resume tips

Your resume opens the door to obtaining an interview with a company that could offer you employment, so it stands to reason that your resume should present you in the best possible light. A resume represents what you have to offer a company by summarizing what skills, education and experience you have had.

These days many people pay a professional writer or company to prepare a resume for them. Books and websites also offer guidelines, samples and formats to follow should you decide to prepare your own. Whatever way you decide to do it, remember that a sloppy or vague resume will not catch the attention of a prospective employer who has to sort through numerous resumes to determine how he/she should narrow the field. Even one minor mistake or misspelling could cost you the chance at an interview, so if you don’t feel confident in your ability to put together a convincing resume, get some help.

While many consider a resume the same thing as a curriculum vitae (or CV), in the United States we usually use the term “resume” for jobs in the private sector and the term “curriculum vitae” in academic environments.

In the past, resumes did not exceed one to two pages in length; however that has begun to change because of internet-based job searches which increase the pool of potential resumes submitted and therefore require more specific information to allow candidates to stand out. No matter what kind of resume you decide to use, it should always include your full name and contact information, including telephone and email address.