Attention HR folks: need help creating current resume

[eks6426]

My husband and I own a Nextel store. My husband is the main one who works in it. I have a regular full-time job that I''ve had for almost 10 years. Sales have not been great the last year and to top things off Nextel has changed their commission calculating program and the dealers like my husband have not been paid correctly for months. It''s time to get out so my husband is now going to look for a full time job of his own.

But he hasn''t had to create a resume for over 20 years. I haven''t done one in over 10. I have a feeling resumes have changed a lot in that time. I know they are mostly sent electronic now and that "keywords" are really important. I''ve looked at sites like Monster etc. for finding jobs but we still need resume writing help. I''m looking for advice on what is "current" for resume writing and any links to good examples.

Thanks!

 

[onvacation]

I don''t know if I''m remembering correctly, but either you/hubby were somehow affiliated with the U of I once, right? (I don''t think I ever found out where you had your wedding; did you really get to do it on the quad? I heard from a friend that you couldn''t do it these days... but I could be wrong.)

Anyhow, if you are alumni, maybe these links can help.

Job postings :

http://www.ilir.uiuc.edu/career/alumni.htm

Resume writing tips (key words, especially!):

http://www.illinoisptmba.uiuc.edu/m/career%20services/Job%20Search/


The Alumni Career Center can help you with the job transition process, but for a fee, if you''re interested:

http://www.uiaa.org/careers/




Best of luck to you and your DH!

 

[eks6426]

OnVacation You have a terrific memory. My husband I did indeed get married on the Quad at U of I..in front of the auditorium in July 2005. We had our reception outside between Lincoln Hall & the English building. It took some work, but we did get it done. One big rule U of I has in no tents on the Quad. They definitely don''t have a 1 stop shop for having a wedding on the Quad.

Thanks for the links! I will definitely check them out.

 

[Haven]

First--You were married on the quad at U of I?! I''m jealous! I spent four years trekking between the English building and the vending room in the Union! It must have been gorgeous.

As for your resume, I''m not an HR person but I am an English teacher, and I used to teach resume writing when I taught college writing. The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University has some fantastic resources; it would be a great place to start. Scroll down the page to the section titled "Employment Documents".

Good luck to you and your husband with your resume writing and job searches!

 

[EricaR]

My FI is a recruiter and his one main piece of advice is to always double, triple, hell even quadruple check your spelling and grammar. His company has a hard and fast rule of tossing out all resumes with even the smallest mistakes on them. FI feels that they are missing out on a lot of good candidates doing it that way, but it is far from being an uncommon practice.

 

[HappyAnniversary]

Someone I know is responsible for hiring, so he looks at a lot of resumes. He loves it when they send them by e-mail because he can look into how they formatted the resumes, did they do it professionally, or did they use lots of unnecessary key-strokes that shows they don''t know how to use Word very well. I never realized that could be done, or that the interviewer would be interested in that, so I thought I''d pass that along, too. No other hints. Good luck.

 

[HollyS]

Date: 2/18/2008 8:45:23 AM
Author:IslandDreams
My husband and I own a Nextel store. My husband is the main one who works in it. I have a regular full-time job that I've had for almost 10 years. Sales have not been great the last year and to top things off Nextel has changed their commission calculating program and the dealers like my husband have not been paid correctly for months. It's time to get out so my husband is now going to look for a full time job of his own.

But he hasn't had to create a resume for over 20 years. I haven't done one in over 10. I have a feeling resumes have changed a lot in that time. I know they are mostly sent electronic now and that 'keywords' are really important. I've looked at sites like Monster etc. for finding jobs but we still need resume writing help. I'm looking for advice on what is 'current' for resume writing and any links to good examples.

Thanks!

I spent many years in HR. I still ask applicants for their resumes, even for 'inconsequential' jobs like receptionist. (I'm purposely being a smartie here, so don't get annoyed at my classification of receptionist.) It may seem like no big deal, but resumes will tell you most of what you need to know about a prospective employee.

First, and foremost: NEVER USE THE RESUME FORM AVAILABLE ON YOUR SOFTWARE PACKAGE. EVER. It tells me you have no creative skills, you don't like attention to detail, and you will rely on a 'form' or 'template' for your 'go-to' advice on how to do most everything. And, if you desire a position in a business office, it will tell me that you do not know how to do a resume. And that ain't good.

Second: Leave your hobbies and other 'fun' stuff out of the resume. And, I don't want to know that you are a Sunday School teacher. My first thought (even as a regular church goer myself) is that you might be intolerant of other people if they aren't pious like you.

Third: DO NOT FUDGE ANY DETAILS. We will check. We will call your last employer. We will. And, yes, we do know that you purposely chose to give us your friends names for references. That's why we won't call them at your former/present place of employment.

Fourth: Be forthright about gaps in employment. Tell us you were in school; raising children; caring for a sick parent; living in another country, etc. Explain those gaps, because we pay attention to the dates of your prevous employment.

Fifth: This is not something you can do on a resume, unless you have been careful about your career from the get-go. The biggest "hell no" for me is seeing someone jump around from job to job to job. If you can't work more than 18 mos at any one job, don't apply for a job with me.

