Resume Writing Tips

Although I had not conducted a full-blown job search in a long time, one thing that went without saying was the fact that I needed a resume in order to help me find a job. Luckily, I already had one on file but it left a lot to be desired. I discovered, however, that just as job search methods had changed with the times so had preferred resume styles and some of the preferred content. Of course what information is preferred and what information should be excluded will probably depend on who you ask. Really, you just need to be aware of different options and choose the one that you feel is best for you. A terrific example of this is whether or not to include your salary history. One article I read suggested that this information should be included in your resume while another article suggested that it should not. In the end, I decided not to include it because the argument against including it made more sense to me. The article against including this information suggested that to include it would be an open invitation to disaster as potential employers may be prepared to offer you a higher salary until they see your salary history and realize that they could get away with offering you a lower salary or they decided not to offer you a job a all because they determine that there was no way they could come close to matching the salary you are used to getting and you are most likely looking for temporary employment and will leave them as soon as you find a job with a salary that's more in line with what you are used to getting.

In addition, I found that while you can have a generic resume on hand for general purposes, it is probably best to adapt it to fit the job for which you are applying. For example, there's no need to go into great detail about your job duties as a cook when you are applying for a job as a used car salesman or vice versa. However, it is important to list each job if they are both within the time-frame that you are using for your job history. Simply avoid elaborating on the details of the unrelated job. Include the minimum job duty information and move on to the next job.

Another good tip I received involved listing multiple positions held at different times while employed with the same company. Personally, I worked for my last employer for over ten years and, during that time, I held about six different positions. Initially, I had a start and end date listed for each position along with the corresponding job details. Someone was kind enough to point out to me that even though I had the positions listed sequentially and indicated that each one was with the same company, at first glance it looked as if I had been jumping from job to job over the last ten years which made my job history appear unstable when really it was not. To remedy the situation, I adjusted my resume by creating a single time-frame to represent the entire ten years of employment and used bullets and line breaks to separate the different positions and the related job duties. I also listed the amount of time I spent in each position rather than listing a start and end date for each one. This gave the clear indication that I spent ten years with the same company but in different positions.

These are just a few of the resume improvements I have been fortunate enough to learn about. I hope this information is of help to you but I suggest that you don't stop here. Continue searching for ways to improve your resume. There are professional resume writing services available for a price and then there are some free tips available as well. If you can afford the professional services, then I say go for it but if you are on a tight budget, then look for the free stuff and do your own modifications. Initially, I didn't put a lot of effort into my resume but very quickly realized just how tough the task of landing a good job is these days. Shortly thereafter I began to improve my resume, because I knew that I would need every advantage I can get in order to help me find a job.