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Permalink Reply by Dive Diva on December 20, 2009 at 5:49am

A resume is your personal marketing tool that outlines your skills and experience so that an employer can see, at a glance what you can contribute to the company. It is that first impression that a prospective employer has about you. It is the initial, and therefore the most crucial step of your job search.

There are two basic styles or formats for resumes; Reverse Chronological format or Functional format.

Using the reverse chronological format, you present your career information by dates, beginning with your present or most recent position. This format is good for people with long work histories and no large gaps between jobs or when you're not drastically changing your career direction.

The functional format emphasizes your abilities and accomplishments without providing detailed background information on where and when you acquired these skills. The functional format is especially suitable for students entering the job market, recent grads with little work experience, people going back into the job market and those who are in the middle of a career change who may want to emphasize their transferable skills. Those skills may be gained through such things as paid employment, volunteer work, and hobbies.

A combination of these two resume formats can be used by those with a steady work history as well as a variety of responsibilities and skills. By designating one section for abilities and areas of expertise you can highlight your accomplishments and talents, while a reverse chronological work history allows a potential employer to size up your value as a potential employee.

Focus on coveying your best assets to prospective employers. Let them know that you are a professional who willing to learn, grow and evolve with their company. To begin your resume, start by making notes, index cards are great for this step.

List all of your work experiences, job by job, progressing backward in time. Use one index card for each job. Identify the skills you've acquired during each job experience and label those skills according to the skills headings used in want ads and job descriptions.

Fully describe your duties and detail your achievements in an impressive manner. Then from the index card notes, choose which skills are transferable to the job you're applying for.

* Target your experience to your goal. Your employment history should effectively market you for your current job objective. Focus on accomplishments that relate to your goal, and remove job duties and accomplishments that don't support your and the employer's objectives.

Don't make the mistake of attempting to writing a generic or "one-size-fits-all" resume instead write a targeted resume. The more closely you can target the employer's needs the better your results will be. If you are interested in more than one position, the best strategy is to develop several resumes that target your different objectives.

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