by jayj

Created on: August 04, 2007

Sell yourself as the candidate who will be of value,by writing a good resume and
fulfilling your prospective employers' desire to employ the best!

1. Type your resume on one sheet of good quality, plain paper. The challenge is to be as concise as possible and target the information to the position you are applying for. Good quality paper feels nice and gains the employers attention because it is nice to feel and pleasant to the eye. More than one sheet of paper means that your resume is too wordy. The employer should be able to look at a resume and gain the information he/she needs in a few seconds.

2. This may sound obvious, but surprisingly people sometimes forget to type their contact details on a resume. Your name, address, email address and phone number should appear at the top of the page.

3. Attach or scan (in colour) a good and professional looking passport photograph to the top of the resume. This is generally the first impression the employer will gain of you. If you look well presented and appear to have a genial manner this will automatically score points in this initial process. The employer will also recognise you when you come to the interview.

4. List your working experience starting with your last/ present employer. Don't
forget to add the name and address of this company and your job title. Describe concisely your roles, responsibilities and achievements in the position you held. Remember, you are targeting a specific job role and so only include relevant information to this position. Try to describe the skills or personal characteristics
that enabled you to succeed in this position and that support your present career objective.

5. Include all of your educational details. The establishments where you studied, the exams you took and the results. These should be listed the most recent to the first exam you took. The employer likes to see your most recent achievements first. For example he/she may need to know when was the last time you studied. This may show if you have the ability to learn new things and study company courses.

6. In today's market it is very important to list all of the computer skills that you have. If you do not have any, then you should think about taking them. Most employers will feel you are an asset to their company if you are computer literate.

7. Publications. List the title of the papers or articles you have written, address, publisher and dates they were published. This generally looks good,no matter what job you are applying for.

8. This should be standard, but remember to proofread you resume at least twice. Also check for any spelling errors or typing errors. Run a spell check.

9. Remember to sell yourself as the candidate who will be of value to this company and avoid listing information which will not support your prospective job role, just because you are proud of these achievements.

10.Send this resume in matching stationary, IE an envelope which matches your resume. Type the address on a label, because this always looks more professional. Don't forget the envelope is the first impression before the resume.

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