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Your Resume - An Important Marketing Tool


Your resume is a marketing tool that conveys what you have to offer a potential employer. Yet it's amazing how the phrase "send me your resume" can send shivers down the spine of a job candidate. As you anxiously wait for a response from a potential employer, visions of "typos" go dancing through your head.


But it doesn't have to be this way.


Creating an attractive, effective resume does not have to be a difficult ordeal, and in this section we'll show you to make that happen. Yes, by itself a resume will not get you a job, but if it's well written and properly presented, it will help you do the following:


Get Interviews:


The primary purpose of resumes is to get an interview. Your goal is to have a face-to-face meeting.


For Agencies and Recruiters:


Agencies and recruiters use resumes as a source of information when presenting you for positions.


For Your References:


Your references can give a better response if they have your resume. For example, if you are requesting a letter of reference from a manager for whom you worked six years ago, that person will be able to fully recall your specific accomplishments if you provide your resume as a reminder.


Update Referral Contacts:


Your personal contacts, including family and friends, are most productive when they have a clear understanding of your career objectives and past experience. The resume provides that information.


Prepare the Interviewer:


You can help structure the interview by providing a resume that highlights your accomplishments. Inexperienced interviewers will use the resume as a guide for their questions. Knowing this, be sure that your resume focuses on topics you want to discuss.



Traditional Resumes


Creating Traditional Resumes


There are three basic resume formats you can choose from when preparing your traditional (paper) resume:


Chronological: This format presents your experience from your most recent job to your earlier jobs.

Functional: This format lists your strengths and achievements at the top of the page, and then summarizes the jobs you've held at the end.

Combination: This format uses aspects of both the chronological and functional formats. It lists your jobs in chronological order, then highlights functional responsibilities and achievements for each job listed.



Which Format is Right for Me?


Chances are, you will want to have your resume in several different formats, and depending on the type of position you are applying for, your qualifications and the situation for which you are using it.


If you have a continuous employment history and your past experience is related to the position you are currently applying for, a chronological resume format may be best. A chronological format presents your experience, beginning with your most recent job and ending with your first job.


If you are changing industries or fields, the functional resume format may be effective in presenting the skills and accomplishments that qualify you to perform the duties of the position you are applying for. The functional resume format highlights your achievements and abilities, rather than your work history. To compose a functional resume, list your strengths and achievements at the top of the page, then summarize the jobs you've held.


The combination resume format uses aspects of both the chronological and functional formats and is the most powerful in terms of selling your product - YOUR SKILLS. To create a combination resume, list your jobs in chronological order, and highlight the functional responsibilities and achievements for each job listed.


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