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Ten Tips to Improve Your Resume

admin — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 01:55:40 +0000

Use a bulleted style to make your resume more reader-friendly. Given that employers screen resumes for between 2.5 and 20 seconds, they will find your resume a lot more readable if you use bullet points instead of paragraph style. It’s just easier to read.

Follow “The Resume Ingredients Rule.” Therefore, in listing your jobs, what’s generally most important is your title/position. So list in this preferred order: Title/position, name of employer, city/state of employer, dates of employment. I can’t tell you how many resumes I’ve seen that list dates first. Dates can be important to some employers, but they’re generally not as important as what your position was and whom you worked for. Education follows the same principle; thus, the preferred order for listing your education is: Name of degree in name of major, name of university, city/state of university, graduation year, followed by peripheral information, such as minor and GPA. If you haven’t graduated yet, list your information the same way. Simply by virtue of the fact that the graduation date you’ve listed is in the future, the employer will know you don’t have the degree yet.By the way, the Resume Ingredients Rule is also the reason that experience and education are listed in reverse chronological order on your resume; it’s assumed that your most recent education and experience are most important and relevant to the reader.

Eliminate “responsibilities” words from your resume vocabulary. Never use expressions like “Duties included,” “Responsibilities included,” or “Responsible for” on your resume. Why? Because your resume should be accomplishments-driven, not responsibilities-driven. Anyone (well, maybe not anyone…) can perform the duties listed in a job description. Job-description language is not what sells in a resume. Accomplishments-oriented language tells employers how you’ve gone above and beyond in your jobs, what makes you special, how you’ve taken initiative and made your jobs your own.

Eliminate clutter from your resume. Several elements can clutter up your resume and impede readability:

Unnecessary dates. Don’t list dates that don’t add anything to your resume; for example, dates you spent involved in college extracurricular activities. If you were involved in these activities during college, the reader can pretty much guess your dates of involvement, and listing the dates will just clutter up your document. Same with dates of involvement in professional or civic organizations; ask yourself if those dates will be meaningful to the employer reading your resume.
Parentheses. Jobseekers have a particular tendency to set off dates of employment with parentheses. It’s easier on the reader if you just use commas.
The line “References: Available upon request.” This statement is highly optional because it is a given that you will provide references upon request. If you couldn’t, you would have no business looking for a job. The line can serve the purpose of signaling: “This is the end of my resume,” but if you are trying to conserve space, leave it off.
Articles. Those little words “a,” “an,” and “the.” Generally speaking, resumes aren’t written in sentence form, but in concise phrases that have become an accepted shorthand that employers understand. Articles tend to clutter up that shorthand; your resume will read in a more streamlined manner without them.

Use strong, concrete verbs to describe your jobs, and don’t mix noun and verb phrases. Let’s look at this example:

Managed and controlled all aspects of company’s West Coast presence.
Complete ownership of inventory and financial standards.
Full P&L responsibilities. [noun]
Analyzed market and forecast sales, prepared corporate budgets and monitored results to achieve ROI objectives. [verb]

Instead, be consistent with verbs:

Supervised inventory and financial standards.
Completely oversaw profit and loss aspects of operation.

Also avoid the weak verbs, “to be,” “to do,” and “to work.” Everyone works. Be more specific. “Collaborate(d)” is often a good substitute. Instead of: “Worked with Marketing Department to launch promotional campaign,” say “Collaborated with Marketing Department to launch promotional campaign.”

Focus on describing past job activities that highlight the skills you most like to use and want to use in your next job. Don’t spend a lot of time, for example, describing all that clerical stuff you did in a past job if you have no intention of doing clerical work again. Even if you’ve mastered skills that are in great demand, don’t emphasize them if they’re not the skills you want to use in the future.

Don’t fret about the one-page resume rule. Sure, it’s nice to keep your resume to one page if you can, but don’t go to extraordinary lengths, such as by using tiny type. If you have significant experience, you’ll probably need more than one page. What you should avoid is having one full page with just a little bit of text on your second page. If you fill a third or less of the second page, consider condensing to one page. Ways to condense:

Narrow your margins. The margins in Microsoft Word are set very wide by default. You can have margins as narrow as .75” all around and still have a nice-looking document.
Use a smaller point size, but not too small. A font size of 11-point is good; don’t go too much smaller than 10.5-point.
Many jobseekers use a two-column format with headings in the left-hand column. To conserve space, narrow or even eliminate the left-hand column and simply stack your headings on top of each section.

