College graduates seeking to begin professional careers in their chosen pursuits should understand that the “dream job” will not materialize out of thin air, nor will they likely have a chance to encounter an employer who will hire them on the spot with a lucrative starting salary.
In reality, the job hunting process may take some time as the job seeker follows certain methodical steps toward getting hired by a company, like researching a specific company to learn as much as possible about it, and then calling to inquire of the Human Resources Department about job openings, the interview process, and/or whom to send a resume.
The resume is the key to a formal interview. Interviews are rarely conducted by telephone, or by an exchange of emails, but are generally personal face-to-face meetings. Prospective employers don’t have the time to waste with job seekers who don’t match their criteria, so the resume process helps them to screen prospective candidates.
The resume is a document that provides a prospective employer a capsulized view of who you are — your qualifications, profile, objective, skills, education, and professional experience. It tells the prospective employer how you can contribute to their company and what you can bring to the table. Your resume is a unique representation of your personal work experience and nurtured skill set.
A good resume will get you in the door for the interview, but your resume must be specific to who you are and what you represent because not all resumes are the same.
Your resume should be specific to the position you expect to interview for. Your resume should also be limited to one to two pages as the person charged with the hiring doesn’t have the time to read long resumes. Of course, the more experience needed for a job, the longer the resume will be. Longer resumes tend to cater to executive positions.
There may be 50 to 200 resumes submitted for just one job opening. The prospective employer is not going to let one resume bog them down. They will likely scan resumes very quickly, looking for specific details that will tell them to set a resume aside for future review. If your resume is too long, or too shallow, it may get tossed in the wastebasket.
The information contained in the resume should be job specific. If you are applying for an accounting job, for instance, your experience in a previous job as a fast food worker may not be germane, but your experience as a tax consultant during tax season may get a prospective employer’s eye. In other words, focus on the position you are applying for and list relevant work experience and relevant achievements.
Think about what message you want to deliver to your prospective employer. Think about how you can make a quick impression. One way is to focus on making a resume your personal marketing tool. Use creative objectives to describe your professional experience and make your achievements stand out. With intense competition for jobs, especially in a recession, or when the economy is weak, you may only get one shot to make a great first impression and earn an interview. Remember, others are competing for the same job.
Include an objective statement at the top of your resume. This tells the prospective employer that you are focused and have a specific goal. A job history going back at least five years is helpful, too. It shows the prospective employer that you have been an employee (and didn’t remain at home too long doing nothing if you are a recent college graduate).
Depending on your job experience, you may want to consider one of the following types of resumes:
Chronological Resume:
The chronological resume lists employers from current to most recent first.
Functional Resume:
Functional resumes discuss work experience according to your functional strength. This type of resume works well when you want to show employers what you have done and not who you have worked for.
Hybrid Resume:
The hybrid resume combines the approach of the chronological and functional resumes.
Executive Resume:
Candidates or managers with extensive work experience have an advantage over candidates with shorter work experience. To increase their chances of hearing from a potential employer, candidates with extensive work experience should create a resume which targets each opportunity.
Plain Text Resume:
Many corporate email systems are sensitive to attached documents for fear of downloading a virus. To avoid the very real possibility of a prospective employer’s reluctance to gamble opening your attachment, you should paste your resume into the body of your email message.