeping Stuff Private
Sometimes the "Thou shalt not confess" commandment can give relief to job seekers who have something they’d rather not talk about. For example

• A death in the family
• An illness, injury, or disability
• A foiled business venture
• Rehabilitation for emotional or substance abuse

Create a work history on your resume that doesn’t mention any such "off-limits for discussion" events. If you need to justify a gap in your work history due to one of the above reasons, mention other, more positive things you did during that time. That way, an interviewer won’t even think to ask a question about an awkward issue.

*Remove Irrelevancies
Delete information that isn’t relevant to your job objective, as long as you don’t create gaps in your work history. For the last two years, Vickie Habas spent most of her time managing a family crisis that she decided was not appropriate to put on her resume. During that time span, she did some freelance catalog production for an individual she knew from a previous job. Take a look at her resume.

*Dodging the Issue
Notice how Vickie constructed the Work History on her resume without mentioning her personal situation, even though it actually consumed about 80 percent of her time and energy.

Topic 2.3: Write about Achievements

*Thou Shalt Write about Achievements
If you were an employer, what three questions would you ask a job candidate? Probably something like:

• Do you have any experience?
• Are you good at what you do?
• Do you like this kind of work?

Don’t be shy — answer "yes" to all of these questions by writing about achievements instead of job duties on your resume — in fact this is the third commandment. Achievement statements are the most powerful way to say "I’m good at what I do!"
Let’s take a look at two resumes for Marlene Kruse.

*Compare and Contrast
Marlene’s first resume is a job description resume (blah!); her second is an achievement-oriented resume (yes!). See how much more enticing the second one is?
As you can see, the difference between the achievement statements and the job description statements is that the achievement statements included results, not just functions.
Marlene’s achievement statements at once say what she has done, that she’s good at what she does, and that she believes in and likes her work. She has given the reader three good reasons to call her for an interview.

* Exercise 1
Try coming up with a list of your current job (or last job) duties and then translate them into job achievements — accomplishments that prove your experience, competence, and enthusiasm for the job.
Here’s an example for a project manager:
Old: Responsible for a five-person project team to document a new Windows-based accounting application.
New: Led a five-member project team in creating a 300-page user’s guide for a new Windows-based accounting application. Saved the company $15,000 by completing the project three weeks early.
First, make a list of three things you do in your current job (or did in your last job).
Description 1
_____________________________________________________
Description 2
_____________________________________________________
Description 3
_____________________________________________________
Now think of some of the things that you did in your job that made you stand out, and convert those descriptions into achievements.
Achievement 1
_____________________________________________________
Achievement 2
_____________________________________________________
Achievement 3
_____________________________________________________
Don’t look now, but you’ve got a resume started!

Topic 2.4: Don’t Write about Stuff You Hated Doing

*Write about the Good Stuff
When you think about it, writing your resume is like writing your next job description, since everything you put in your resume suggests what you’re eager to do in your new job. Never write about duties that you don’t want to do again, no matter how good you are at them!
"Thou shalt not write about stuff you don’t want to do again" is the fourth commandment.

*It’s OK to Omit
Here’s an example. When George was after an accounting position at a CPA firm, he specifically did not want to supervise any staff. Even though in his previous job he had been in charge of a department and had been commended for his ability to build team spirit under adverse conditions, he was determined not to land in the same situation in his next job.
In his resume, he spoke about his many accounting achievements, but never once mentioned that he had managed anyone. Consequently, he attracted an accounting job he loves with no supervisory responsibilities.

Topic 2.5: Never Lie

*Thou Shalt Not Lie
The fifth commandment is never to tell a lie on your resume. Here are some that frequently appear on resumes and are apt to get caught by employers:

• Stating experience at a particular place of employment where you’ve never worked
• Misrepresenting the level of responsibility you’ve held (not using an accurate job title)
• Listing a school that you didn’t attend
• Taking credit for someone else’s achievement
• Overstating skill levels in a technical field

*How Lying Can Hurt You
Lying on your resume can cause more damage to your career than you may realize. Here are three good reasons to create a resume that contains only the truth:

• A lie on your resume can undermine your self-confidence during a job interview. Just knowing that the interviewer might ask a question about your fib probably makes you nervous.
• Once you are hired, a falsehood on your resume can be grounds for termination.
• A lie on your resume may indicate that you don’t believe you are qualified for the job. Maybe you need to rethink your job objective, or perhaps you need counseling to build your self-esteem.

