The quest for a new job or career can be exciting, especially if the potential for frustration is headed off with a well developed resume. First, keep in mind that the goal of a resume is not to win you the job. Its goal is to get you in the door for a personal interview with a recruiter or potential employer.
Put yourself in the shoes of prospective employers. It is likely that they will have stacks of resumes through which they must wade. While your instinct may be to include every fragment of information relevant to your qualifications for the job, suppress the urge to write reams about yourself. Instead, aim for a one to two page resume. Too much information is simply too much and may drastically lower your chances for scoring an interview. Consider only the most directly applicable information for your resume and avoid the mistake of overkill.
As you format your resume, choose a font type that is clearly legible and large
enough for easy reading: remember that being kind to the recruiter's eyes may pay off in the long run! A Times New Roman or Arial font are very suitable and font sizes should never, ever be lower than ten (in fact, aim for a 12 font size unless it is necessary to make space on the page). Another common mistake is the use of "flowery" fonts. These make the job harder for the one trying to read your resume so keep it simple.
Now decide what style of resume you feel would be most appropriate. The most widely used type, the "chronological resume", is simply a list of past positions listed in reverse chronological order. A "functional resume" is outlined according to job skills that are most applicable to the position. A "combination resume" is structured so that skills are highlighted (as in the functional resume) with employers listed in chronological order. As this tends to duplicate a lot of information, the combination resume is not as widely used as the other two formats.
As you begin to outline your resume's content, begin with your contact information. Your full name, mailing address, phone number, and email address (if you have one).
Next open with a brief overview of your qualifications for the position. This summary allows you to preface the technical aspects of your resume with a simple justification as to why you are a person that the interviewer just has to meet! As you prepare this and the following sections, be careful in your wording. For instance, use present tense in your overview (if applicable) as well as your current position and interests. But be sure to consistently use past tense for all positions and activities that are no longer occurring . Also, avoid the third common mistake of lacing your resume with overpowering words. Again, keep things simple.
Now, list your work experience if this is a chronological resume or your skill sets if this is a functional resume. If chronological, list your positions beginning with the most recent and working your way back. Consider limiting your work experience to the last ten years, especially if you have had several positions throughout that time span. If functional, skill sets should be listed according to relevance to the posted job. Keep your formatting neat! Another common mistake is irregular formatting which might turn off some resume readers.
When you have completed your employment section, you now need to include your educational background. As in the Employment History, list this in reverse chronological order with special attention to pertinent degrees or certifications.
Finally, if you have room, include a brief section summarizing any other types of training you have received that may help an interviewer consider you. If you still have room, you may briefly list some of your outside interests. But steer clear of the fifth mistake often made in the including of too many items or items that convey highly personal or intimate facts of your life.