Showcase your talents

by Rahel Bailie

Resumes. We know we need one. Most of us have one. But are we using our resumes to showcase what we can do, and to put our skills and talents in the best light? We can agree that a resume contains information about our work histories. And that potential employers use them to pick a short list of candidates to interview for a job. In other words, potential employers use resumes to screen out candidates they decide aren't qualified for the short list. So how do you use a resume to your advantage?

A resume can be several things:

A document you leave with your interviewers — When you meet with a company executive who likes the way you think and wants to explore collarborative possiblities, you can leave a resume behind to remind that executive about your capabilities. This is the optimal way to use a resume.

A tool you use to market yourself — Though one of the most common uses of a resume, this is also one of the least effective ways to use the document. Sending out a resume to a company is similar to a company sending out flyers to your home. You bring yourself to the attention of the human resources departments of companies — along with hundreds of other hopeful candidates.

A focal point during an interview — When an inexperienced interviewer begins to meander, you can bring the focus back to your qualifications by making reference to specific points in your resume. This will not only help you point out what you need to interviewer to remember about you, it also helps the interviewer remember you.

Your life story — A particular type of resume, the curriculum vitae, contains a history of your life's accomplishments. This type of document is more common in certain countries and in specific job markets.

What goes in, what doesn't

Information such as career objective, work and educational history, credentials, and accomplishments are universally accepted, and expected, in a resume. Particular industries and professions have additional, specific expectations. For example, academics list publications in their resumes, while software developers list the coding languages they know.

Oh, and don't forget the basics. Include your name, address, phone number, fax number, and personal email address in the body of your resume. You'd be surprised how many resumes don't provide adequate contact information for candidates.

What should be left off a resume is extraneous information that companies can use as part of the screening process. When a company is trying to reduce a stack of several hundred submissions to a short list of under ten, you don't want to give them any information that may help them sort you out. Let them judge your skills and abilities.

Personal information — Your height, weight, age, and marital status are nobody's business. In fact, many countries forbid employers to ask for this information. Your social security (US) or social insurance number (Canada) should also be off limits, at least until you need to fill out forms after you've been hired.

Hobbies and interests — For every person who claims they've been hired because they bonded over their love of gardening or music, there are an equal or larger number of people who have been sorted out, unbeknownst to them, because the resume sorters decided ahead of time that the person wouldn't fit into the team. The only exception to this rule is if your hobby or interest relates directly to the type of job you're seeking. For example, if the position requires budgeting experience and your volunteer work includes important budgeting tasks, that fact demonstrates your abilities.

References — You may indicate that you can supply references upon request, but this should be the last step in an employer's hiring process before signing an offer. You don't want your references to be taken by surprise and have to provide off-the-cuff answers to questions that may determine your future. Instead, you'll want to call your references and prepare them to receive the employer's phone call. If you are offered a position pending good reference checks, you can explain what you need to do and offer to give them a list once you've had a chance to prepare your references.

Resume structures

A resume begins with a career objective. Everyone wants "an exciting job in a progressive company," so be specific enough to make your objective meaningful. State briefly what type of position you're seeking, what you can contribute to the company you're approaching, and what type of company you'd like to work for. For example, an objective for a technical editing job could be: "To contribute my exceptional editing skills to a technical writing team in a mid-size to large software development organization." A well-written objective also helps the resume sorters determine which job in the company you are applying for.

Many resumes contain a section that lists skills and abilities, areas of expertise, or lists industry-specific information such as tools mastered. Such a list should not be so prominent as to detract from your skills. After all, listing the fact that you play the violin does not guarantee that you can play skillfully; neither does a list of software programs guarantee the quality of your writing, editing, or management skills.

Educational background, professional development, professional memberships, and any publications and awards should be listed, as well. However, unless you have a newly-minted advanced degree in a sexy new discipline, don't make this information particularly prominent.

You can structure your resume in four basic ways. How you structure your resume depends on how much experience you have and what you want to emphasize.

Chronological — A chronological resume lists the positions you've held, in reverse chronological order. This type of resume works to show a steady career progression in a single stream, such as junior writer, writer, senior writer, team lead. The information includes the position you held, the name of the company and location, and the year you started and left. The description is divided into the mandate — this is what you were hired to do — and your accomplishments, or what you did above and beyond the call of duty (and particularly well). Be sure to mention the industry, as it may not be obvious from the company name.

Functional — A functional resume groups information by function rather than by date. This works for career-changers who want to demonstrate a particular skill. For example, a technician who wants to make a transition to a writing position would list positions with a writing component, highlighting the types of writing done and downplaying the actual position title.

Hybrid — A hybrid resume groups information according to function, but also contains a chronological section. Structuring a resume this way helps to demonstrate work continuity in cases where a gap occurs that could distract the reviewer from your skills and abilities.

Skills and achievement-based — This type of resume uses the first page to demonstrate to a potential employer what you've done in the past that you could also do for the new company. This takes the focus off the "circumstantial evidence" of your past, and turns attention to what you have actually accomplished. Generally, the resume is two pages long, front and back, and the second page provides a brief chronological work history of relevant positions.

Developing the right kind of resume is an important part of any job search. It is your public face, your marketing brochure, the "leave-behind" that can be read and passed around once you have left the premises. The most important aspect of your resume is not to show your history, but your potential to an employer. Show off your talents, and let employers give you a chance to use them.