Topic 2.6: Professional Resume Writing : Resume Contents and Formats

*Resume Contents
All resumes consist of the information shown below. The order in which the information is shown and the exact text they contain depends on the resume format you use. Building each of these pieces to create a powerful resume will be discussed in the courses to come.

Examine the following table
Resume Section	Contents
Heading	Your name and contact information
Job objective	The position you are looking for
Summary of qualifications	Experience, accomplishments, and recommendations that will make you stand out as a job candidate
Body	Professional experience, skill experience, achievements, and/or work history
Education	Educational background, including diplomas/degrees

*Resume Formats
The main difference between resume formats is in the contents of the body of the resume. The format you choose will depend on what parts of your skills and experience you want to highlight. The rest of this course will go into each resume format in detail. Here’s a quick rundown of the resume formats and their differences:

Examine the following table
Format Name	Body of the Resume	Strength
Chronological	Professional experience, accomplishments. Ordered by chronology.	Shows progression of experience.
Functional	Experience listed by skills and accomplishments. Brief work history at the end. Ordered by relevance.	Emphasizes skills regardless of where or when they were demonstrated.
Achievement	Achievements from previous experience. Brief work history at the end. Ordered by relevance.	Displays specific results that have been produced in the past.
Hybrid Chronological	Job titles listed with demonstrated skills used in each position. Ordered by chronology.	Enhances a person’s job chronology by showing the major skills used in each job.
Hybrid Functional	Skills are listed with job titles/responsibilities where the skill was used. Ordered by relevance.	Highlights common skills by showing them across multiple jobs.

Topic 2.7: Unit 2 Summary

In this unit, you learned the Five Commandments of resume writing. Namely, you learned to write about your future instead of your past, to not turn your resume into a confessional, to write about achievements instead of job descriptions. You also learned to not write about stuff you don’t want to do again, and to never lie on your resume.
Finally, you got a look at the different components of a resume and a preview of the five resume styles that we’ll look at in the next couple units.

Professional Resume Writing : Unit 3. Chronological and Functional Formats

3. Chronological and Functional Formats
3.1 Less Is More
3.2 No Paragraphs!
3.3 Format, Format, Format
3.3.1 Chronological Resume
3.3.2 Functional Resume
3.4 Unit 3 Summary

In this unit, you’ll learn how the size and layout of your resume can affect how much time an employer will spend reviewing it.
You will also learn about the components of the two main types of resumes: chronological and functional. You will see several examples of each and learn when it is best to use each style.

After completing this unit, you should be able to:

• Use the proper number of pages for your resume
• Arrange your experience to fit a chronological resume
• Arrange your experience to fit a functional resume

 

Topic 3.1: Less Is More

*Keep It Short
Ah, the oxymoron that works so well in marketing: Less is more. Let’s consider why it has withstood the test of time.
By distilling all of your skills and experience into a minimum of words on a single sheet of paper, you automatically put down only the very best stuff.
So less is more in the sense that even though you provide less information, it’s all high-quality information — making the resume more impressive.

*Eight… Seven… Six…
In today’s job market, your resume has only about eight seconds to catch an employer’s attention.
That’s right! In eight seconds an employer scans your resume and decides whether to invest more time considering you as a job candidate.
The secret to passing the eight-second test is to make your resume look like a quick and inviting read.
That’s why having a one-page resume is recommended if possible. Having a one-pager says "I’m organized and I’m not a motor-mouth."

*Using Two Pages
But for those who have a really beefy career history or lengthy list of "must read" accomplishments, one page just isn’t enough.
If you’re one of those people, go for it — just don’t exceed two pages unless you’re sure the reader is expecting more. (For instance, if you’re applying for an academic or scientific position, you might have a seven- or eight-pager.)

