Monthly Archives: September 2010

How To Choose The Right Resume Sample

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When it comes to writing your own resume, having a resume sample handy can be of great help to you, irrespective of whether you are new to resume writing or whether you have some experience with it. A resume sample is essentially a completed resume written by someone experienced in resume writing. This sample should provide you with a sound model that you can follow and adapt to your requirements when you write your own resume.

A quick search with any online search engine will give you hundreds or even thousands of results, almost all of which are offering various forms of resources aimed at helping you write a better resume. Many of these websites do offer a resume sample section and most have several resume samples for you to choose from. With such a variety of choices, choosing the right resume sample for your purposes can be a difficult task. By breaking the process down into a few separate steps, you can make it significantly easier.

Steps To Getting The Right Resume Sample

The very first thing you will need to do is understand your own purpose in searching for a resume sample. Whether you are a first-time resume writer looking for guidance as to how to start or a professional looking for a particular format in which resumes are written in your particular field, once you have identified the exact purpose you intend to use a resume sample for, it will be easier to find the right resume sample.

A first-time resume writer will be looking for a generic resume sample, which is not targeted at any particular field or career option. This form of resume sample is the simplest type, and is aimed at providing general guidelines to people who are writing their resume for the very first time. If you have no idea even what sort of font to use, how your resume should be laid out, what size font you should use, and other similar details, then you should definitely choose a generic resume sample to work with.

If, however, you are applying for a job in a particular profession, then you will most probably want to match your resume sample with whichever industry you expect to be operating in. This is because the standards and expected formats and layouts for resumes differs from industry to industry, and while most industries do not require that you follow the industry practice with regard to resumes, it would definitely be advantageous for you to do so.

You should also choose a resume sample that can be downloaded to your computer and saved for future use. This is because you may not always have access to an internet connection, particularly if you work mostly on a laptop, so having a resume sample saved on your hard drive can be a great advantage when you write your resume. You should also choose those resume samples that are in the same file format as that used by your regular word processor. If, for instance, you use Microsoft Word, then you should look for a resume sample that can be downloaded as a Microsoft Word file, to facilitate easier viewing and editing if necessary.

Finding Resume Examples With The Correct Format

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If you are having trouble writing your resume or are simply looking for some guidance on how to start, then the right resume examples could be tremendously useful to you. Resume examples are great for giving you ideas as to what you should include in your resume; you can use them to ensure that you do not omit anything important when crafting your resume.

Of course, you will find a whole lot of resources easily available on the internet that are targeted towards helping you write a successful resume. The problem with many of these resources, however, is that they are much too wordy and can sometimes be difficult to follow. Many websites, for example, give you a step-by-step breakdown of how to go about writing your resume. That is a lot of information to take in all at once and many people find themselves overwhelmed after reading just a few lines. This can be totally unproductive.

Resume examples however, provide concrete positive examples on what your resume should look like as an end-product. In fact, the best way to use these examples is to use them alongside a detailed guide to writing resumes, comparing the resume examples with the written instructions at each step to see exactly how you should put those instructions and guidelines into practice.

The Importance of Format

Format is a crucial part of any resume; it has a direct impact on the readability and comprehensibility of the resume. A resume that is poorly formatted will be difficult to read and you can be sure your interviewer is not going to spend his time attempting to decipher it.

Generally, format can refer to two different things. The first is the formatting that most people are used to, which deals with the size of text, spacing and other similar details. This type of formatting is the simpler of the two. You need to make sure that the type of font that you use for your resume is professional. Times New Roman or Arial are good fonts to use; both of these convey a sense of seriousness, whereas more casual fonts like Comic Sans MS are to be avoided. You should also use a font size that is easy to read and a good way to measure that is to print a page of your resume, hold it at arm’s length away from your face, and try reading it. If you can read clearly at that distance, then you are using a good font size.

The other type of formatting refers to the order in which you choose to present the different parts of your resume. There are two main ways which you can do this. The first way is to list your qualifications and achievements in reverse-chronological order and this is probably also the method that appeals most to common sense. In some cases, however, you might wish to use a functional format, which emphasizes those skills and achievements which are most relevant to the job which you are applying for.

When you are looking for resume examples to guide you through the process of writing your resume, you should definitely pay attention to the type of format that it uses and make sure that it matches the type of format that you will use in your own resume.

