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 How many times have you said to someone - just tell me what I need to know? That's what Resumes for Dummies is all about. We're going to give you just enough information to help you get started in the right direction. In fact, we've broken down the entire resume writing process into just five simple steps.
We've decided to address the needs of the "dummies" population, but we've also like to offer a word of warning before we start. The primary function of a resume is to document your work experience to share with others. If you're serious about your career, then your resume is really not the place to cut corners.
Career Assessment
The first place most dummies need to start is with a career assessment. The assessment process can be as simple or as complex as you'd like. A simple approach is to put together a list of the things that are important to you in a job and rate different types of jobs against that criteria.
At the other end of the spectrum, you can hire a personal career assessment coach that will walk you through a series of aptitude and personality tests aimed at finding the ideal job made just for you. If you're a highly paid executive with lots of time to figure out what you want to do in the future, the personal coach might be the way to go. If you're looking for a simple approach, then just grab some paper and make a list.
Resume Format
Once you've figured out what kind of job you want, the next step is to figure out the correct resume format to use. The reason you do the career assessment first is to figure out if you want to switch careers or continue down the path you've already started.
Each resume format has its own individual strengths and weaknesses - you need to understand this before deciding on a format. This should be a little bit clearer after you've read the descriptions below:
Chronological Resume
The chronological resume format is one that most people are familiar with. At the heart of this format is a reverse chronological listing of your work experience. The format is good to use if you are continuing down the same career path and you haven't had any employment gaps - times when you were unemployed.
Functional Resume Format
The functional resume format is a good choice if you've got very little work experience, or have gaps in your employment history. The functional format emphasizes what you've learned and the skills you've acquired, not where you've worked. Some hiring managers get nervous when they look at this format because they like to know where you've been. If you're switching careers, the functional resume is a good choice.
Combination Resume Format
Last, but not least is the combination resume format. Arguably the most marketable of all resume formats, the combination starts out by listing your skills and knowledge and finishes up with your work history. This is a good choice for individuals with rich work experience and the format can also be used to make a transition to a new type of career.
Resume Templates and Samples
Now that you've figured out the best resume format to use, the next step is to get started by finding some resume samples or a template that you can borrow. Fortunately, we've already got examples for all types of resume formats and even resume templates that you can download.
Cover Letter
A cover letter usually accompanies your resume and is written to provide an introduction to your services. Don't underestimate the power of a good cover letter. If your cover letter is of poor quality, the hiring manager or recruiter might never even bother reading your resume. We've also got some cover letter samples that you can download.
Resume Distribution
If you've gotten this far, you're probably not really a dummy, so congratulations on that point! But now that you've prepared a resume and cover letter, it's time to get noticed. There are basically three ways to approach resume distribution:
- Passive Distribution - the most common example of passive distribution is posting to a job search website such as Monster.com. This is considered passive because you are relying on companies and recruiters to find your resume among the millions on these websites.
- Resume Blasting - much like the direct mail business, resume blasting relies on sheer numbers to get results. Resume blasting relies on distributing your resume electronically to lots of email addresses. The more resumes you send to people, the higher the likelihood that someone will respond to your resume.
- Resume Distribution Services - the final approach is to use a resume distribution service. This approach uses a database to target the individuals that are sent a copy of your resume. The number of resumes sent is much lower, but because the list is targeted it's more likely to generate a higher response rate versus blasting.
So that's it - our simple five steps to getting together a resume that should get you good results. We've written it so that even dummies should be able to follow along, but we've included enough detail and links to examples so that hopefully you're left feeling that we've given you exactly the information that you need to know.
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