Resume Week Part II - Resume Structure

Last week we learned how to come up with skills to add to a resume that matches the job requirements of a potential employer, we learned how to create a letter head for our professional documents, and we also learned how to structure the first part of out resumes titled "Summary of Qualifications". Now we will discover how to structure the remaining parts of the resume.

After your "Summary of Qualifications" you need to decide which element whether it is you experience or education that is most relevant to the job you are seeking. If it is your education then this will be what you will add next, if it's your job experience then add this next.

When you add job experience first put your job title, next put how long you worked. For example if you worked from 2003-2005 for an employer you will put 2 years instead of the actual year. This will eliminate employers "silently" discriminating because of your age. You will then add a brief summary of your job responsibilities and the name of the company. You only need to add either the last 2 or 3 jobs you've had hopefully totaling a total of 4 years of more.

For cases where you've worked for several employees over a course of a year or more you can disguise this only if your job title was the same. So if you worked as per say a customer service representative for several companies with about the same responsibilities then add up how many years in a whole you worked and use that for the number of years. Eliminate the company names and you've successfully disguised employment gabs and job hopping. Doing this will make getting an interview easier instead of the potential employer eliminating you as a candidate because of your frequent job hopping or employment gabs, thus giving you an opportunity to explain yourself within the interview.

When added education use the same formula: Subject of Study, the number of years you attended, a brief summary of the subject of study and how it applies to you.

If you have any certification you can add this to the end of your resume. Only add certifications if they are required for the position to keep your resume from going over one page. Remember your resume should NEVER be more than one page. Do not add references to your resume or add a sentence stating: "References available upon request". This is unnecessary. Instead you should create a separate document containing your references that you can bring to your interview. You also do not an element called "Objective". Later this week we will discuss how to create your objective which will not be a part of your actual resume, but another document most people forget to include when applying for a job.

Here's an example of what your completed resume should look like: Resume Example

Please note that this resume is not intended for use. It is strictly used to show an example of how your resume should be set up only.

After you complete your resume allow 2 or 3 friends look it over for errors. Ask them if they were an employer would they interview you based on the resume you've created. You should also run a spell check to correct any spelling or grammar errors you might have made for absolute perfection.

Happy Hunting Tampa and have a Happy New Year!

Samara Bowling