Your Last Chance at a First Impression
If you are one of the approximately 2.5 million people who are unemployed and have been actively engaged in America’s new, most popular past time- the job hunt game- you have probably read about social media’s growing influence for both seekers and employers. Between Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn a number of high value sites are now actively part of the game, and while you do not necessarily need to be an social media expert to get hired, completely ignoring these avenues is done at your own risk.
However, all these new career influences do not change the fact that the resume is your last chance at a first impression.
That’s right, the old, tried-and-true resume is still your best option to impress a potential employer and land an interview. So, while you should certainly spend some time creating a unified message and brand across your various online profiles, do not neglect spending just as much time and resources on your cover letter, resume and post-interview thank you letter.
Your resume needs to convey your skills, training, education, experience and accomplishments in a tightly written one to two page document. Doing this is no easy task, so do not take it lightly. Professional resume writers get up to $800 for high level resumes for a reason – the importance of this document can not be understated.
Resume writing basics include four key items.
If you are new to resume writing, or you just need a quick refresher, here is the basic format. Start with a clear objective statement that provides three key pieces of information: the job title of your desired position, 3 things you can bring to the job, and the type of company you wan to work for. Next, complete a summary section where you detail the types of skills and abilities you possess. Third come the work history. Aside from your job title, employers and dates of employment, you need to detail specific accomplishments. What made you stand out in each position. Be sure to tie this section to the summary. If you stated that you have excellent communication skills in your summary, have a detail in your work history that proves the point. Finally, create an education section and lists your certifications and degrees.
The first time a hiring manager will really look at you as a potential employee is when he sits down and reads that document with a certain position in mind. Because of this you want to be sure that your resume is written with that same job as a focus. Spend time reading the job description before finalizing your resume. Tailor your objective statement and any tag lines you use to that specific position.
So, should you spend time on Twitter and LinkedIn looking for potential jobs? Yes, by all means, use these newer avenues for all they are worth. But in doing so, do not neglect the grand-daddy of all career drivers, the resume.
Steve Brady is the owner and head writer for www.Quality-Resumes.com, a full-service resume writing company. His career-based writing can be seen on Suite 101, EHow, and the Yahoo! Contributor Network.
Similar Posts:
- Have You Mastered Your Master Resume?
- Writing Powerful Executive Resume Summaries
- How to Make Your Biotech Resume Pop
- Writing a Winning Biotech Career Summary
- How to Write an Attention Grabbing Cover letter
