The Cover Letter
Tip: An important purpose of a cover letter is to get the employer interested in reading your resume.
Tip: One way to get the employer interested in you and your resume is to have your cover letter highlight a few key points from your resume and why you are interest in the position and the company.
The Resume
Tip: The main purpose of a resume is to get the employer interested enough in you to invite you for an interview.
Tip: The content of your resume should be clearly organized and expressed.
Tip: The statements you make in your resume should be credible. In other words, avoid obvious exaggerations.
Tip: Your resume should demonstrate that you have the education, training, experience, and/or potential to do the job.
There are many styles and approaches to resume writing. This article does not recommend any particular style or approach. Instead, we have attempted to summarize some basic suggestions for writing a clear and concise resume, with the assumption that a clear and concise resume will improve your chances of landing an interview.
The three C's of resume writing: Clarity, Credibility, and Credentials.
Clarity
Your resume should be a clear expression of your background.
Avoid things that can interfere with clarity, such as:
- lack of organization
- a poor physical layout
- long sentences
- fonts that are difficult to read
- poorly written career objectives
A problem on many resumes arises in the "Career Objective" section. Candidates often state career objectives that are either vague, irrelevant to the job being applied for, or a statement of the candidate's personal philosophy towards work.
Candidates sometimes make their Career Objective vague so that they can use the same resume for a variety of jobs. If this is your goal, you may be better off eliminating the Career Objective section entirely.
If your Career Objective is not relevant to the job, a prospective employer may not read your resume any further, assuming that you are not interested in the job that is available.
If you want to include in your resume a statement of your personal philosophy towards work, that's fine. But label it correctly or, even better, include it in your cover letter instead of your resume. There is a difference between a "Career Objective" and a "Personal Work Ethic."
Credibility
The person reading your resume should feel that your statements accurately reflect your experience and accomplishments. Frequently, resumes contain statements that strain credibility. So, try to avoid exaggerations. Most likely, exaggerated claims will negatively affect the credibility of your resume, and this will reduce your chances of getting invited for an interview.
Certainly, it's a good idea to present your background in the best possible light, but don't get carried away making fantastic claims about yourself. For example, if you state that you "took a company from loss to profitability in one year," and you weren't the president or COO, explain how that was possible, or you run the risk of loosing credibility.
Credentials
Ultimately, employers are looking for individuals who have the requisite credentials to perform the duties of the job. For most jobs, these credentials include the right mix of education or training, job experience, and a positive attitude towards the job and the employer. The resume typically summarizes an individual's education, training, and experience. An individual's attitude or interest in the job being applied for and the prospective employer is usually expressed in the cover letter.
Emphasis
Some resumes emphasize accomplishments, while others emphasize education, job titles, responsibilities, or prior employers. What you emphasize depends on what you think will be of the most interest to the prospective employer and what your strengths are. For example, if you're a recent college graduate or in certain professions, you may want to emphasize your education followed by experience that is relevant to the job being applied for. However, if you are a seasoned employee, you might want to emphasize either you accomplishments or the job titles you held and the companies you worked for. Basically, it's a marketing decision you'll be making. It you're not sure what to do, you can always seek the help of an experienced resume writer.
Emphasis may be accomplished in a variety of ways, but is usually done by placing the information you want to emphasize near the beginning of the resume.
In Conclusion
Clarity and Credibility are the tools you use to help communicate and convince an employer that you have the credentials to do the job. If your credentials are not expressed clearly and convincingly, you decrease the chances of a prospective employer concluding that you have the potential to do the job, and likewise, decrease the chance that you will be invited for an interview.