Resume
writing key to landing job
By Alexis Kindig
On-line Forty-Niner
In
order to get a job, it is necessary to have
an accurate and prepared resume.
The Career Development Center has offered
some tips, in preparation for the Job Fair,
on how to write a resume that will help
students write a resume and help them get
the job they desire.
Career counselor Robert Wendt said the most
important thing is to make sure the information
included on the resume is accurate and honest.
He said the information given should include
name, education and course work that may
apply to the particular job, objectives
concerning the position sought, and skills
relating to the job.
Wendt said it is also important to include
prior experiences. This includes work experience,
internships and volunteer work.
“You can include just about anything,” such
as babysitting, being a youth group leader
for church or work experience at McDonald’s,
Wendt said.
It is also important the resume is clear
and brief, preferably no longer than one
to two pages. Wendt said that 66 percent
of employers prefer the chronological format,
in which employment history is listed according
to date.
Resumes should also include a cover letter.
Job Fair coordinator, Robin Lee said, a
cover letter serves as a “sales pitch” for
a resume. Lee said the cover letter should
be three paragraphs in length. The first
paragraph should mention the position being
sought and where you found out about it.
The second paragraph should expand on important
points in the resume and the third should
indicate an eagerness to hear from the prospective
employer.
Lee said it is all-right to mention things
in the cover letter that are not listed
in the resume itself.
As for what not to include in a good resume,
Wendt said it is a good idea to stay away
from pictures and other creative devices;
it is best to be straightforward and to
stick to a traditional format.
Wendt said it is also a good idea to change
phone messages and e-mail addresses to something
more professional if necessary. Wendt knows
one student who actually lost a job because
of an outgoing phone message.
The prospective employer called the student,
heard the music on the answering machine,
and decided not to hire the student right
then and there.
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