Using A Resume Example To Get Started

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As someone in the market for a new job, you would probably have found out by now that successfully landing a job in the current economic climate is no easy task. Not only are there countless interviews that you need to prepare for and endure, you also need to have a well-written resume on hand to bring with you to those interviews or to send to your potential employers as they require. If you are intimidated at the thought of writing a resume, a resume example is a good way to get started.

It may not seem like it to those who have never tried but writing your resume is much more challenging than many people believe. It is all too easy to think of writing a resume as simply creating a list of your educational qualifications, work experience and other achievements. The truth, however, is that it is much more than that. You will need a professionally-written cover letter, proper formatting, the right tone of voice and so much more.

Fortunately, when it comes to resume writing, there is plenty of help close at hand. As long as you have a computer and an internet connection, you have access to a wealth of resources targeted at helping you make the job of writing your resume easier and more manageable. One of the most useful resources that you will find is the resume example. Tasks are always easier to complete when there is someone to lead the way, and the same is true of writing a resume with a resume example on hand.

How Not To Use A Resume Example

How you go about making use of a resume example should be fairly obvious once you get your hands on one, but there are certain things that you should definitely avoid doing when you make use of a resume example to make the task of writing your resume easier, and some of the most important are listed below.

Be Original – It is often extremely tempting to simply copy wholesale from the resume example, making only such changes as are necessary to reflect the right information, while leaving the formatting, tone, and other aspects of your resume completely identical to the resume example. You should avoid doing this at all costs. Remember that your potential employers are looking for something that will set you apart from the crowd, and you can be sure that other people have had the same idea.

Don’t Start With a Resume Example – If you have yet to even start writing your resume, it is best that you do not start by poring over a resume example first. The reason for this is similar to the one above – your individuality matters a lot to prospective employers. If you really have no idea where to begin, start by reading some of the tips and guidelines available online for first-time resume writers, and simply jot down everything that you think you might want to include in your resume. Only then should you make use of a resume example, to identify problem areas with what you have so far and other areas that you might have missed out completely.

How To Write A Simple Resume

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Many people who are looking for a job are so overwhelmed with the idea of having to write their resume that very often the task looms before them like the proverbial mountain. The truth, however, is that there is nothing complex about the idea of writing a resume. A resume is simply a document listing your educational qualifications, job experience and any other achievements that someone looking for a new employee might wish to know. That said, a simple resume that is clear and precise could sometimes prove to be much more successful than a more complex one.

How to write a simple resume? The key to the entire process is to keep the original purpose of resume writing firmly in mind. The basic purpose of a resume is to provide prospective employers with information about job applicants. In this regard, there are several ways in which a resume accomplishes this. A resume must include personal details and information such as educational qualifications, experiences and achievements. Beyond that, a resume must also include a cover letter which states exactly why the job applicant chose to apply for a particular job and in what ways he is suitable for the job.

Focusing on these key areas is exactly how to write a simple resume. All of the other fancy decorations and additional information that so many job applicants like to include in their resumes are, in fact, unnecessary.

Parts Of A Simple Resume

In any resume, the cover letter is almost always the most complicated and difficult part to write. This is because the cover letter goes beyond mere listing of achievements, but requires that you put your feelings and thoughts down into writing. There are, however, some elements that every cover letter must include.

First of all, you will need to state the exact position you are applying for and the reasons for which you are applying for that position. This section need not be lengthy, and your reason for applying for the job might be as simple as saying that the scope of the job interests you.

Next, you need to fit your qualifications and achievements into the context of the job you are applying for, and show your prospective employer how the most important of your qualifications and achievements make you uniquely suited for the position that you are applying for.

These are, in fact, the essentials of what you need to include in a simple resume cover letter. Any further information that you choose to put in may or may not help your job application, but without these elements your chances of landing the job you applied for are next to nothing.

Part of how to write a simple resume is not making things more complicated than they have to be. So when it comes to the rest of your resume, limit yourself to listing your most important and major achievements and qualifications, without adding any embellishment. All of the achievements and qualifications that are particularly applicable to the job you are applying for should be placed at the fore, and anything not completely relevant should be left out.

Once you understand the minimalist concept that drives a simple resume, you will understand just how to write a simple resume. 

