Assembling and Laying Out the Important Elements in a Resume

You might have learnt how to gather all the necessary information for your resume, and how to rewrite it using the language necessary to impress potential employers but next step is to assemble these elements in a logical order and then to lay them out on the page neatly and attractively in order to achieve the desired effect: getting that interview.

Assembly

The order of the elements in a resume makes a difference in its overall effect. Obviously, you would not want to put your name and address in the middle of the resume or your special skills section at the top. You want to put the elements in an order that stresses your most important achievements, not the less pertinent information. For example, if you recently graduated from school and have no full-time work experience, you will want to list your education before you list any part-time jobs you may have held during school. On the other hand, if you have been gainfully employed for several years and currently hold an important position in your company, you will want to list your work experience ahead of your education, which has become less pertinent with time.



There are some elements that are always included in your resume and some that are optional. Following is a list of essential and optional elements:

Essential

• Name
• Address
• Phone Number
• Work Experience
• Education
• References Phrase

Optional

• Job Objective
• Honors
• Special Skills
• Professional Memberships
• Activates
• Certificates and Licenses
• Personal information

Your choice of optional sections depends on your own back ground and employment needs. Always use information that will put you and your abilities in a favorable light. If your honors are impressive, then be sure to include them in your resume. If your activities in school demonstrate particular talents necessary for the job you are seeking, then allow space for a section on activities. Each resume is unique, just as each person is unique.

Types of Resumes

The reverse chronological resume, in which you're most recent job, is listed first and so on, is the type of resume usually preferred by human resources directors, and it is the one most frequently used. However, in some cases this style of presentation is not the most effective way to highlight your skills and accomplishments.

For someone reentering the work force after many years or someone looking to change career fields, the functional resume may work best. This type of resume focuses more on achievement and less on the sequence of your work history. In the functional resume, your experience is presented by what you have accomplished and the skills you have developed in your past work.

A functional resume can be assembled from the same information you collected for your chronological resume. The main difference lies in how you organize this information. Essentially, the work experience section becomes two sections, with your job duties and accomplishments comprising one section and your employer's name, city, state, your position, and the dates employed making up another section. The first section is placed near the top of the resume, just below the job objective section, and can be called Accomplishments or Achievements. The second section, containing the bare essentials of your employment history, should come after the accomplishments section and can be titled Work Experience or Employment History. The other sections of your resume remain the same. The work experience section is the only one affected in the functional retime. By placing the section that focuses on your achievements first, you thereby draw attention to these achievements. This puts less emphasis on who you worked for and more emphasis on what you did and what you are capable of doing.

For someone changing careers, emphasis on skills and achievements is essential. The identities of previous employers, which may be unrelated to one's new job field, need to be down played. The functional resume accomplishes this task. For some one reentering the work force after many years, a functional resume is the obvious choice. If you lack full-time work experience, you will need to draw attention away from this fact and instead focus on your skills and abilities gained possible through volunteer activities or part-time work. Education may also play a more important role in this resume.

Which type of rest time is right for you will depend on your own personal circumstances? It may be helpful to create a chronological and a functional resume and then compare the two to find out which is more suitable. The sample resumes found in this book include both chronological and functional resumes. Use these rest times as guides to help you decide on the content and appearance of your own resume.

Layout

Once you have decided which elements to include in your resume and you have arranged them in an order that makes sense and emphasizes your achievements and abilities, then it is time to work on the physical layout of your resume.

There is no single appropriate layout that applies to every resume, but there are a few basic rules to follow in putting your resume on paper:

1. Leave a comfortable margin on the sides, top, and bottom of the page.
   
   
2. Use appropriate spacing between the sections (usually 2 to 3 line spaces are adequate).
   
   
3. Be consistent in the type of headings you use for the different sections of your resume. For example, if you capitalize the heading Employment HISTORY, don't use initial capitals and underlining for a heading of equal importance, such as Education.
   
   
4. Always try to fit your resume onto one page. If you are having trouble fitting all your information onto one page, perhaps you are trying to say too much. Try to edit out any repetitive or unnecessary information or possibly shorten descriptions of earlier jobs. Be ruthless. Maybe you've included too many optional sections.

REFERENCES: Available on request.

Don't let die idea of having to tell every detail about your life get in the way of producing a resume that is simple and straightforward. The more compact your resume, the easier it will be to read and the better an impression it will make for you.

In some cases, the resume will not fit on a single page, even after extensive editing. In such cases, the resume should be printed on two pages so as not to com promise clarity or appearance. Each page of a two-page resume should be marked clearly with your name and the page number, e.g., "Judith Ramirez, page 1 of 2." The pages should then be stapled together

Try experimenting with various layouts until you find one that looks good to you. Always show your final layout to other people and ask them what they like or dislike about it, and what impresses them most about your resume. Make sure that is what you want most to emphasize. If it isn't, you may want to consider making changes in your layout until the necessary information is emphasized. Use the sample resumes in this book to get some ideas for laying out your resume.

Putting Your Resume in Print

Your resume should be typed or printed on good quality paper. You want to make as good an impression as possible with your resume; therefore, quality paper is a necessity. If you have access to a word processor with a good printer, or know of someone who does, make use of it. Type written resumes should only be used when there are no other options available.

After you have produced a clean original, you will want to make duplicate copies of it. Usually a copy shop is your best bet for producing copies without smudges or streaks. Make sure you have the copy shop use quality bond paper for all copies of you're some. Ask for a sample copy before they run your entire order. After copies are made, check each copy for cleanliness and clarity.

Another more costly option is to have your resume typeset and printed by a printer. This will provide the most attractive resume of all. If you anticipate needing a lot of copies of your resume, the cost of having it typeset may be justified.

Proofreading

After you have finished typing the master copy of your resume and before you go to have it copied or printed, you must thoroughly check it for typing and spelling errors. Have several people read it over just in case you may have missed an error. Misspelled words and typing mistakes will not make a good impression on a prospective employer, as they are a bad reflection on your writing ability' and your attention to detail. With thorough and conscientious proofreading, these mistakes can be avoided. The following are some rules of capitalization and punctuation that may come in handy when proofreading your resume:

• (Capitalize proper nouns, such as names of schools, colleges, and universities, names of companies, and brand names of products.
  
  
• Capitalize major words in the names and tides of books, tests, and articles that appear in the body of your resume.
  
  
• Capitalize words in major section headings of your res-time.
  
  
• Do not capitalize words just because they seem important.
  
  
• Use a comma to separate words in a series Use a semicolon to separate series of words diet already include commas within the series.
  
  
• Use a semicolon to separate independent clauses that are not joined by a conjunction.
  
  
• Use a period to end a sentence.
  
  
• Use a colon to show that the examples or details that follow expand or amplify the preceding phrase.
  
  
• Avoid the use of dashes.
  
  
• Avoid the use of brackets.
  
  
• If you use any punctuation in unusual way in your resume, be consistent in its use.
  
  
• Whenever you are uncertain, consult a style manual.