Make sure your resume has a sharp focus. Again, given the microscopic amount of time that employers spend screening resumes, you need a way to show the employer at a glance what you want to do and what you’re good at. One way to sharpen your focus is through an objective statement. Another way is to add a section called something like “Summary of Qualifications,” or “Profile.”

Don’t list too much experience on your resume. The rule of thumb for someone at the senior level is to list about 15 years worth of jobs. Age discrimination, unfortunately, is a reality, and even more likely, employers may think you’re too expensive if you list too much experience on your resume. Similarly, don’t give the date of your college graduation if it was more than about 10 years ago.

Be sure the reader will understand all the acronyms and jargon you use in your resume. Resumes in the high-tech field are notorious for these mysterious terms. Spell out any acronyms you think could be questionable, and explain any terms you think some readers of your resume might not understand.College students, too, need to be aware of “inside” jargon. At Stetson University, my alma mater, for example, we have an annual charity fundraiser called “Greenfeather;” freshman-orientation leaders called “FOCUS” advisers; and a volunteer organization called “Into the Streets.” The school’s graduates routinely use those terms on their resumes without any explanation, as though everyone knows what Greenfeather, FOCUS, and Into the Streets mean. Look at your resume from an outsider’s perspective — and explain (or eliminate) any unfamiliar terms or acronyms.

Hot Job Negotiations Tips

admin — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:40:19 +0000

Everyone gets excited by a job offer. It’s the culmination of an industrious job search. At last you’ll be moving on . . . hopefully to something more interesting, challenging and lucrative.

A job offer is a vote of confidence in your ability to do a good job. And it says a lot about your skill in developing a rapport and chemistry with your next boss.

But the job search process isn’t over!

How you close the deal by successfully negotiating a compensation package can make or break the job offer on the table. Do it right and you lock up your new job and position yourself for the future. Do it wrong and you can lose the offer.

The solution is to do your homework. Here are 5 tips:

1. Research your pay level. Find out how it stacks up to similar jobs in other similar organizations.

2. Don’t bank on future promises. If part of your deal is some future compensation, promotion or benefit, get it in writing!

3. If possible get hold of the organization’s info packet. Often compensation, benefits packages and other expectations are spelled out there.

4. Get your new boss or the HR rep to spell out the organization’s expectations of their employees in general and of this job in particular.

5. Remember you are in the strongest bargaining position before you accept the job. That’s when your negotiating must be done.

Most managers expect you to negotiate. Don’t passively accept whatever is put on the table. Be prepared to discuss your concerns about the offer, e.g. level of compensation, benefits package, future growth, reporting relationships, etc.

Job resume

admin — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:28:32 +0000

Often, job seekers have a few mistaken opinions about potential employers. They believe that employers are able to easily separate the qualified job applicants from the less qualified applicants. But this is likely not true. Sometimes there are from 30 to 300 resumes for the same job. So the interviewer first does a fast screening of all the resumes to eliminate as many as possible. The “good” resumes usually make it through the screening process. Many times the best job candidate is screened out due to a poor resume.

In today’s business world there is often many qualified applicants applying for the same job. What if, out of all of those who apply, one job seeker turns in a skillful resume? Who do you think stands the best chance of getting the job? It’s the one with the “best” resume, of course. This is so often true even through some of the other applicants may be better qualified for the job.

In order to get a good job you must communicate to the employer that you are ready, willing, and able to do the job. So if you are capable of producing a top notch job resume, you definitely increase your chances of getting a better job.

Virtually every potential employer will want to see a resume from you. The resume will determine who gets a job interview. Your resume is a mini-statement about yourself. After reading your resume the employer should have a better “feel” for you as a person and as a potential employer. It serves to get acquainted with the employer so that they can decide if they want to know more about you.

The resume is the first step, your introduction to an employer. First impressions really do count. If you make a poor first impression, you’ll never get to step two — the job interview.

To the purpose of your resume is to make a good first impression. In effect, your resume should tell the employer that you have good abilities and are truly interested in working. This report will help you make that good first impression. And it could very well help you to get the better job you’re looking for.

RESUME BASICS

All good resumes follow the same general basic guidelines. While there is some flexibility in these guidelines, you don’t want to stray too far from them. You want a resume that is bold, exciting, and enticing. But not too much so. You also want a resume that is somewhat conservative. In other words, it must be bold. Not flashy. You must show that you have confidence in your abilities, but not sound like a braggart. You must sound eager to do the job, but not desperate. So there is a fine line that you must walk in order to produce the best possible resume.

