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Your résumé, cover letter, and job application are important tools in your job search and may often be the first contact you have with an employer.
The sole purpose of sending the résumé and a cover letter or completing a job application is to land an interview, and good first impressions are important.
Your résumé should present your skills, experience, education and achievements in a manner that captures the employer’s attention and makes you stand out from the crowd. While there is no guarantee that a good résumé will get you a job, a bad one is likely to eliminate you from consideration. A poorly completed job application may omit skills or experience that an employer seeks.
No single résumé layout will suit every job seeker, but here are some standard résumé categories to help you start:
Personal Information: Your résumé must include your name, address, telephone number(s) and email address if you have one. This information should be listed at the top of your résumé and presented in a professional manner that excludes the use of nicknames and abbreviations (such as “St.” for “Street”). Be sure to include an alternate or “message” telephone number if your home telephone is not connected to an answering machine.
Job/Career Objective: An effective objective is one that identifies the type of job you are seeking and the skills you can offer a prospective employer. Your objective should be brief and specific to enable the employer to immediately see how you would contribute to the organization’s future success. The objective is an optional component of your résumé and is most relevant if you are applying for a specific job or have a clear career goal in mind. You may consider using a summary of qualifications instead.
Summary of Qualifications: Employers and recruiters typically spend less than 10 seconds initially screening a résumé , so highlighting your qualifications early on the page can greatly improve your chances of consideration. A summary of qualifications is a list of short phrases that amplify the most important parts of your overall résumé and focus attention on key accomplishments.
Body of Résumé: The education section of your résumé need not be excessively detailed but should include any credentials that are required for the position you are seeking. You may consider excluding the education section if it does not support your job objective or if you lack the required educational credentials. If you are assembling a chronological résumé, your work experience comes next with employment listed in reverse order (most recent first). Your résumé should highlight the job skills you enjoy using and would want to use in your next job. Try to showcase your achievements rather than simply listing descriptions of the jobs you’ve held.
This is a regular column written by the N.M. Department of Workforce Solutions. For more information, go to www.dws.state.nm.us.
