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Writing Your Resume - Twenty Top Tips

By Erica Armstrong

It has never been more important to have an up to date Resume. And it does not matter whether you are a manual laborer or a high flying executive. Many people are scared of writing their own resume. But resume writing is not difficult. Follow these basic, common-sense rules and you will produce a resume which you can use to get you that job you always wanted.

· Include vital information first, including your full name, your residential address, your telephone numbers (include a landline as well as mobile). If there are times when it is better to catch you by telephone, then put these on your resume.

· Use your full postal address, correctly written according to the post office. Use all zip/post codes. If you are sending the resume abroad, then include the country. If your prospective employer will be calling you from outside your country, then include the country code in the number, in brackets. For example, the United Kingdom country code is 44. So your telephone number would look like this: Tel: 00 (44) 01654 4567

· Writing your resume is not difficult - remember to keep it simple, spell check often, and pay attention to presentation. Emphasize information which is important to the person reading your resume.

· If you just bring yourself to do it, or are not happy with the results after days of trying – then get quotes from online companies to write a resume for you. The writers at this website (www.textwriters.net) will do it for you for a very reasonable fee, and you don’t pay unless you are happy with it.

· If you have decided to use a photograph of yourself, make sure it is the best it can be. Go to a professional photographers and get some really good shots. Make sure you include the size requested in the advertisement. If no size was mentioned, get prints the standard passport size. If you are asked for more than one, ensure you actually send more than one.

· Changing information, so that it meets the needs of the person you are mailing the resume to is vital. Depending upon the position, the important factors will change. Skills required for driving a truck are different to those required for baking pizza for example.

· Have a “Core” Resume which you keep bang up to date, ideally on your PC, and then adapt it for each position for which you apply.

· Do not allow your resume to spill over into more than three sides of A4 paper.

· Ensure that you include all skills, even if they are only used by you at present for leisure pursuits. If you are an expert kayaker in your spare time, you could also see the day where you apply for a professional kayaking instructor. But unless you are applying for that position, then keep the skill in with your hobby and leisure time pursuits.

· When including a chronological history of your work experience, don’t ramble on. Stick to the same headings and sub-headings on each company listed. If you started out as delivery boy and are now the CEO make sure you mention that you worked your way up from the bottom.

· Your Resume is the right place to ‘blow your own trumpet’. But do it in a professional manner.

· Make sure that you use a font which is easy to read, and not a strain on the eyes. The person who reads your resume could well have fifty others to read in the same day. Competition is fierce for each and every job, so make it easy on the Human Resources professional.

· Unless your handwriting is absolutely superb, ensure that your resume is typed, and preferably on a PC. If you can afford to get it written by professional resume writers, then do so, it is money well spent. The better resume writers offer a money back if you are not delighted policy. Shop around and get two or three quotes.

· Check the printer you print your resume on is printing at ‘best’ quality and not draft (poor but fast) quality.

· Use the best quality ‘bond’ paper that you can afford.

· Ensure you use the spell checker several times. Get someone you trust to read the resume over to make absolutely sure that everything is spelled correctly.

· Lavish plenty of attention on the covering letter which goes with your resume. Keep it short, well presented, with spelling checked and re-checked. Make sure you get the exact name and address of the person to whom it is addressed.

· Throughout your resume, emphasize the skills and information that you absolutely know are vital to this job application.

· In the covering letter, tell them why you think you are perfect for this job. Be brief, clear and enthusiastic. If you do not have any acknowledgement or reply, follow up with a telephone call after an appropriate time.

· Keep copies of everything (without exception) which you have sent.

· Don’t mix fonts. Keep your resume easy to read. And don’t write your life story. Be brief, but factual. Emphasize achievements.

By Erica of Textwriters.Net (http://www.textwriters.net) We are professional freelance writers, we can help with just about every aspect of the written word. No job is too small. Free quotes provided with no obligation to you. Give us a try.

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