If your resume is just a little more than a page, do your best to get it down to one page by editing and manipulating the layout. Then ask yourself, "Does it look easy to read?" If the print is too small or dense, you’re better off with a two-page resume that’s inviting to read.
For a two-page resume, be sure to put "continued" at the bottom of page 1, and your name and "page 2" at the top of page 2. It’s better not to print on both sides or staple the pages together, since you want to encourage the reader to hold the pages side-by-side for easy referencing.

Topic 3.2: No Paragraphs!

*Paragraphs Are Uninviting
One of the biggest obstacles to getting a resume read by a busy manager is dense paragraphs.
Many resumes have long paragraphs, undoubtedly filled with juicy information.
The problem is, nobody wants to read a long paragraph when they’re in a hurry. A paragraph demands too much time to read.

*Use Bullets
Do the reader (and yourself) a favor by using bullet points to break your material into bite-sized pieces. A bullet point is a graphic symbol () used to highlight a statement. A bullet statement says, "Here’s an independent thought that’s quick and easy to read," whereas a paragraph implies that one has to read the whole thing to get the full meaning.
For the best effect, start each accomplishment statement on a new line so that all the bullet points line up on the left, like this:

• Made classroom presentations to students K-8, demonstrating the importance of art to humanity’s physical and mental survival.
• Tutored high school students in Project Read, integrating reading and writing to offer new perspectives and respect for their own life stories.
• Conducted cultural field trips to sites including businesses, performing arts centers, and museums.

*See for Yourself
In case you’re not convinced that bullet statements are a good idea, take a look at JoAnna’s resume on the next two pages.
You’ll see the same resume in two graphic layouts: the first uses bullet points to break up the blocks of print; the second uses paragraphs.
Which one do you think looks like a quicker read?

Don’t substitute an asterisk (*) for a bullet point. An asterisk tells the reader to look below for a footnote. That’s not what you mean!

* Exercise 1
Take a list of accomplishments from your most recent job and separate them into bulleted points. For example:
Fireman’s Fund Insurance, San Francisco
CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE

• Created system for identifying and notifying past-due accounts, recovering $236,000 of uncollected premiums from previous years.
• Used a diplomatic yet firm approach to resolve accounting disputes with customers, agents, and sales staff.
• Encouraged inter-departmental cooperation by providing excellent internal customer service to four departments.

 

Topic 3.3: Format, Format, Format

*Resume Formats
In real estate, the adage is "location, location, location." Well, in resume writing it’s "format, format, format." If you use the right format, the reader can spot you as a top-notch candidate in less than eight seconds. There are two basic resume formats: chronological and functional. Let’s take a look at both of these.

Topic 3.3.1: Chronological Resume

*Using a Chronological Resume
The chronological format is the most traditional resume. It highlights your dates and places of employment and your job titles by using them as headings for listing your achievements. Use the chronological format if:

• You are staying in the same field.
• Your overall work history shows growth in the direction of your job objective.
• Your most recent (or current) position is one you are proud of.
• You have no major gaps in your work history.

The templates used in this course are not boilerplates! The bullet point statements in these templates are just ideas. Since not all of them will apply to your situation, use only the ones that give you the opportunity to support your job objective.

*Chronological Examples
On the next page, you’ll find a template for the chronological format, followed by four chronological resumes by real job seekers.
On each resume is noted why the applicant chose to use the chronological resume.
Spend some time perusing the template and the examples to get a feel for the chronological format, then we’ll examine the functional resume.

Topic 3.3.2: Functional Resume

*Emphasizing Skills
Instead of being organized chronologically by job held, the functional format presents your achievements under skill headings. This gives you the freedom to prioritize your accomplishments by impact rather than by chronology. In the functional format, your work history is listed very concisely in a section separate from your achievements.

*Using a Functional Resume
Use the functional format if:

• You are changing careers.
• You are reentering the job market.
• You need to emphasize skills or experience from an early part of your work history.
• Your volunteer experience is relevant and needs to be highlighted.
• Your most recent position is not impressive.

*Changing Careers
If you’re a career changer with a work history that makes the reader want to pigeonhole you into your previous line of work, use the functional format. The functional resume allows you to define yourself according to your skills instead of your former job titles.

