One of the biggest challenges in resume writing is making sure you get full credit for job responsibilities that go above and beyond your job title. You might have been in this situation. Read on…

Resume Writing: Have you ever been in this situation when job hunting?

Linda holds the position of Office Manager in a small company. Her job encompasses all of the typical duties of her job title. She also has many other responsibilities, such as working with her employer to set policies, communicating with freelance contractors on marketing materials, working with vendors and shipping companies, and following up on sales leads from trade shows. Her job title clearly doesn’t cover all of these job responsibilities.

Now that Linda is looking for a new job, several potential employers have questioned the differences between her job title and the position she holds in the company in terms of responsibilities. One or two have even wondered if she has exaggerated in her resume writing.

Another challenge when looking for a job is the situation where your job title is specific to your current job and company and is not generally understood outside of your company. This may lead to confusion about the nature of your job experience and responsibility.

Both of these situations cause challenges in resume writing, since they represent difficulties in correctly portraying your level of professional experience.   This can be a tough problem if you are committed to remaining truthful in your resume about your job title.   Unless you want to risk having your potential employer think you have lied on your resume, then remaining truthful is the best way to go. Therefore, you are faced with the decision of how to portray your job on your resume. Should you change your job title to better represent the job you actually do, or should you list your actual title and then try to explain what your responsibilities are? Let’s look at both options more closely.

Resume Writing: Upgrading your job title

Let’s first examine the option of changing your job title when writing your resume. If your title is unique or specific to your employer, look for an equivalent title that is well-known and accepted in your industry. As an example, say you provide customer support for a specific product or service, and your title reflects the name of the product or service. Try changing your job title to Product Support Specialist or Customer Support Representative in your resume.

Here is one note of caution in your resume writing. Don’t give yourself a promotion by changing your job title. Making it sound like you have more responsibility or authority or a much higher salary is dishonest and can destroy your credibility with a potential employer.

Resume Writing: Providing more detail about job responsibilities

The second option for handling the problem of your job title implying less responsibility than you actually have is to include your current job title but to also augment it with more information. For example, if you are a Customer Support Representative but also are responsible for new employee training, list your job title as Customer Support Representative / Trainer. After you list the job title, provide a strong description of your actual responsibilities, listed in order of priority and relevance.

This second option is more honest because you are only adding to your job title to add more information about your actual job responsibilities. If an interviewer were to run a background check or call one of your references, you wouldn’t have to worry about misrepresentation of your job title. Your credibility will not come into question.

Resume Writing: The Final Tip – Be Honest

One of the most important tips in resume writing is to keep your resume truthful. Present yourself honestly, focus on your strengths and positive traits, and you will have a winning resume that you can be proud of.

Resume Writing Format Rule #1 – Avoid resume templates

There are several rules which will help you create a winning format for
your resume. The first rule is to begin with an empty page. This means
stay away from templates which are available for Microsoft Word and
other word processing packages. These templates are widely used and can
make your resume look common and out-of-date. Your resume won’t stand
out when you use a template.

Another problem with using templates for your resume writing is that it
may not convert well for email and job website uploads. Instead of
using a template, search online for contemporary resume samples. You
will be able to find samples which are tailored for your particular
industry. Take your empty page and craft a resume that has all the best
features of the resume samples you find online.

Resume Writing Format Rule #2 – Keep it simple

A longstanding rule of resume writing says to keep it to one page.
However, if your educational background and experience are extensive,
it’s acceptable to add a second page. Don’t go beyond two pages! Before
adding that second page, see if you can leave out experience and skills
which aren’t relevant to the job you’re seeking.

Avoid adding images or pictures to your resume, even if you’re
seeking a position in a creative field. Save the creativity for a
portfolio of your work.

Resume Writing Format Rule #3 -  Keep the style consistent

One
inch margins at the top and bottom and sides of the page are standard.
Left justification of text is more modern looking than centered text.
Use a single font throughout the resume. A good font size to use is 12
point. Use a larger font size, such as 14 point, for your name and any
headings and make them bold and all caps. Avoid underlining text in
your resume, since this resembles a hyperlink.

Resume Writing Format Rule #4 -  Keep the layout neat

Watch your use of tabs and spaces. Use tabs instead of spaces for
alignment to help ensure consistency in the layout of your resume. As
you lay out the various parts of your resume, keep in mind that if it’s
being viewed electronically with a different version of software, some
aspects of the formatting may change. Margins may shrink or grow,
paragraph styles may differ, bullets may have an alternate appearance,
etc. By keeping your layout as simple and consistent as possible, you
can avoid some of these unexpected changes.

