Your Résumé

Here are some questions you should ask yourself BEFORE you submit your résumé.
1. Does my résumé emphasize the skills the employer is seeking? You should customize your résumé for each job you apply for. Different employers have different priorities for jobs, even if the job title is the same.
2. Does my Qualifications Summary or Objective market my abilities for the job I’m applying for? If you send out a résumé that says you’re looking to use your experience in the hospitality industry and to advance your career in that field but the job you’re applying for is in a different career field, what do you think is going to happen? Most likely the employer receiving your résumé is going to look at your Qualifications Summary or Objective and see that you’re interested in the hospitality industry. They will think to themselves, “That’s nice, but I don’t have any positions in the hospitality industry.” And then they will put your résumé in the No Interview pile.
3. Are my job skills prioritized in the order of importance to the employer? Look at the job description and make sure the skills you have that the employer is looking for are listed on your résumé in the same order they appear in the job description. For example, an employer lists: team player, computer skills, interpersonal skills, and strong customer service experience, as skills they are looking for. You have the skills and you want the job. Then your résumé should highlight those skills and abilities in the order the employers lists them.
4. PROOFREAD! The truth is that that one word should be enough, however, experience has taught me, it isn’t enough. Just know this, one misspelled word or incorrect word usage can cost you an interview.
5. One to two pages should be sufficient to cover the last 10 to 15 years. The only way you should go back farther is if for example, you’ve been employed by the same employer for the past 20 years or more.
I could go on, however instead let me encourage you to attend your local One-Stop Employment Center’s résumé writing workshop – Seven Steps to Promoting Yourself.
Here is the link Workshop Calendars to the One Stop Employment Center’s web site calendars. Each center has a separate calendar.