Polishing Your Résumé
by Hallie Crawford Tuesday, February 02, 2010
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Hallie Crawford is a certified career coach, speaker and author from Atlanta who helps people live a purpose-driven life, identify their ideal career path, navigate their transition and nurture their careers. Her team of career coaches work with people of all ages, have clients all over the country, and have helped thousands of people achieve their career goals.
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Is your résumé the best it can be? Need to start over from scratch? Use these insightful tips to create a winning résumé.
Résumé writing can be intimidating. We wonder, what do I include, what do I leave out? How do I make it look nice? In what order do I need to list everything? Some of the most common concerns I hear from my career coaching clients are about how to organize their résumé and what pieces of information to include. Here are some tips that can help you get started on either creating your résumé from scratch or updating it for your next job search.
Brainstorm: The best way to get started is to brainstorm about your natural talents and abilities. Write down everything you’ve accomplished, even as far back as childhood. This is a confidence boost and also can help you get everything out on paper that you could possibly include in your résumé.
Give Yourself Credit: We tend to downplay the things we are naturally good at. This is because we assume that since it comes so naturally to us, everyone must be good at it, right? Wrong. Just because you can easily organize your office and keep your files in amazing working order does not mean everyone can do that. Perhaps you coordinated your local church’s picnic and did a spectacular job. Not everyone has that particular skill, so give yourself credit for what comes naturally to you. Do this, of course, while being honest and accurate. It’s never a good idea to blatantly lie on your résumé.
Organize in a Way that Is Best for You: One thing people frequently ask me is, “Do I have to put my résumé in chronological order?” The answer is no. Ordering your work experience by date isn’t necessary— relevance is. If you prefer chronological order, and it seems particularly appropriate for the job you’re hunting for, go for it. But I typically recommend highlighting your skills and accomplishments that are relevant to the position, and organizing the résumé with jobs that are most relevant at the top. If you have a spotty job record, this also helps minimize that issue.
Clearly State Your Objective: Make sure your career objective clearly states the type of work you desire—the more specific, the better. Specific objectives are more powerful and hard-hitting. They stand out. If you’re not sure what type of job you want, consider working with a career coach or counselor to clarify the next step you would like to take in your career.
Keep it Concise and Easy to Read: Enough said. You don’t want to send a potential employer a novel. You want the hiring manager to be able to scan your résumé with ease. Keep it short while highlighting why you’re the best person for the job. The typical recommended length is one page for an entry-level position, and two pages for a position requiring more experience.
Include a Cover Letter: Always include a cover letter with your résumé, unless the person doing the hiring specifies not to. This demonstrates your communication skills, shows you are interested in the job because you’re taking time to write the letter, and it can highlight those items you really want them to notice on your résumé. If your writing skills are not great, I highly recommend working with a professional résumé writer for help.
Show Your Personality: Give the potential employer a sense of who you are as a person outside of work. What’s unique or different about you? Where do you spend your time outside of work? Include outside activities and organizations that you are involved in—it helps you stand out in the crowd, or in the pile of résumés, in this case.
Emphasize Contributions, Not Duties: Résumés should always highlight what you contributed or accomplished at a job, as opposed to duties or responsibilities. This is another area where people tend to struggle. They want to merely list their job description. Don’t do this—explain how you contributed to that organization. Use action verbs and highlight those accomplishments that are relevant to the position you are applying for.
Be Proud: Make sure you feel proud of your résumé. It will show in the interview. If you’re pleased with it, that will come across. Your résumé is representative of you—make sure it’s something you’re proud of.
Hallie Crawford is a certified career coach, speaker and author from Atlanta who helps people live a purpose-driven life, identify their ideal career path, navigate their transition and nurture their careers. Her team of career coaches work with people of all ages, have clients all over the country, and have helped thousands of people achieve their career goals.
She is regularly featured as a career expert in the media including Fox, CNN, Entrepreneur Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes.com and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Hallie attended Vanderbilt University where she obtained a degree in communications. After receiving her masters in communications at the University of Illinois, she jumped from job to job, searching for a satisfying and fulfilling career. However, instead of finding what she did want to do, Hallie only found what she didn’t want to do.
She struggled and was frustrated for years before realizing there were other people undoubtedly experiencing the same thing. It was then that she realized what it was she wanted to do: help others who are in a career transition avoid the struggle she had gone through.
Hallie’s entrepreneurial spirit and her desire to create something from the ground up led her to quit her full time job and start her own business in March 2002. Through coaching, Hallie helps others determine what they are really looking for in their careers and then gives them the confidence and assurance to take the steps in order to obtain their dream job.
She is a member of the International Coach Federation, Coachville, and the Georgia Coach Association. When she is not helping a client one-on-one, Hallie coaches small groups through virtual teleclasses and regularly holds speaking engagements and career workshops. She also offers various products, including a her book Flying Solo: Career Transition Tips for Singles which can be purchased at www.halliecrawford.com/products.