Sixth: NEVER BE VAGUE about previous employment. Do not fail to give dates; do not fail to give details; do not gloss over anything. It's a big red flag.

Seventh: Do not make a big deal out of a small job. Do not tell me YOU (implying you alone) revamped anything that your employer did routinely. Do not imply that the place was never better than when you worked there. If they loved you that much, they would have found a way to keep you.

Eighth: Goes along with the above. Do not detail volunteer work as though it were an actual job. We've all been involved in community service organizations at one time or another. We all know they do not run as well oiled machines; not even the committee you chaired.

Those above items are the details I pay attention to when looking at a prospective employee. I have developed an (almost) unerring eye for hiring the right person based on their resume.

This may not be advice specific to you or your husband, but general advice for nearly anyone.

 

[eks6426]

Thank you for the responses. Most of what you are saying are things that are basic enough that I learned 15 years ago when I graduated from college and so did my husband who graduated 25+ years ago. Glad to know things haven''t changed that much. I did not know about the keystroke thing on Word. Interesting that it is not recommended to use the resume from a software package. My husband talked to a local recruiter who actually recommended my husband go out and buy a software package like ResumeMaker....

What is the best way to organize a resume given that my husband has had varied jobs. He was in retail management, transportation/logistics, sales & marketing, then owned his own business. He doesn''t have gaps in his resume, but a lot of varied employemnt. He held each job for several years so it''s not like he was jumping ever 18 months. We''re not sure whether he should use the standard chronological format or something different.

 

[HollyS]

Date: 2/19/2008 3:42:34 PM
Author: IslandDreams

Thank you for the responses. Most of what you are saying are things that are basic enough that I learned 15 years ago when I graduated from college and so did my husband who graduated 25+ years ago. Glad to know things haven''t changed that much. I did not know about the keystroke thing on Word. Interesting that it is not recommended to use the resume from a software package. My husband talked to a local recruiter who actually recommended my husband go out and buy a software package like ResumeMaker....

What is the best way to organize a resume given that my husband has had varied jobs. He was in retail management, transportation/logistics, sales & marketing, then owned his own business. He doesn''t have gaps in his resume, but a lot of varied employemnt. He held each job for several years so it''s not like he was jumping ever 18 months. We''re not sure whether he should use the standard chronological format or something different.

Chronological ordering of job experiences is best. It appears clearly and concisely on the resume, and makes following his career path easy for the possible employer. They won''t care about his varied background; in fact, they will probably like that. Shows he is flexible/adaptable and ready for anything.

 

[omieluv]

Date: 2/19/2008 3:42:34 PM
Author: IslandDreams

Thank you for the responses. Most of what you are saying are things that are basic enough that I learned 15 years ago when I graduated from college and so did my husband who graduated 25+ years ago. Glad to know things haven''t changed that much.

What is the best way to organize a resume given that my husband has had varied jobs. He was in retail management, transportation/logistics, sales & marketing, then owned his own business. He doesn''t have gaps in his resume, but a lot of varied employemnt. He held each job for several years so it''s not like he was jumping ever 18 months. We''re not sure whether he should use the standard chronological format or something different.

Much advice that has been provided will give you a starting point for creating a "good" resume. However, if you want to create a resume that "pops," be sure to incorporate measurable achievements into the resume. Below is an example from a resume that I helped a friend create, but keep in mind that this person was employed at the same company for 10 years and held multple roles


Midwest Regional Manager

Promoted to manage entire product line. Opened a 7500 sq. ft. facility in Elk Grove Village, IL by negotiating the lease, designing the plant and coordinating with contractors to prepare new facility for operation. Determined wages, acquired group health insurance, set up and maintained computer network, hired and trained production & office team, set goals and gave performance reviews. Reorganized plant in 2005 by changing machining procedures and adding a second shift, resulting in increases in production.

Selected Accomplishments
*Opened a larger facility; increasing manufacturing space by 11,500 sq. ft., while reducing costs by $10,000/mo.
*Reorganized Elgin plant resulting in increased production from $110,000 to $251,000 from 09/2005 – 09/2006.
*Managed 5 sales representatives across 9 Midwestern states while managing 1100 accounts across IL & WI.


As you can see, the above description is divided into a general job description (emphasizing on responsibility) and accomplishments. The accomplishment section is bulleted and contains quantitative successes, which were important, as this individual was seeking a similar role. This is what he had come up with:

Midwest Regional Manager
· Responsible for sales in nine Midwest states
· Responsible for the setup and operation of Elgin manufacturing facility
· Supervised plant and office personnel
· Sales representative for Illinois and Wisconsin
· Designed and provided technical sales support for hot runner department

As you can see the above description does not showcase the scope of his job or any of his accomplishments. BTW, one of the links provided by Onvaction takes you to nice list of "action" words would be great to incorporate into a resume. Regarding the length of a resume, 2 pages is OK as long as experience is relevant to the job the person is seeking. In fact, it is quite common to see 2-page resumes for people with management experience. The point is, experience must be relevant and not just excessive filler.

Shortly after we worked together on his resume, he began receiving phone calls. About a month later, he landed a great job offer & has been there for nearly a year.