You want to use intelligent language. However, you don’t want to try and impress the employer with long, flowery, or uncommon words or phrases. Use everyday language whenever possible. Of course, if you are applying for a highly technical position, it’s acceptable to use some of the special terms used in that particular profession. But as a rule you should keep it simple and straight to the point.

The word resume comes from the French word “resumer” which means to summarize. So the exact purpose of a resume is to summarize your experience, knowledge, and accomplishments. Therefore, you must avoid being too wordy. Say exactly what you mean in the least number of words possible.

The length of your resume is important. Resumes should be from 1 to 3 pages long. Don’t be tempted to make your resume longer than 3 pages, even if you have a lot to tell. Remember, a resume is supposed to be a summary. A resume that is too long simply will bore the reader. There will be so much material that nothing will stand out and be remembered.

RESUME APPEARANCE

The overall appearance of your resume is also important. A sloppy looking resume will greatly lessen your chance of getting a job interview. The first thing that an employer, or personnel manager, evaluating your resume will notice is it’s appearance. There are several different things that can be easily done to increase the overall appearance of your resume.

The first of these appearance factors is the paper that your resume is printed on. There are many different kinds of paper other than regular typing paper. You could make an improvement by using a colored paper. I suggest a subdued color like brown, off- white, or gray.

Next, you could use a better grade of paper. Go to a local office supply store and examine the different types of writing paper. You’ll notice some big differences. Pick out a nice looking, more expensive grade of paper for your resume.

The next thing to consider is the quality of the material that is typed onto the resume. Never use a low quality typewriter to type your resume. If necessary, rent a good quality typewriter. Then make certain that it has a fresh ribbon in it. It’s very important that you make sure the writing on your resume looks good. This means clean, crisp, and sharp looking letters.

Another good way to produce a top looking resume is by having it typeset. If your resume was produced using a computer and saved on a disk, you can hire a commercial typesetter who can use this file. Or, you can locate another computer user who owns a laser printer. Laser printers can produce a good grade of typeset documents. The other alternative is to find a local word processing service that can typeset your resume for you.

You can use the typeset master copy of your resume to make more copies. But be certain that you use a top notch copying machine. Otherwise, you’ll still end up with poor looking resumes. Another alternative is to have the typesetter produce as many original copies as you need to ensure that they all look good.

A third aspect of your resume’s appearance is more subjective. It takes into account such things as the letter spacing, how each section is arranged, and it’s overall appearance. Some resumes simply look better because of the way they have been designed. At the end of this report, you’ll see an example of a properly prepared resume.

Never overcrowd the resume. Leave some “white space” so that important points can appear to pop out. Never submit a resume with handwritten corrections. You can highlight sections of a resume by using a different typeface or size or by using “bullets.” If possible, use larger letters for the headings used in the separate sections of the resume.

Never try to be too fancy by using wild colors, cute graphics, and so forth. Don’t be overly creative. A simple, straightforward, factual resume will do nicely. Make it stand out, but stay conservative.

Another phase of your resume’s appearance is it’s accuracy. Make sure there are no misspelled words! Mistakes will create the wrong image.

Make sure that the punctuation is correct. And make sure that all of your columns line up. See that all of your facts are correct. Don’t say you attended 3 years of college, but only show two years worth of grades. Potential employers will note all inaccuracies and wonder why they appear in your resume.

OPTIONAL DATA

There is a variety of personal data that may be somewhat controversial if included in your resume. In the past it was acceptable to include all kinds of personal data, but times and laws have changed. Affirmative Action laws have made it illegal to discriminate based on such things as age, sex, marital status, race, religion, and so forth. Therefore, most experts recommend against placing this kind of personal data into your resume.

Your salary requirements should not be listed in the resume, if you can avoid it. The reason is that if you put too low of a salary, you might be paid less than the real value of the job. If you put down a figure that’s too high, you may not get considered for the job. If an employer likes you, it may be possible to negotiate a higher salary during the interview stage. Another thing that your resume doesn’t need is your photograph. Potential employers can decide if they are interested in you after reading your resume. They can see what you look like during the interview.

RESUME STYLES

There are several styles of resumes along with numerous variations. Your experience and the kind of job you are applying for will help to determine the style of resume you use. The two basic styles are: Chronological Resumes and Functional Skills Resumes. Some of the variations include the main themes of business, academic, general, student, standard, professional, or engineering.