Visit Certified Career Coach Hallie Crawford at www.halliecrawford.com or sign up for Hallie's monthly e-newsletter, Creating Your Career Path, here: www.halliecrawford.com/newsletter
Résumé writing can be intimidating. We wonder, what do I include, what do I leave out? How do I make it look nice? In what order do I need to list everything? Some of the most common concerns I hear from my career coaching clients are about how to organize their résumé and what pieces of information to include. Here are some tips that can help you get started on either creating your résumé from scratch or updating it for your next job search.
Brainstorm: The best way to get started is to brainstorm about your natural talents and abilities. Write down everything you’ve accomplished, even as far back as childhood. This is a confidence boost and also can help you get everything out on paper that you could possibly include in your résumé.
Give Yourself Credit: We tend to downplay the things we are naturally good at. This is because we assume that since it comes so naturally to us, everyone must be good at it, right? Wrong. Just because you can easily organize your office and keep your files in amazing working order does not mean everyone can do that. Perhaps you coordinated your local church’s picnic and did a spectacular job. Not everyone has that particular skill, so give yourself credit for what comes naturally to you. Do this, of course, while being honest and accurate. It’s never a good idea to blatantly lie on your résumé.
Organize in a Way that Is Best for You: One thing people frequently ask me is, “Do I have to put my résumé in chronological order?” The answer is no. Ordering your work experience by date isn’t necessary— relevance is. If you prefer chronological order, and it seems particularly appropriate for the job you’re hunting for, go for it. But I typically recommend highlighting your skills and accomplishments that are relevant to the position, and organizing the résumé with jobs that are most relevant at the top. If you have a spotty job record, this also helps minimize that issue.
Clearly State Your Objective: Make sure your career objective clearly states the type of work you desire—the more specific, the better. Specific objectives are more powerful and hard-hitting. They stand out. If you’re not sure what type of job you want, consider working with a career coach or counselor to clarify the next step you would like to take in your career.
Keep it Concise and Easy to Read: Enough said. You don’t want to send a potential employer a novel. You want the hiring manager to be able to scan your résumé with ease. Keep it short while highlighting why you’re the best person for the job. The typical recommended length is one page for an entry-level position, and two pages for a position requiring more experience.
Include a Cover Letter: Always include a cover letter with your résumé, unless the person doing the hiring specifies not to. This demonstrates your communication skills, shows you are interested in the job because you’re taking time to write the letter, and it can highlight those items you really want them to notice on your résumé. If your writing skills are not great, I highly recommend working with a professional résumé writer for help.
Show Your Personality: Give the potential employer a sense of who you are as a person outside of work. What’s unique or different about you? Where do you spend your time outside of work? Include outside activities and organizations that you are involved in—it helps you stand out in the crowd, or in the pile of résumés, in this case.
Emphasize Contributions, Not Duties: Résumés should always highlight what you contributed or accomplished at a job, as opposed to duties or responsibilities. This is another area where people tend to struggle. They want to merely list their job description. Don’t do this—explain how you contributed to that organization. Use action verbs and highlight those accomplishments that are relevant to the position you are applying for.
Be Proud: Make sure you feel proud of your résumé. It will show in the interview. If you’re pleased with it, that will come across. Your résumé is representative of you—make sure it’s something you’re proud of.
Hallie Crawford is a certified career coach, speaker and author from Atlanta who helps people live a purpose-driven life, identify their ideal career path, navigate their transition and nurture their careers. Her team of career coaches work with people of all ages, have clients all over the country, and have helped thousands of people achieve their career goals.
She is regularly featured as a career expert in the media including Fox, CNN, Entrepreneur Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes.com and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Hallie attended Vanderbilt University where she obtained a degree in communications. After receiving her masters in communications at the University of Illinois, she jumped from job to job, searching for a satisfying and fulfilling career. However, instead of finding what she did want to do, Hallie only found what she didn’t want to do.
She struggled and was frustrated for years before realizing there were other people undoubtedly experiencing the same thing. It was then that she realized what it was she wanted to do: help others who are in a career transition avoid the struggle she had gone through.
Hallie’s entrepreneurial spirit and her desire to create something from the ground up led her to quit her full time job and start her own business in March 2002. Through coaching, Hallie helps others determine what they are really looking for in their careers and then gives them the confidence and assurance to take the steps in order to obtain their dream job.
She is a member of the International Coach Federation, Coachville, and the Georgia Coach Association. When she is not helping a client one-on-one, Hallie coaches small groups through virtual teleclasses and regularly holds speaking engagements and career workshops. She also offers various products, including a her book Flying Solo: Career Transition Tips for Singles which can be purchased at www.halliecrawford.com/products.
Visit Certified Career Coach Hallie Crawford at www.halliecrawford.com or sign up for Hallie's monthly e-newsletter, Creating Your Career Path, here: www.halliecrawford.com/newsletter