*Functional Examples
Want to see what the functional resume looks like? The template for the functional format is on the next page, followed by four functional resumes from actual job seekers.
On each resume is noted why the applicant decided on the functional format.
After looking at the template and the examples, you’ll understand the difference between the chronological and functional formats. Then you’ll be ready to choose which one is right for you.

* Exercise 2
Try laying out your experience in both chronological and functional formats. See which ones might best fit your next job objective. Use the following table as a template.

Examine the following table
Chronological	Functional
Job Objective	Job Objective
Summary of Qualifications	Summary of Qualifications
Professional Experience	Relevant Experience
Company Name, Job Title	Major Skill
Company Name, Job Title	Major Skill
Education	Work History
-	Education

 

Topic 3.4: Unit 3 Summary

In this unit, you learned a couple of quick tips for catching the reader’s attention: limiting the size of your resumes and creating bullet points for separate achievements.
You learned about the two main categories of resumes: chronological and functional. You also learned what components are used in each resume type and when it’s best to use one type as opposed to another.

Professional Resume Writing : Unit 4. Achievement and Hybrid Formats

4. Achievement and Hybrid Formats

In the last unit, you learned about chronological and functional resumes. In this unit, you will learn about three new types of resumes that are based in part on the chronological and functional resume formats.
You will learn about the benefits of achievement resumes as well as two different kinds of hybrid resumes. You will also see several examples of all three resume types.

After completing this unit, you should be able to:

• Identify achievement, hybrid chronological, and hybrid functional resume formats
• Explain the benefits of each type of resume
• Discuss what type of person would benefit from using each type of resume

 

Topic 4.1: Using Achievement Resumes

*Achievement Resumes
Here it comes again: the old "less is more" slogan. Saying a little is more effective than saying a lot, and that’s what the achievement resume is all about: brevity and punch!
With a few strong accomplishments, an achievement resume can generate more questions and interest than pages of details.
This type of resume works well for sales professionals, top-level executives, and those who want to keep the spotlight on just a few successes from their whole career.

*A Prominent Example
Imagine how short and powerful a former U.S. president’s resume could be. Take Jimmy Carter. Although he could fill pages and pages with achievements, he doesn’t need multiple-pages to make his point. At most, two lines will get him in the door for any interview he’s after:

• 39th President of the United States.
• Negotiator of 1979 Camp David accords between Egypt and Israel.

The achievement resume is also a marvelous way to throw attention onto your strengths while de-emphasizing a weak or complicated employment history.

A confident resume — and a good achievement resume definitely overflows with confidence — places you in an excellent position to negotiate your salary.

*No Skill Headings
An achievement resume looks like a functional resume except that it does not have skill headings in the body of the resume.
Instead it just lists five or six strong, relevant achievements under a main heading such as "Sales Accomplishments" or "Selected Achievements."

*Look What They Did!
The following template represents an achievement resume. You’ll also find three achievement resumes by real job seekers. An easy scan of these resumes will tell you that the job seeker in each case is a winner in his or her field. That’s the beauty of this format!

Let’s look at the template for an achievement resume. Remember, the following template is not a boilerplate (a form in which you simply answer the questions, and you’re finished). The bulleted statements in the template are just ideas. Since not all of them will apply to your situation, use only the ones that give you the opportunity to support your job objective.

* Exercise 1
Try laying out your biggest accomplishments in achievement format. Evaluate how the format might be used for your next job objective. Use the table below as a template for the achievement resume format.

Examine the following table

Achievement Resume

Heading

Job Objective

Summary of Qualifications

Selected Achievements

achievement

achievement

Work History

Education

 

Topic 4.2: Hybrid Based on the Chronological Resume

*Hybrid-Chronological Resumes
Now, let’s talk about hybrid resumes. At first glance, the hybrid based on a chronological resume looks like a chronological format because the job seeker’s achievements are presented as part of the work history in the body of the resume. The difference is that the achievement statements under each job heading are listed under skill subheadings. The following table shows you an example; skill subheadings have been inserted into the Professional Experience section of a chronological resume.
1989 – 1994    Marketing Director, Fairfield General Company, Franklin, MA
Management

• Started the company’s marketing department, which now creates promotional strategies for all 46 national branches.
• Directly supervised 16 managers who oversaw the work of 14 graphic designers, 10 copywriters, and 12 vendors.