A Chronological Resume lists work experience in reverse chronological order (the most recent experience first). It includes some descriptive text about each position, usually described in about one paragraph.

This type of resume offers several advantages: it is widely accepted, they are easy to read, and they show a clear pattern of your development. The disadvantages include: it does not highlight your major accomplishment(s), nor do they effectively show your other skills.

Functional Skills Resumes highlight your skills and accomplishments rather than providing a chronological record of your job history. Your accomplishments and skills are listed at the beginning. Your job history is listed at the end of the resume.

This type of resume allows you to call attention to your achievements. The major disadvantage is that employers may find it difficult to follow your work experience.

Many people discover that a combination of these two kinds of resumes is the best way to go. You may want to try several different types of combinations before settling upon a final design.

WRITING YOUR RESUME

Some specific topics that your resume should cover are:

(1) Job Objective — lets the employer know that you are interested in a specific type of work. This can be done in 2 or 3

sentences.

Example: work in an analytical chemistry laboratory that focuses on environmental samples. Oversee and coordinate the activities of other lab technicians.

(2) Summary of Qualifications — is a short paragraph that summarizes your experience and skills. Example: I have 8 years experience working on all p samples for metals C. Used CLIP and SW846 methods hases of analytical chemistry. Including work with a wide variety of instruments and computers. Was second-in-command of a lab with 8 technicians.

(3) Professional Skills — is the section where you give specific details about your qualifications. Example:

INSTRUMENTS OPERATED A. Atomic Absorption Spectrometer B. Microwave Digestion System C. Polarograph D. Laser Fluorimeter E. IBM Computers

ADMINISTRATION A. Supervised 8 technicians when the Department head was absent.

ANALYSIS A. Waste oils for metals B. Water and soil

(4) Work Experience — in this section you give a one paragraph summary for each of your previous jobs. This should include starting and ending date, reason for leaving, job title and duties, and any special accomplishments for each of the jobs.

(5) Education — gives a summary of all schools attended, degrees earned, and special seminars or training courses that you have attended.

(6) Honors and Awards — it’s a good idea to list any special awards you have received.

(7) Personal — information about your hobbies and activities should be included.

(8) Others — professional organizations that you belong to, computer or programming skills, articles or books published.

(9) References — you can state something like, “references available upon request,” or list at least 3 on your resume.

It’s important to include all of the basic information on your resume. But, what is also important, is the way you say it. Don’t use dull, lifeless statements. Instead use action words. Here are some typical action words:

Accelerated, achieved, advised, approved, assisted, built, calculated, completed, conceived, controlled, coordinated, created, decreased, defined, designed, developed, directed, earned, edited, engineered, evaluated, found, generated, implemented, improved, invented, managed, operated, organized, planned, proved, revised, scheduled, tested, trained, verified, wrote.

These words give the correct impression that you have been responsible for do different kinds of jobs tasks. In other words, you weren’t just a follower. Of course, you should always be truthful. Don’t try to oversell yourself by claiming you did things that you didn’t do.

As you can see, a resume is really a very simple document. It is not that difficult to produce a good resume, if you follow the simple steps outlined in this report. By dividing it into sections it becomes a much easier job. These different sections also help you to stay organized. If you have worked on a special project or had a lofty responsibility on a previous job, you may want to include that in a section all by itself. Example: “I organized a training department for AMCO Scientific and was responsible for overseeing the production of training lessons.”

Another good way to get familiar with proper resume writing techniques is to review a good resume. There’s an example included in this report. You can use it as a model. Then produce several different resumes for yourself until you find the best possible combinations for your specific skills. You may also want to have a friend to read your resume and point out any problems.

UNCOVERING JOBS

Many people do not have good job hunting skills. They are not experts at locating job openings for which they may be qualified. Here are some ideas to help you uncover those jobs.

NEWSPAPER ADS — usually draw the greatest number of applicants, so you’ll end up with a lot of competition. If you have no geographic restrictions, you may want to check out of state newspapers.

Find a way to make your resume stand out so that it isn’t lost among the many applicants. Here are a couple of ideas:

(1) Send a customized cover letter with your resume.

(2) Call before you send the resume in. If possible, talk to the person who will be doing the interview or who you’ll be working for. If this isn’t possible, talk to the personnel director about the job and let them know that your resume is coming. This will help them to remember your name and may help you get through the resume screening process.

