The current trend in resume writing...

You might not know this, but you need a CORE resume that no one will ever see.  It's a resume with well-written statements that describe your achievements in previous positions...some may call it a generic resume but this is different.  In the "old" days people sent a generic resume to dozens of employers with poor results.  Today, you need a baseline or foundation (core) resume that will be customized for each and every job.

Once you identify the job you want, you customize your CORE resume and it becomes a TARGETED resume for that job, and ONLY that job.  You save it with the name of the company, i.e., CostcoResume.doc and only use it again for the exact same job.  For the next job you apply for, you would create another TARGETED resume from your original CORE resume or in some cases from one of the other TARGETED resumes you've saved.

So what is a resume?

A resume is your professional marketing tool and should always be accompanied by a cover letter. Too many people send resumes with little or no evidence of experience in the job that's available, when a few minutes spent developing a cover letter might explain why the job seeker thinks he or she is a good fit for the job.  It is also a good opportunity to explain what has prompted the career move and job change.

Remember...

If there is little or no work history related to the job opening in the resume, there's little or no hope of getting an interview. Sending out resumes to every job announcement without explaining what you can do for the company does NOT work.

The CDS Career Counselor's thoughts...

The PROCESS of putting together a resume is more important than the end-result or hard-copy...developing skill statements and reviewing your past work-related accomplishments keeps you focused on your strengths and helps you talk about them later in the interview.  Also, I think a personal business card is as important as a resume because it requires you to actually meet people that could help you in your job search...what a thought!  Don't have a personal business card?? See the links in the "networking" folder.

A few resume websites:

Info from the author of the Damn Good Resume Guide and Catalog: www.damngood.com

Scannable and electronic resumes resources: www.eresumes.com

Want resume samples? Go to:  www.bestsampleresume.com

Cover letter website:

http://susanireland.com/coverletters/index.html