by Elaine Sihera

Created on: July 21, 2008

A business resume is about your suitability as a professional and that professionalism must shine throughout your resume, whether you are a recent graduate or a seasoned hand. Your suitability, capability and experience at getting results must be immediately noticeable. Competition is exceptionally high for business posts, thus it is important to aim for three things when you write both your resumes and business letters: conciseness, clarity and appeal. The last element must simply leap grab the employer's attention. If a recruiter has to work out whether you are really suitable through a lot of verbiage, you have lost the opportunity.

A. The Covering Letter
This should be quite brief with no more than three paragraphs over one A4 page. The opening paragraph should mention what you are applying for and why. Try not to repeat your resume. instead, mainly summarise key points relevant to the post. The second paragraph should state why you are particularly suitable, using certain key words the advert might have mentioned, while the third contains what you hope to gain from the post and any special skills/expertise you would bring to it in return.

The letter should stress your experience, knowledge and expertise that would suit that job. Mention the desire to face that next challenge in your development which the new company appears to offer and the enthusiasm and drive you would be bringing. The letter should be more professional and emotional in tone, i:e stressing the kind of person you are, your personality, your objectives, reliability, resilience etc, with certain key words like flexibility, adaptability and challenge strategically placed. Overall, the letter should give a brief flavour of you while the resume fills in the details. End very hopefully, thanking them for a positive response soon.

B. The Resume
No resume should be longer than two A4 pages, and at the most, three. Any job/experience older that 10-12 years is not worth mentioning because the world of industry moves so rapidly in processes and innovation, the experience you might have gained 20 years ago would probably be useless now. You could arrange the resume in the following order for clarity:

1. Education - all your college and university experiences, along with your qualifications, especially if you are an older candidate. Include your high school if you are younger.

2. Current Post - This should have a brief outline of your present job, its responsibilities and roles, and the main skills you employ

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