PRIVATE EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES — these are agencies that try to match employees and employers. These agencies vary in the way they work. Some can be very helpful. Others are somewhat unscrupulous.

Your best chance is to go with an agency that specializes in your field. Beware of agencies that continually run the same ad because, often, they are just trying to build a list of candidates. I recommend that you only use agencies that don’t require you to pay a fee.

TRADE JOURNALS AND PERIODICALS — Are often the best places to look. This is one of the primary means of job advertisement for some types of professions. Example: The magazine Environmental Science continually carries ads for environmental professionals.

Other good places to look include: trade shows and professional conventions, personnel offices, college placement offices, friends you have who are in the same profession as you.

Another method is to simply go through the yellow pages and look for companies which may need a person with your skills. Then contact these companies by phone and follow-up by sending in your resume. Job seeking is a skill that requires persistence. You must not become discouraged. Keep making plenty of contacts. Sooner or later, you’ll find the job that’s right for you.

THE JOB INTERVIEW

Most people are nervous when they go to a job interview. However, by preparing beforehand you won’t have anything to worry about. Believe it or not, occasionally the person conducting the interview is nervous, too!

Most interviewers will make a decision within the first 5 to 10 minutes of the interview. There are a number of steps that you can take that will greatly improve your chances of getting the job.

The first (and perhaps the most obvious) thing to consider is your appearance. No matter what type of job you apply for, you should dress appropriately. A nice suit is your best bet. Dark blue or a gray pinstripe are the best colors. Don’t wear a loud tie. Make sure all of your clothes are wrinkle free and that your shoes are polished.

Women should wear a conservative suit dress. Avoid excessive jewelry, make-up, perfume and bright nail polish.

Interview do’s and don’ts:

(1) Arrive early. If you arrive late, you’ll be rushed and the interviewer may consider you unreliable.

(2) Walk briskly, with purpose, and stand up straight.

(3) Don’t smoke, chew gum, slouch, read a novel, or other similar activities while you are waiting in the lobby. If some of the company’s literature is available, read that instead.

(4) Give the interviewer a firm handshake, and don’t be afraid to look him or her in the eye.

(5) Be prepared. Carry an extra copy of your resume and academic record.

(6) Don’t talk too much … or too little.

(7) Above all, try to be natural and relaxed. Be yourself.

Questions that the interviewer may ask you include: what are your career goals? How many sick days have you taken in the past two years? What are your strong points? Do you have any hobbies? Why do you want this job? Tell me about yourself. What did you like most or like least about your last job? Do you have any questions? She or he may also ask you some specific questions that relate to equipment or procedures you’ll need to use on the job. This is a way of determining your overall knowledge and skills.

Before and during the interview …

(1) Be positive and enthusiastic.

(2) Try to focus upon your accomplishments and achievements in past jobs.

(3) Find out as much as possible about the job duties and requirements of the position you are applying for. This will help you to be able to ask further questions.

(4) Find out as much as possible about the company.

(5) If you are really interested in the job, let the interviewer know about it.

(6) Questions you need to ask include: when will the job start? To whom do I report? What would a typical day be like?

(7) Don’t be too concerned about salary and benefits at first. If you are selected, they will make you a salary offer. Toward the end of the interview you can ask about benefits.

Job Interview Tips Answers

admin — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 03:57:37 +0000

THE JOB INTERVIEW

Most interviewers will make a decision within the first 5 to 10 minutes of the interview. There are a number of steps that you can take that will greatly improve your chances of getting the job.

Women should wear a conservative suit dress. Avoid excessive jewelry, make-up, perfume and bright nail polish.

Interview do’s and don’ts:

(1) Arrive early. If you arrive late, you’ll be rushed and the interviewer may consider you unreliable.

(2) Walk briskly, with purpose, and stand up straight.

(3) Don’t smoke, chew gum, slouch, read a novel, or other similar activities while you are waiting in the lobby. If some of the company’s literature is available, read that instead.

(4) Give the interviewer a firm handshake, and don’t be afraid to look him or her in the eye.

(5) Be prepared. Carry an extra copy of your resume and academic record.

(6) Don’t talk too much … or too little.

(7) Above all, try to be natural and relaxed. Be yourself.

Before and during the interview …

(1) Be positive and enthusiastic.

(2) Try to focus upon your accomplishments and achievements in past jobs.

