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Résumé

A well-written cover letter and job-winning résumé is an excellent investment.  The 700 or so words in a one-page letter and two-page résumé are worth thousands of dollars. A résumé (sometimes spelled resumé or resume) is a document used by individuals to present their professional background and skillsets.   

Résumés can be used for a variety of reasons but most often to secure new employment.  A typical résumé contains a summary of relevant job experience and education.  

The résumé is typically one of the first items, along with a cover letter and sometimes job application packet, that a potential employer encounters regarding the job seeker and is typically used to screen applicants, often followed by an interview, when seeking employment.  

The résumé is comparable to a curriculum vitae in many countries, although in English Canada and the United States it is substantially different.  

NOTE:  Begin your résumé  with your stronget selling points!  Use reverse chronological order.  Cover letters and job-winning résumés must be adapted to specifically demonstrate how you meet the requirements for each particular job for which you apply.  You will need different versions for different jobs.

Your résumé is your lottery ticket to a job interview where you can market yourself! 

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Click: Sample Résumés & Cover Letters

Stand out…with a World Class Résumé! 

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Don’t bother copying executive resume samples or templates

Your resume is your sales pitch and it has to be unique. You are selling yourself, not some other person. The last thing you want on an executive resume is copied information.  Copying anything verbatim off the internet or from a book is plagiarism.  You are worthy of your title, you have integrity, you offer something very special – and you should have a resume that reflects this.

Copying from a job description presents another set of problems. Certainly, you have more to offer than a static list of tasks, duties, and responsibilities. Plus, your executive resume will not stand out to the rest who have also copied the list of requirements. Instead of looking special, your document will be stuck in a pile of resumes that look identical to yours because most of the other applicants have designed their resume around the very same requirements.

A strategic resume distinguishes you from the rest. It is well thought out. Not only does the resume effectively represent you and your background, but it also meets your potential employer’s needs. Here are some things that you can do to write an effective management or executive resume:

• Identify your most valuable qualifications – even if they are not on the job description.
• Dig deep within yourself to identify your specific talents and accomplishments.
• Put on your prospective employer’s hat and think of what you offer that the company needs.
• Put together a powerful brand identity, value proposition, and professional profile that distinguishes you.
• Emphasize your abilities with powerful language and create statements with impact.
• Make it easy for the reader to get through your document by writing concisely.
• Design a professional and upscale “look and feel” only after you have determined the content.

Don’t just copy a résumé example that you like. Instead, create your résumé very carefully. Review résumé examples, design a type of résumé that highlights your strengths and achievements, review what information to include in your résumé, and review a typical résumé format.  Remember, your résumé needs to impress the hiring manager enough so you get the interview.   That means it needs to be perfect. 

A well-written cover letter and job-winning résumé is an excellent investment.  The 700 or so words in a one-page letter and two-page résumé are worth thousands of dollars.  A job worth $30,000 starting salary and an annual two percent increase provides more than $150,000 after five years.  The cover letter and résumé that helped you get the job are worth something like $215 a word. 

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Although most positions are advertised via word of mouth (traditional newspaper want ads and their web-based cousins account for merely a fraction of available jobs), almost every postion involves providing a cover letter and résumé.  There are two reasons for this.  One is legal:  Federal and provincial human rights legislation requires that companies maintain files of applicants so that they can demonstate that their hiring decisions were made in accordance with established regulations.  The other reason is practical:  Even if you are the niece or nephew of the company’s vice pesident, it is unlikely that members of a selection committee would be familiar with your education and work history; still less so if you were the friend of the computer programmer who tells you of an opening in the marketing division.   

The purpose of a cover letter and résumé is to get you an interview. 

Resume writing tips

QR Codes in Job Search: Really?

What is a QR Code?

Quick Response codes, “QR codes” for short, originated in Japan, where organizations have been using them for a number of years. These days, businesses around the world use QR codes to advertise, market, and promote their companies, services, and products.

These little, square codes are similar to traditional barcodes you find on price tags in stores. However, they are quickly gaining in popularity because they can hold far more information such as website links, phone numbers, email addresses, and other text.

