Getting in the Job Market

    Perhaps after your divorce you’re being forced to reenter the job market after an extended absence, or upon analyzing your personal finances, you determine a higher paying job is required in order to maintain your current standard of living as a newly single person. Well, today’s job market is competitive.

One way to set yourself apart from other applicants is to create a well-written and visually appealing resume that’s concise, yet communicates all of the relevant information an employer wants and needs to know about you. If you’re applying for jobs online, the resume you create will have the same content as a traditional, hard copy (printed) resume, but how you communicate your resume’s key content will be different.

The strategies for creating a resume that are described here, mainly apply to a hard copy resume, which in most cases, you’ll want to submit in conjunction with a well-written cover letter. The goal of your resume is to provide a summary of your education, work experience and relevant skills, and to position yourself as the ideal applicant for the job you’re applying for. By investing the time necessary to customize your resume and target it for each position you apply for, your chances of getting invited in for that all-important job interview increase.
 
The goal of your resume is not necessarily to get you hired, but to get an employer interested enough in you to want to meet you in-person. Using one, single-sided, 8.5-inch by 11-inch sheet of paper, it’s your responsibility to create a resume that effectively summarizes who you are, what you’ve accomplished, and what skills you possess. This information should answer the question, “How will you exceed, not just be able to meet, the expectations of the potential employer if you get hired for the position you’re applying for?”

There’s a fine line between positioning yourself as someone who is under-qualified or over-qualified for a specific position. So, it’s important that your resume carefully and accurately summarizes why you’re the ideal applicant for a specific job opening. There’s no room for generalities. When you submit your resume (and cover letter) to a potential employer, chances are it will be added to a pile consisting of dozens of resumes already submitted by other applicants. Thus, the human resources professional or person looking to fill a job opening will probably only spend between 15 and 30 seconds scanning the information you’ve included within your resume. That’s right, you only have a few seconds to make that essential first impression using only information you’ve included on a sheet of paper. If the content of your resume doesn’t catch the reader’s eye and capture their attention almost instantly, you’ll be passed over.

What your resume says about you is important, but equally important, is how you say it (the wording or phrasing you use). How the information looks on the printed page is also essential to create an effective resume. Your resume should follow a traditional and widely accepted resume format, such as a “reverse chronological” format, and not look too cluttered on the printed page. 

10 STEPS TO A WELL-WRITTEN RESUME.

1. After determining what job or position you’re interested in applying for, take the time to customize your resume so it clearly demonstrates that you possess the necessary experience, skill set and education to fulfill the responsibilities of that specific job. In addition to listing past jobs and work-related experiences, provide specific quantitative and qualitative examples of your accomplishments. For example, “Responsible for boosting sales by 25 percent in Q1 2007,” or “Managed a team of 25 employees responsible for generating $5.2 million in annual revenue.”

2. Before writing and formatting your resume, ask yourself the following questions: What specific job and job title are you applying for? What qualifications, experience and skills is the employer looking for? What work experience do you have that directly relates to the employer’s wants and needs? What specifically can you offer the employer? How would hiring you, as opposed to another applicant, benefit the employer? How can you help solve problems the employer is currently facing? As you create your resume, its content should answer these questions.

3. A traditional printed resume has several distinct sections, including the heading (which lists your full name, address, phone number, cell phone number and email address); your objective (one sentence describing the type of job you’re looking for and why you’re qualified for that job); a list of your relevant job-related skills, a listing of your past work experience (typically listed in reverse chronological order, with your most recent job listed first); a listing of your education (also listed in reverse chronological, with your most recent degree or diploma listed first); and a listing of awards, certifications and licenses you possess. A separate section might also list your military experience, if applicable. Spend time deciding exactly what information should be included within each section of your resume, keeping in mind that space is limited.