(3) Find out as much as possible about the job duties and requirements of the position you are applying for. This will help you to be able to ask further questions.

(4) Find out as much as possible about the company.

(5) If you are really interested in the job, let the interviewer know about it.

(6) Questions you need to ask include: when will the job start? To whom do I report? What would a typical day be like?

(7) Don’t be too concerned about salary and benefits at first. If you are selected, they will make you a salary offer. Toward the end of the interview you can ask about benefits.

AFTER THE INTERVIEW

There are a number of things that you can do after the interview that will make you an even more attractive job candidate. Here are a few tips:

(1) Write a thank you letter. If you really want the job, say so in the letter. (2) If you have not heard anything within 8 to 10 days, you may want to call. Assure them that you are not trying to be pushy, but that you are just interested. If you aren’t hired, you can still send a thank you letter to the company and ask them to keep you in mind for any other similar job openings. Also, you may want to ask the interviewer for a specific reason as to why you weren’t hired. This information will help you as you search for other jobs.

CONCLUSION

Getting a good job that you want is not always easy. There are many qualified people after every top paying position that is available. But if you use the strategies described in this report, you’ll stand a much better chance of success. Be persistent and don’t sell yourself short. You could end up with a much better job in a very short period of time.

AMPLE RESUME

Jerry Jobseeker
12345 Main St.
Anytown, U.S.A.
555-5555

SKILLS

Professional Skills: Experienced in operating a wide variety of analytical instruments including, Flame and Furnace AA, Microwave digestion, Laser flourimeter, and New Job Hunting Method Revealed: Executive Jobs at $100K & Up!

Free job interview tips

admin — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 03:41:00 +0000

Many people would love to get a better job. And most of these same people have the proper training and skills to achieve this goal. Unfortunately, so many job hunters have very poor communication skills. They are unable to clearly tell potential employers about their job qualifications. In short, they do not have good job seeking skills. In many cases, this prevents them from getting a high paying job that they could easily do. Often, the job will go to someone who is less skilled but who has written a eye-catching resume.

The resume is the first step, your introduction to an employer. First impressions really do count. If you make a poor first impression, you’ll never get to step two — the job interview.

RESUME BASICS

RESUME APPEARANCE

Another phase of your resume’s appearance is it’s accuracy. Make sure there are no misspelled words! Mistakes will create the wrong image.

OPTIONAL DATA

RESUME STYLES

This type of resume allows you to call attention to your achievements. The major disadvantage is that employers may find it difficult to follow your work experience.

Many people discover that a combination of these two kinds of resumes is the best way to go. You may want to try several different types of combinations before settling upon a final design.

WRITING YOUR RESUME

Some specific topics that your resume should cover are:

(1) Job Objective — lets the employer know that you are interested in a specific type of work. This can be done in 2 or 3

sentences.

Example: work in an analytical chemistry laboratory that focuses on environmental samples. Oversee and coordinate the activities of other lab technicians.

(3) Professional Skills — is the section where you give specific details about your qualifications. Example:

INSTRUMENTS OPERATED A. Atomic Absorption Spectrometer B. Microwave Digestion System C. Polarograph D. Laser Fluorimeter E. IBM Computers

ADMINISTRATION A. Supervised 8 technicians when the Department head was absent.

ANALYSIS A. Waste oils for metals B. Water and soil

(5) Education — gives a summary of all schools attended, degrees earned, and special seminars or training courses that you have attended.

(6) Honors and Awards — it’s a good idea to list any special awards you have received.

(7) Personal — information about your hobbies and activities should be included.

(8) Others — professional organizations that you belong to, computer or programming skills, articles or books published.

(9) References — you can state something like, “references available upon request,” or list at least 3 on your resume.

UNCOVERING JOBS

Many people do not have good job hunting skills. They are not experts at locating job openings for which they may be qualified. Here are some ideas to help you uncover those jobs.

NEWSPAPER ADS — usually draw the greatest number of applicants, so you’ll end up with a lot of competition. If you have no geographic restrictions, you may want to check out of state newspapers.

Find a way to make your resume stand out so that it isn’t lost among the many applicants. Here are a couple of ideas:

(1) Send a customized cover letter with your resume.

PRIVATE EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES — these are agencies that try to match employees and employers. These agencies vary in the way they work. Some can be very helpful. Others are somewhat unscrupulous.

Other good places to look include: trade shows and professional conventions, personnel offices, college placement offices, friends you have who are in the same profession as you.