Producing a Great Resume

The first step in making an eye catching business resume is to forget about what you were taught in school, and ignore the templates that programs have built into them. The majority of job hunters use these guidelines and templates, making the employer bored as soon as they glance at it. In order for your resume to stand out, which is necessary in order to even get noticed when applying for jobs, you have to be a little different. For instance, if you choose to use plain white paper, buy a cheap colored binder and place your resume inside of it. Or better yet, purchase paper in a color of your choice, as long as it is not so dark that black writing cannot be seen clearly on it (I personally use a cream color on thick stock, so that it stands out without being an eye-sore). Your resume has to stand out above all the others, and it should follow the outline listed below.

1. Name

2. Address

3. Phone Number

4. Email Address

5. Skills

6. Education

7. Professional Experience (Work History)

8. Personal References

As you can see, the orders in which certain information is placed are different than what you have always been taught. After years of trying different combinations, I have found that this order, when applying for a professional job, is the most effective. And speaking from a managers standpoint (I have over 15 years of management experience), this order is much more effective because a manager will simply glance at a resume and move on. If your skills and education are listed first, the information that the manager is looking for is the first things that they see.

Steps one through five must be condensed onto one page, without appearing cluttered. It may take you a few times to get this step right, but it is imperative that you take the time to do so. Also, never lie on a resume. Employers have access to various programs, currently ranging from $25 to $49, that give a complete work history of any person by simply typing in the name and social security number. Be honest. Be brief. And most importantly, be professional.

The second page of your resume should list four to six personal references. Many managers rely on these people to learn about your character, so be sure to use people that know you well and that will give you a good reference to a prospective employer. This may seem like common sense, but I have known many people that have used ex-wives, ex-husbands, and jealous friends. Using these types of people will back-fire on you nine out of ten times.

When producing a resume it is imperative that it stands out above the others and gets noticed. Obviously, this in itself will not ensure that you get the job that you are applying for, or that you will even get an interview. But it will guarantee that the manger notices you, and looks over your resume rather than just glancing at it and piling to the side with all of the other generic ones.