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In today's competitive and information driven marketplace, a quality resume for a technical professional is certainly a prerequisite for finding a good job opportunity with a good company. The days of hiring candidates based solely on verbal endorsements and word of mouth referrals are rapidly coming to an end as our business society has developed a hungry appetite for decision making information. This section is provided to assist you in creating or refining an effective resume and is broken down into the following sections:
B. RESUME CONTENT IS KING - SUBSTANCE
A. THE PURPOSE OF THE RESUME
There are many books and industry experts who have very strong opinions on how to draft the quintessential resume. At MTS we stick to the basic fundamentals. Always keep in the back of your head that companies do not hire resumes, companies hire people. As such, you need to understand that a resume by definition in nothing more than a business tool that hiring managers and decision makers use to evaluate, analyze, and pre-qualify (screen in or screen out) candidates for employment.
An effective resume will do the following:
1. Grab a decision maker's attention and compel that individual to take some action (i.e. follow up and interview a prospective candidate).
2. Accurately document your credentials and past work accomplishments.
3. Serve as a tool for a company's hiring authorities during the interview process.
4. Predict what you may be expected to accomplish in the future based on past performance.
Rest assured, a good resume alone will not get you that awesome job offer that you have been dreaming about for sometime. However, with some basic understanding of the resume writing principles you will certainly be well on your way.
B. RESUME CONTENT IS KING
When developing or revising your resume, it important to focus your efforts on Substance and Form while always keeping in mind the end goal-motivating a decision maker or hiring authority to take some positive action on your behalf.
As far as substance is concerned, your resume should succinctly and clearly highlight, at a minimum, your functional job titles, specific details about the scope of responsibilities of your past positions or assignments, formal education and training, significant performance accomplishments and/or achievements, professional affiliations and/or certifications, and the duration you worked in each position. Again, keep in mind that employers are trying to gauge your future success potential based on past performance relative to their needs. If you have always been a strong performer wherever you've worked, there is a very strong likelihood that you will continue that trend in your next position. Moreover, the meat and potatoes of your resume must be relevant to the position that an employer is trying to fill. If you are applying for a job as a biomedical equipment technician, it probably will not help you to mention or bring attention to the fact that you also hold a real estate license. Target and customize your resume to match the needs of your audience-the employer.
Furthermore, your resume should accurately and honestly identify what your technical capabilities are. It is a known fact to most experienced business professionals that 30% of all resumes contain material falsehoods and exaggerations of a candidate's skill capabilities. In the world of online job banks where anyone can post a resume, active job seekers have been very shrewd at manipulating keyword/buzzword searches to get a hit. Keep in mind that you do more harm than good in the long run when you resort to such tactics. The truth has a way of setting itself free and given enough time, your real capabilities will eventual surface over your perceived capabilities. The only person that you fool in the end is yourself. This especially holds true in the technical disciplines. The moral of the story here is simple, your resume should accurately and honestly document your past accomplishments and capabilities. Your credibility is at stake.
C. PRESENTATION FORM
Your resume should be a document that is readable, well written, and without any spelling, grammar, and/or punctuation blunders. We have all heard of the phrase that "First Impressions are Lasting Impressions". Please take heed to this when you draft your resume. Again, the goal is to make it very easy for a hiring authority to quickly evaluate whether or not to screen your resume in or to screen your resume out for action. Don't give someone an easy reason to screen you out. Grammar mistakes, typos, and misspellings are direct indicators of your attention to detail, thoroughness, and professional care. Afterall, if you can not represent yourself well why is it reasonable to think that you will represent a company well. It is highly recommended that before you finalize your resume, you get someone who has a sharp eye to proofread your resume for clarity, readability, format, and spelling and grammar correctness.
D. HOW MANY PAGES
Your resume should be no more than 2 pages long regardless of how long you have been in the workforce. One page is preferable. For one, most people in decision making roles do not have the time or interest to read more than 2 pages. Secondly, if you can not put your professional career on 2 pages or less, you send out a signal that you can not succinctly organize your thoughts. Lastly, you help to conserve paper.
E. TYPES OF RESUMES
There are two standard resume formats that are available for you to use: Functional or Chronological. The functional resume is most often used when you want to de-emphasize time frames while focusing one's attention on the functional skills that you have developed throughout your professional career . If you have changed jobs or careers often, this format may serve you better. The chronological resume format is just that. It is a chronology of your various positions that you have held from your most recent job all they way back to your first job.
The following sample resumes are provided to give you a model to work from as you begin to create or modify your resume. Many of you who embark on writing a resume for the first time may feel compelled to write the perfect resume. The goal is not to write the perfect resume but an effective resume that will yield results-getting you in the door.