Article Written By: leresumes@gmail.com
Many people are their own worst enemy when it comes to writing a good resume. It does not matter if they have a wonderful background, impeccable credentials or fabulous experience if their resume contains misused words, the wrong word tense or is not easily readable. Following is a series of resume writing tips from things I have seen on some peopleandrsquo;s resumes that drive me andldquo;crazy:andrdquo;
TIP 1: Do not be too focused on tasks and duties performed at work. Give yourself credit for accomplishment by including some achievements. Include such things as: - Examples of how you performed the job better than others - Some of the problems or challenges you faced and ways that you overcame them - Results, results, and results - Ways that the organization benefited from your performance - Reference to awards, special recognition or promotions you received TIP 2: An objective statement that is too wordy or non-specific. Over the years of working at with a resume service company, Iandrsquo;ve spoken with many CEOandrsquo;s who have told me about candidates who lose their readers at the opening line. Statements like andquot;A challenging position that enables me to contribute to organizational goals while offering an opportunity for growth and advancementandquot; are clichandeacute;andrsquo;, too generalized, and waste space. If you are on a career track, replace the objective with a statement stating what you do or something of your expertise. Tip 3: Professional resumes should be concise and written in a telegraphic style without using andquot;Iandquot; or andquot;me.andquot; Example: andquot;Developed new products that added $5 million in sales and increased the company's gross margin by 15 percent.andquot; This style gets to the point quickly and communicates clearly. Tip 4: Is it andldquo;percentandrdquo; or andldquo;percentage?andrdquo; Use the word andquot;percentandquot; with numbers, and use andquot;percentageandquot; without using a number. Examples: andldquo;Over 20 percent of our gross profit came from previous sales.andrdquo; andldquo;A large percentage of Native Americans live in Alaska.andrdquo; Tip 5: Be careful in choosing the right word. Example: Some people write the word andquot;balanceandquot; when they mean andquot;remainder.andquot; andquot;Balanceandquot; means andquot;a degree of equality,andquot; e.g., andldquo;wanting to balance the checkbook.andrdquo; andquot;Remainder,andquot; or andquot;what is leftover,andquot; is used in all other situations, e.g., andldquo;put the remainder of my food in the dog's bowl.andrdquo; Tip 6: The expression andquot;a couple ofandquot; is usually plural in meaning. Example: andldquo;A couple of customers have reported a shortage in their orders.andrdquo; However, when using the phrases andquot;a couple of daysandquot; and andquot;a couple of dollars,andquot; the verb used should be singular. When the phrase andquot;a couple ofandquot; is used in conjunction with a period of time, amount of money, or quantity that represents a total amount, treat the expression as singular. Example: andquot;All I need is a couple of days to complete this report.andquot; Do not let such easily correctable items stand between you and your next career assignment. If word tense, grammar or the turn of a phrase is not your forteandrsquo;, consider hiring a professional resume writer. Such people write resumes for a living and the good ones guarantee their work. Landing the job makes such a move well worth it.Gordon Walter is a professional resume maker . Reliable Resumes is a Resume Service providing resume writing services for Professional Resumes and Executive Resumes.
This Article Has Been Published on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 and Read 217 Times