Check Out CareerRush.com’s Free Resume Examples

You can also just fill in the blanks and create a professional looking resume with our free resume builder:

Save Interview Contact To Send A Thank You Letter After Interview

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Have you ever gone out of your way to provide the best possible service to someone and not have them even voice a word of thanks to you? Even if you have never experienced this firsthand, the resulting feelings are not difficult to imagine. This is exactly the sort of circumstance you place your interviewer in when you neglect to send them a thank you letter after interview. Many job seekers fail to realize that this is an extremely important part of the process of securing a new job. The thank you letter after interview is not merely a gesture of appreciation; it is an integral part of the way in which you will be consciously or sub-consciously assessed by your interviewer.

Many people make the mistake of thinking that sending a thank you letter after interview is merely a social convention that they can safely ignore without hurting their job prospects. The truth, however, is that neglecting to send a thank you letter after interview could severely reduce your chances of being selected for the job. This is because many prospective employers see the thank you letter after interview as the last part of the job application process, and a test of whether a prospective employee knows how to observe common courtesy, and whether he will do so in the future when dealing with clients.

One relatively common reason why some people fail to send a thank you letter after interview is because they simply do not have the contact details of their interviewer. This may be due to the interviewer forgetting to give the interviewee their contact details or the interviewee simply forgetting their interviewer’s contact details.

Making Sure You Still Have Those Contact Details When You Leave

In order to avoid hurting your chances of landing the job by failing to send the thank you letter after interview, you should go into your interview prepared to take down the contact details of your interviewer.

Most of the time, your interviewer will actually hand you their name card so that you might contact them with any further information or any questions after your interviewer. Sometimes, however, your interviewer might have forgotten to bring his name cards or have simply run out of them.

In such circumstances you need to be prepared with other means of taking down and remembering your interviewer’s contact details. One of the easiest ways to do so is simply to key the details into your phone. At any other time it would be extremely rude for you to even look at your cell phone while having your interview. If you are clearly doing so for the sole purpose of taking down your interviewer’s contact details, however, this is certainly permissible.

Another great method is to simply bring in a small notebook and a pen. As with regular meetings and briefings, you might actually find yourself wanting to take down notes over the course of your interview. This way, you can also write down your interviewer’s contact details if he or she fails to give you a name card.

Writing An Ex-Military Resume As A Veteran

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Many ex-military personnel find it extremely difficult to write a resume when applying for a civilian job. This is because the general focus in the military is far different from that in the civilian arena. Therefore most ex-military resumes that interviewers receive simply do not serve the function of telling the interviewer more about how well that person would fit into the working environment at that company and how suitable he is for that particular job.

The problem that most ex-military people face is that their accomplishments while in the military service are just not directly transferrable to a civilian context. Interviewers have received many a military resume that contains a list of accomplishments over five pages long, simply because the veteran who wrote the resume included a full list of all of his military accomplishments. The problem with this is that accomplishments such as a long-range marksmanship award are just not relevant to a civilian employer – especially not when simply listed without some form of explanation.

You should not think for one second, however, that military accomplishments are totally irrelevant to jobs in a civilian setting. Resume writing for a civilian job merely requires a different focus from a military resume and accomplishments have to be interpreted from the viewpoint of a civilian setting. Rank, for example, may indicate an ability to command soldiers in the field but it can also indicate an ability to lead a civilian team just as effectively – everything depends on just how you choose to pitch your military achievements.

Making Your Military Resume Sound More Like A Civilian Resume

The first and most important thing may seem like something exceedingly simple, but it is something that many job seekers with a military background neglect when they write their resumes. The starting point for any veteran writing a resume must be that his interviewer knows absolutely nothing about the military. This means that even the most basic military terms should be clearly explained within the resume. This is because many interviewers are often confused and befuddled by terms and names used by military personnel that may be extremely meaningful within the context of the military but which regular civilians know nothing about.

Another thing to keep in mind is that, while most employers admire veterans for their loyal service to the nation, they would rather not hear about first-hand experiences of the battlefield. Some veterans feel the need to relate their experiences on the battlefield to their prospective employers but this may in fact backfire and cause your prospective employer to become squeamish.

Instead, focus on de-militarizing your military accomplishments, making them understandable and applicable within a civilian context. This may mean adapting civilian names and job postings to your military postings and jobs in order that your prospective employer might better understand what you have to offer the company.

Contrary to popular belief, turning your military resume into a civilian resume does not involve completely toning down all references to the military. In fact, your military experience is an asset, emphasizing character traits such as loyalty, perseverance and dedication. The key is simply getting your prospective employer to understand that about you.

