| The Selling Document | | | | industry sectors, but remain in a similar job role. Your |
| Now you have completed all of the early preparation | | | | key skills should appear on the first page to highlight |
| work in creating a presence on the internet. You have | | | | your transferable skills to the reader. The employment |
| haven't you? It is time to take a look at your most | | | | history would immediately follow the skills summary to |
| important selling document - the Resume | | | | show your relevant work experience. |
| Note: The selling document is known as a CV or | | | | A combo resume should contain the following |
| curriculum vitae (that's Latin!) in the UK. It's the | | | | additional sections: |
| equivalent of a resume in the US. I'll talk about a | | | | - A summary of your key skills. |
| resume in this article but all Brits please replace | | | | - A history of your employment experience in reverse |
| 'resume' with CV in your mind. | | | | chronological order. |
| Standard Resume FormatAll resumes should contain | | | | - Your projects and achievements in each of your job |
| the following: | | | | roles. A targeted format should be used when you are |
| - Your contact details | | | | applying to a recruiter for an advertised role. A |
| - An accurate summary of your credentials known as | | | | relevant experience section listing your work |
| a personal profile | | | | experience matching the requirements specified in the |
| - Your career objective. | | | | job advertisement should appear on the first page |
| - Your education and training. | | | | immediately after the skills summary. |
| - Any professional affiliations. | | | | A targeted resume should contain the following |
| - Tools and technologies you have used. (For IT | | | | additional section: |
| candidates only) There are a number of resume | | | | - A summary of your relevant employment |
| formats: historical, functional, a combination of the | | | | experience.The resume is usually two to three pages |
| previous two formats and a targeted format. The | | | | long, but there are exceptions when it may be up to |
| format chosen will depend on your intended reader | | | | 4-5 pages long. For example, an IT contractor will have |
| and the objective you wish to achieve. | | | | a lengthy list of contracts in their Employment History |
| Historical Resume | | | | section that must be documented in detail with dates. |
| A historical format should be chosen when you plan to | | | | Now for some DOs and DON'Ts: |
| continue with your current career in the same industry | | | | DO populate each of your job roles within the |
| sector. In this case your most recent experience will | | | | employment history by writing a short summary |
| be the most relevant and should appear on the first | | | | paragraph (bullet points are useful here) for each of |
| page. | | | | your important projects and career achievements. |
| A historical resume should contain the following | | | | DON'T simply list the tasks that you had to regularly |
| additional sections: | | | | complete in each role. Remember that you are a |
| - A history of your employment experience in reverse | | | | STAR! Describe the Situation, list the Tasks that you |
| chronological order. | | | | planned to do, describe your Actions taken in achieving |
| - Your projects and achievements in each of your job | | | | your goals and list what the positive results for the |
| roles. | | | | company were. |
| Functional Resume | | | | DO always tailor your CV to a specific type of reader. |
| A functional format should be used when you plan to | | | | Highlight any relevant experience (on page one if |
| change industry sectors and job roles. Your | | | | possible) and consider removing any unrelated |
| transferable skills relevant to your career goal must be | | | | experience to make room for more ways of selling |
| listed in detail. It is also ideal for a graduate seeking their | | | | yourself to the reader. |
| first job who must list their personal activities and | | | | DON'T put your date of birth on your resume. It's not |
| honours won to show that they have initiative and are | | | | required! For those of us a little longer in the tooth |
| pro-active in pursuing their career objective. | | | | there is no need to highlight our age which some may |
| A functional resume should contain the following | | | | perceive as a disadvantage. |
| additional sections: | | | | In summary, the resume is your most important selling |
| - A detailed summary of your relevant skills. | | | | document. You must first determine your career |
| - A history of your relevant employment experience | | | | objective, and then select the appropriate resume |
| (optional). | | | | format to match your goal. Don't forget to tailor each |
| - Activities and honours (graduates only). A combo | | | | CV to the intended reader. Happy resume writing! |
| format should be used when you plan to change | | | | |