Resume Help Blog

Here’s a flash! If you have not looked for a job in the last few years, you probably don’t know how to write a resume. So let’s walk through the steps. It could mean the difference between being called in for an interview or being passed over for a better prepared job candidate.

Everyone knows times have changed. But did you know that nowhere is this more relevant than in today’s successful job search strategy?

If you are thinking that all you have to do is create a pleasant, well-formatted “pretty” resume, put a stamp on the envelope, and mail it out you had better read on.

The Three Resume Formats

There are not one, but three, essential resume formats you need to be familiar with. All three are  used in any successful modern-day job search. Here they are:

The Presentation Resume

The Presentation format is probably the one you are most used to. It is the standard format traditionally used for mailing or faxing, or presenting directly to an interviewer. However, since  these are not the only ways your resume will be distributed, you need to know the other formats as well.

The Keyword Scanable Resume

The scanable format is a relatively new invention. In today’s high-tech corporate climate, the bigger companies will often scan resumes into a database for future retrieval. Occasional you will find a smaller company that does also, but primarily it’s the major companies. For this format your resume will need to be stripped of some of its fancy fonts or decorative things like lines or any decorative things. These have no place in a resume anyway. A simple format like Arial or Tahoma works best. It is essential to make sure none of the letters or other elements touches each other, that’s why we recommend either of these two fonts (Verdana works well also) since this can confuse optical scanning software.

Just as if you were optimizing a website, this resume format is also optimized with a specific list of keywords, separated by commas or periods. Use the most commonly nouns that indicate your experience such as your job title (e.g. Systems Analyst or Account Executive), software you are familiar with: (Microsoft Excel, or other software.), or Education (Masters of Business Administration, BS in Engineering). You would place this keyword summary just before the Professional Experience section.

The ASCII Resume

ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) resumes are the third type of resume. This type of resume is essential to any modern-day job search, especially if you are emailing your resume to a prospective employer. It also can be used for posting your resume to an online job-bank site such as Monster.com. Like the Keyword Scannable Resume, it should ideally include a Keyword Summary. One major difference that is unlike the Keyword Scannable format, this one uses a proportional font (generally Courier or Courier New)

Unless the employer already knows and trusts you, you are going to have to send it this new way. The old ways are long gone.

If you follow these directions you will find your job hunting a little easier

This means you are going to basically strip your beautiful resume of all its attractive “bells and whistles.”

Sound simple? It really is, once you have done it. Remember, things are changing and the only way to succeed is to change with them

Good luck!

Be sure to repeat this process for your cover letter. When cutting and pasting the cover letter to an email document, just place the cover letter before the resume with some kind of separation indication, such as, you guessed it, COVER LETTER. After the cover letter is finished, cut and paste the resume with the indication- you guessed it again- RESUME. Difficult, right? Now just simply zip it away to the employer of your choice, and you’re done!

If you really do struggle with writing a quality resume but don’t have a lot of money to spend on a professional resume writer we recommend Blue Sky Resume’s. Their “Complete Guide To Resume Writing” is absolutely the best resource for creating a resume that gets you the interview. The owner, Louise Fletcher, is a professional resume writer and is a former HR director – so she knows what it takes to get your resume noticed.

“The Complete Guide To Resume Writing” is for everyone from the first time job seeker to the professional with years of experience. It is packed full of the information and keys you need to unlock the door to your next position. Your resume has to compete with literally hundreds of other qualified applicants. Don’t just write something and hope that it’s right. KNOW that it’s right because you did your research. Louise Fletcher’s book will help you write a resume that gets you the interview. The rest is up to you.