How To Use A Sample Resume To Develop Your Resume

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Whether you have just entered the job market or you are looking to switch jobs, one of the first things any job seeker will have to do is to have an appropriate resume ready. While this use to be a huge stumbling block for most people a few years ago, the internet, with its treasure trove of information and resources, has made changed all that.

If you browse through the internet, you will find several websites offering guidelines, tips, guides and even sample resumes that are all geared towards helping you write a great resume. A sample resume can be among the most useful resources found online to help you write your own resume, but you must first learn how to use it effectively for it to be truly useful to you.

First and foremost, you need to gather the content of your own resume before you start looking at a sample resume. While sample resumes do offer some assistance in the way of content, they offer much more useful guidance on other aspects of resume writing, such as formatting and tone.

If you are unsure of the specific details and personal information that should be included in a resume, you need only do a simple search online to find hundreds of websites that will tell you exactly what details you need to include in your resume. You will also need to include a cover letter with your resume and this is where having access to a sample resume can be very useful.

Getting Ideas From A Sample Resume

The most common mistake people make when they make use of a sample resume to help them write their own resumes is that they tend to copy wholesale from the sample resume. The problem with this is that the resume that you then end up with is extremely generic and most interviewers will recognize that you simply copied everything from a sample resume.

The better way to go about making use of a sample resume is to use it to generate ideas for your own resume and for general guidelines. If, for example, you are unsure of how to format your resume, then the sample resume will provide you with an example of how to format your resume professionally. There are certain things that you can change, however, such as the order in which certain information appears, the font, and overall layout.

A sample resume is also an excellent resource to have if you are struggling with your cover letter. The resume cover letter is one area where most people struggle, since it requires that you write several paragraphs that should ultimately have the effect of making your interviewer want to hire you. That is definitely not an easy task.

A sample resume that also offers a sample cover letter will provide you with guidance as to how you should word your cover letter and what you should include in it. General guidelines such as emphasizing why you are suitable for a particular job and why you are applying for that job can be picked up by analyzing a sample resume.

Using A Free Resume Builder To Easily Create A Resume

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There are two things that every job seeker fears about the process of looking for a job –writing a resume and rejection. While it may be easy to understand the fear of rejection, a fear of writing resumes is perhaps harder to comprehend. Shouldn’t penning down a list of your major educational qualifications and work achievements be a relatively simple task?

In principle, it is. You could say that a resume is really a glorified list of your educational qualifications and other major achievements in your life. That would be oversimplifying however, as resumes are so much more than mere lists. Your resume will ultimately play a key role in deciding whether or not you get the job that you want, which will of course have a major impact on your life. Furthermore, besides listing information, the purpose of a resume is to present that information in a meaningful and useful manner.

The problem for most job seekers is that they have had no training whatsoever in writing a proper resume. To complicate things further, many online resources on resume writing that are easily available to job seekers tend to be overly simplistic or offer contradicting advice on how to write a proper resume.

The Answer To Your Resume Writing Worries

In anticipation of the problems that many job seekers face when they have to write their resumes, CareerRush has devised a simple and foolproof method of writing a resume that can be used by anyone. This solution takes the form of a free resume builder, which essentially automates the process of writing resumes. With the free resume builder from CareerRush, you will not have to worry about writing a good resume any longer. You can sit back and let the tool do that for you, with relatively minimal input from you.

The free resume builder from CareerRush works by providing pages of blank fields, each for a specific educational qualification or work-related achievement that you have to fill in. There are also fields for your personal information and other important details. Once you have filled in all the requisite fields, the free resume builder will then compile all of that information, format it properly, and produce a complete resume tailored specifically to you.

The best thing about this type of free resume builder from CareerRush is that it is completely free. There are other ‘free’ resume builders available on other websites on the internet, but in most cases, the word ‘free’ is misleading. Sure, these resume builders will build a resume for you but there is a catch in that you are restricted in the ways in which you are allowed to use that completed resume. Most of the time, these ‘free’ resume builders are associated with job seeker database websites and so your completed resume can then only be posted to that particular database and nowhere else.

With the free resume builder from CareerRush, however, you are not only able to post or transfer your completed resume to whomever you wish, you can also download it to your own computer for safekeeping, editing, printing or any other use you may want to put it to. With the free resume builder from CareerRush, you have total control of what you do with your completed resume.