Creating a PDF version of your resume will allow you to avoid the
problems of layout shifting. Many PDF creation programs are available
online, such as the one found at www.cutepdf.com

When you’ve finished your resume writing, get the help of family and
friends. Ask them to review your resume and give you feedback on the
formatting. Email the resume and see how it looks in electronic form.
Also verify that a print version of the resume looks good, with correct
margins and well laid out content.

The most important thing to remember about formatting your resume is to
aim for a clean and simple presentation. Once you have that in place,
focus on the writing and content, and you’ll get the job you’re
seeking.

Why do we need a resume?

First of all, your resume is a tool to help you throughout in your career. You use a resume for job hunting, promoting yourself in certain social events, filling places for a course, and establishing your credibility in a particular field.

Since it is intended for others to understand and evaluate you against others, it has to be competitive in the sense that you are trying to distinguish yourself from others.

Should we write a short or a long resume?

The best resumes are short and concise. The people who will use your resume are not people looking to read a novel. They are looking to quickly learn about your qualities in order to answer their questions about you – and they want it fast! So you have to anticipate what their questions will be before you write your resume. If you do not know what they are looking for, you can never write a good resume.

How do we write a good resume?

Resume writing has to be specific and targeted for a particular purpose. That means you have to know your audience when writing.

How do I begin? 

Begin with your name and contact methods.

Should I include a photo in my resume?

It depends. If you think you are good looking, do include one. If you think that a picture would discriminate you from others, then do not include one. In general, in my experience as a recruiter I am usually more impressed with resumes that include photos because it helps me remember a stranger better. Place your bet!

Should I include information such as sex, age, etc.?

It depends. Some countries prohibit employers from soliciting this information during recruitment because it is a type of discrimination. But if you think you are at an advantage by providing this unsolicited information (for instance, if it’s obvious that your mature age will help in securing a higher chance of further interviews for a job requiring long management experience), then by all means provide this.

What is a career objective?
This is the section of your resume that comes right after your contact information. Write about how your career direction coincides with what the audience is looking for. Try to write your objective based on your past, present, and future goals. Demonstrate how you grew from (something) in the past to (something advanced) in the present, and how you are looking to attain certain future goals by shooting for (something even more advanced) now and in the future. 

For example: "Having worked for the past six years as an office administrator, I completed a part-time college degree and am now pursuing a Masters degree in Business Administration. I am looking to advance my career as a competent office administration manager by taking part in soft skills training such as presentation and leadership skills. I am seeking a new job challenge that allows me to work in a managerial role in which I will have the opportunity to lead people in accomplishing various and challenging office administration responsibilities."

It does not matter what type of job opportunities you are looking for. If you have this question in mind, read on.

Studies show that the majority of hiring involves candidates referred by internal staff – that is, candidates coming from the connections of an organization’s existing staff.

There are many reasons for this phenomenon. First of all, hiring from internal referrals saves a lot of administrative and advertising cost. It also eliminates money spent on head hunters and employment agencies for their search support.

Also, it may be a proven way to reduce the chance of recruiting inappropriate people because internal staff should understand more about a company’s requirements, and are more likely to recommend suitable people for a company’s job openings.

Some have commented that this practice is especially popular for finding suitable candidates of management job opportunities. However, I would say the practice applies to all kinds of job opportunities, no matter whether they are management job opportunities, or other popular job offers such as accounting job opportunities. I even see people securing openings for overseas job opportunities in this way.

Okay, then, how can we increase our chances of getting job opportunities in this way?

The number one thing you should do is become engaged in widening your personal networks. There are two online resources that can help you to do this immediately.

The first one is Linkedin.com . This is a social network facility. Unlike other social network facilities that focus more on promoting your personal network for non-work related activities, this network very much focuses on promoting your professional background. I have personally seen many head hunters and hiring managers using their personal Linkedin network to look for suitable people for their own company or clients’ hiring needs.

The second resource is Plaxo.com . It was originally a contact address database used to build your contact list online, but has grown to be successfully used as a network tool. With this tool, you can easily update your close contacts with your present working information, including your phone and email contacts. Keeping your connections updated about the ways to contact you ensures that when any new hiring opportunities suitable for you come up, you can be reached immediately. When I was a head hunter, I experienced many occasions when one of my contacts would like to refer suitable people to me, but the connection failed because they did not have updated contact information for those people.

There is one more beautiful feature of this service: it constantly reminds you of the birthdays of your close contacts days before they come. You can then send emails to greet them, and at the same time mention your present working condition. People will be impressed by your good “memory” and more likely to keep you informed of any good job opportunities suitable for you.

Remember, it is always to your own advantage to be contacted by someone for job opportunities rather than actively looking for them yourself. Do you agree?