The code is actually a picture with embedded information. When someone scans the picture using a mobile application (QR Code Reader) or another scanning device, the details within the picture open up.

Why use a networking card when job searching? 

Mini Résumé    |   Networking Card:

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Mistakes to avoid

1. Errors in spelling and punctuation.

This is the most common (and deadly) error!!! and your spell-checker is not enough.
You must read through the resume once for accuracy (numbers, dates, city names, etc.), once for missing/extra words, and once more for spelling.

Then, show your resume to several friends and ask them to read it out loud.  Listen to where they pause; this could mean you’ve written something confusing or inaccurate.
After you get their feedback, revise the resume so that it’s 100% error-free.

2. No objective or summary.

By not choosing what job you want to do, you start your resume off on the wrong foot.
Why?  You force the employer to read it all the way through to figure out what kind of job you’re suited for.
You create more work for your busy reader.  This is the last thing you want to do! 

Sample Resume Objective Statements

• Sample Resume Objectives 

Audio résumé 

An audio résumé is a way for job seekers to showcase their abilities beyond the capabilities of a traditional paper résumé. The audio résumé allows prospective employers to hear and get a feel for how the applicant presents themselves.   

Video résumé 

A video resume is a way for job seekers to showcase their abilities beyond the capabilities of a traditional paper resume. The video resume allows prospective employers to see, hear and get a better feel for how the applicant presents themselves.     

Curriculum Vitae  

A curriculum vitae (CV, also spelled curriculum vitæ) provides an overview of a person’s life and qualifications. In some countries, a CV is typically the first item that a potential employer encounters regarding the job seeker and is typically used to screen applicants, often followed by an interview, when seeking employment.   

Curriculum vitae is a latin expression which can be loosely translated as [the] course of [my] life. In current usage, curriculum is less marked as a foreign loanword.   

  

The first part of a simple CV used in the United Kingdom 

In the United Kingdom, a CV is short (usually a maximum of 2 sides of A4 paper), and therefore contains only a summary of the job seeker’s employment history, qualifications and some personal information. It is often updated to change the emphasis of the information according to the particular position for which the job seeker is applying.  Many CVs contain keywords that potential employers might pick up on and displays the content in the most flattering manner brushing over information like poor grades.  A CV can also be extended to include an extra page for the job seeker publications if these are important for the job. 

In the United States and Canada, a CV is used in academic circles and medical careers as a “replacement” for a résumé and is far more comprehensive; the term résumé is used for most recruitment campaigns. A CV elaborates on education to a greater degree than a résumé and is expected to include a comprehensive listing of professional history including every term of employment, academic credential, publication, contribution or significant achievement. In certain professions, it may even include samples of the person’s work and may run to many pages. Many executives and professionals choose to utilize a short CV that highlights the focus of their life not necessarily their employment or education.

In the European Union, there has been an attempt to develop a standardized CV format known as Europass (in 2004 by the European Parliament and European Commission) and promoted by the EU to ease skilled migration between member countries, although this is not widely used in most contexts. The Europass CV system is meant to be just as helpful to employers and education providers as it is to students and job seekers. It was designed to help them understand what people changing between the countries have to offer, whilst overcoming linguistic barriers. The Europass documents also provide recognition for non-accredited learning and work experience.

There are a few companies that prefer not to receive a CV at all in application, but rather produce their own application form which must be completed in applying for any position. Of those, some also allow applicants to attach a CV in support of the application. The reason some companies prefer to process applications this way is to standardize the information they receive, as there can be many variables within a CV. Therefore, the company often does not get all the information they require at the application stage.   

Job Search About  |  Sample Resumes

• Resume Templates
• Resume Format
• Sample Combination Resume
• Sample Chronological Resume
• Chronological Resume Example
• Functional Resume Example
• Sample Functional Resume
• Mini Resumes
• Sample Resume with Accomplishments Section
• Sample Resume With Skills Section
• Sample Resume with Summary of Qualifications
• Sample Targeted Resume

Resume writing tips