How To Send A Thank You Email After Interview

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If there is one aspect that people most often overlook when it comes to the process of applying for a job, it is sending a thank you email after interview. This part of the job application process is simply ignored or forgotten by a great many job applicants simply because they mistakenly think that the interview is the only influencing factor in the hiring process. However, that is not true and sending a thank you email after interview can have a large impact on the overall success of your job application.

The most common excuse heard by potential employers regarding the lack of a thank you email after interview is that the potential employees did not know how to write such a thank you email. From the perspective of the interviewer however, it is definitely not asking too much to expect a potential employee to understand the basic principle of courtesy behind sending a simple thank you email after interview.

What does a Thank you Email After Interview Signify?

The practice of sending a thank you letter or email after interview originally started out as a true show of gratitude from potential employees who wished to thank their interviewers for taking the time and effort to meet with them and talk about the possibility of employment at their companies. Although sending a thank you email after interview retains the motivation of simply expressing gratitude, today it also stands for much more than that.

Many interviewers consider it a grave error or mistake for a potential employee to neglect to send a thank you email after interview. Employers have come to expect that potential employees should know about the practice of sending thank you emails by virtue of them having done extensive research on job applications and the interview process. To potential employers, any person who has not done such research is no longer considered for the position simply because it shows that they lack the drive to go that extra mile.

Be Sincere in your Thank You Email After Interview

Another mistake that is often made by many potential employees is that their thank you email after interview evidences a complete lack of sincerity. Instead of using this mail to thank the interviewer for taking the time and trouble to conduct the interview, some candidates use this mail as just another avenue for some more self-promotion.  That is permissible in an interview but not in a thank you email.

Keep in mind that your interviewers also appreciate a word of thanks after a hard day’s work. With that in mind, you should make every effort to be as sincere as possible when writing a thank you email after interview. Thank your interviewer for taking the time and effort out of their busy schedule to arrange a meeting with you and get to know you better. It is, of course, accepted that you will attempt to make some effort to reiterate why you are so suited to the job you are applying for and the key qualifications that will make you an asset to the company. You should, however, be vigilant against going overboard and turning your entire thank you email after interview into just a continuation of your interview, without conveying any sincere thanks whatsoever to your interviewer.

Check Out Our Free Job Interview Thank You Letter Example

Examples of Going Above and Beyond for a Job Interview

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Have you ever engaged someone to perform a particular service for you and been pleasantly surprised at the end to find that the workmanship and other aspects far exceeded your expectations? Often, this is because the person whom you engaged did a wonderful job and, even more, went above and beyond the call of duty.

Going above and beyond the call of duty will give your overall employability a huge boost, no matter where you previously stood on the employability scale. This is because employers will always give preference to employees who are able to add greater value to their work and to the company, over those how simply do just enough to avoid getting fired. 

There are also a number of pointers that you should keep in mind when you decide to make use of examples of yourself going above and beyond the call of duty in the process of getting your job done. Following these pointers will help to make your resume more accessible and readable to potential employers, further increasing the chances of getting hired to do the job that you want to do.

Things To Remember when Giving Examples of Going Above and Beyond

The first thing to remember when it comes to giving examples of going above and beyond in the line of duty is to be specific. This means putting down as many details as you can remember about the exact event and the way in which you went above and beyond the call of duty and wherein you did more than you were expected to.

Of course, there are certain aspects of your going above and beyond the call of duty that you will wish to emphasize over others. The most important of those is to identify the principle that drove you in going above and beyond the call of duty in that particular instance. This principle should be applicable to a wide variety of situations, thus signifying to your potential employer that the example that you cited in your resume was not a one-off event, and that you will frequently go above and beyond the call of duty in the regular discharge of your responsibilities.

While it is good to provide your potential employer with as much information and detail about yourself and your appreciation for going above and beyond, you should also ensure that you do not come across as overly desperate or sycophantic. Some people, in an attempt to show that they go above and beyond the call of duty on a regular basis, merely demonstrate to potential employers that they are unstable and cannot be trusted to follow instructions to the letter when required to do so.

This should also serve as a reminder that any examples you include of yourself going above and beyond should be tempered by the knowledge that most potential employers seem to be self-contradictory. Somehow, most potential employers require that a potential employee be able to follow instructions to the letter, while still possessing enough independence to know when to depart from those instructions, without any further communication, for the good of the company. Your examples should therefore be geared towards showing potential employers the side of you that conforms to their notion of an ideal employee.

Check Out the CareerRush.com Job Interview Example Videos