Marketing

• Increased sales by 40 percent by launching three new products in the first year.
• Achieved significant return on advertising by creating a campaign that made "Fairfield" a household name.

*Regular or Hybrid?
When should you consider using a hybrid based on the chronological format instead of the regular chronological resume? If you fit into one of the following circumstances, think about designing a hybrid:
*You’re Looking for a Promotion
If you want to use your resume to get a position that’s a rung higher on your career ladder, the skill subheadings will help the employer see right away that you’ve already used the skills required for the next position without having to read the small print.

*You’re Switching Industries
If you want to continue doing the same kind of work you’ve been doing but you want to change industries, the hybrid based on the chronological format can be a great promotional tool for you.
This format will encourage the employer to identify you by your job titles and skills, even though your work history is from a different industry.

*Your Job Titles Are Nondescript
If your job titles don’t express the level of responsibility you actually held, having skill subheadings in your Professional Experience section will help. This is frequently the case for government and university employees, where titles such as "Assistant, Level III" tell the reader almost nothing about the job.

*Hybrid-Chronological Examples
To see this hybrid theory in action, take a look at the following template that represents a hybrid based on the chronological resume. It’s followed by three sample resumes used by real job seekers.

Topic 4.3: Hybrid Based on the Functional Resume

*Hybrid-Functional Resumes
The hybrid based on the functional resume looks almost like a functional format.
Its Work History is concise and placed at the bottom of the page, and achievement statements are categorized according to skill headings in the body of the resume.
What makes it a hybrid is that under the skill headings there are subheadings that indicate where the achievements took place.

*Acts Functional, Looks Chronological

One of the biggest objections to the functional format is that most resume writers fail to say where each achievement took place. The hybrid based on the functional resume not only identifies where each achievement happened, it announces it loud and clear through subheadings in the body of the resume, similar to the subheadings in the chronological format. That’s the advantage—the hybrid looks similar to the chronological resume (and therefore familiar to the employer), yet it has the structural advantage of the functional resume.

*Hybrid-Functional in Action

MANAGEMENT
Fairfield General Company
To understand this better, look at the way the achievement statements are categorized in the following example:

• Started the company’s marketing department, which now creates promotional strategies for all 46 national branches.
• Directly supervised 16 managers who oversaw the work of 14 graphic designers, 10 copywriters, and 12 vendors.

Indigo International Inc.

• Introduced an automated resume scanning system that eliminated 50 work hours per week.
• Improved team spirit by including department representatives in corporate decision making.

MARKETING
Fairfield General Company

• Increased sales by 40 percent by launching three new products in the first year.
• Achieved significant return on advertising by creating a campaign that made "Fairfield" a household name.

Indigo International Inc.

• Wrote a 25-page proposal that outlined strategies for reaching long-and short-term goals.

 

 

*Hybrid-Functional Examples

The hybrid based on the functional resume works best for job seekers who have chosen the functional format and who have several achievements from one place of employment, whether it’s a more recent job or one from the past.
The following template shows a hybrid based on the functional resume. The template is followed by three sample resumes for real job seekers.

Your juiciest information should appear near the top of your resume. Prioritize your achievements so that the most impressive ones appear at the top of each section.

Examine the following table
Hybrid Chronological	Hybrid Functional
Heading	Heading
Job Objective	Job Objective
Summary of Qualifications	Summary of Qualifications
Professional Experience	Relevant Experience
Company Name	Major Skill
Major Skill	Company Name
Major Skill	Company Name
Company Name	Major Skill
Major Skill	Company Name
Major Skill	Company Name
Education	Work History
-	Education

 

Topic 4.4: Professional Resume Writing :Unit 4 Summary

In this unit, you learned how to use an achievement resume to highlight special accomplishments you might have. You also learned about the two types of hybrid resumes.
You learned that hybrid chronological resumes are broken out first by company and job, and then by skill subheading.

You also learned how to use a hybrid functional resume to highlight past performances and skills without dwelling on a more recent job that is not as impressive.

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