Resume Recipes

Now is the time of year when a lot of us dust off the cookbooks looking for the perfect holiday recipe or scour the recipe file for Grandmother’s famous jello mold. Resume writing is very similar to crafting the perfect holiday recipe. A successful resume is a culmination of the perfect amount of self-promotion tailored with an eye for editing out unnecessary wording. Below are a few pointers when whipping up the perfect resume:

1. Make sure that your email address is professional, even if you need to create a new email specifically for a job search. Do not use your trusty email address, one that you might have created in junior high. Your resume will not get much traction if your email address is [email protected].
2. Do not get creative with the font or font size. A successful resume utilizes the classics. Stick with Arial or Times New Roman in size 10 to 12.
3. Always look for the keywords in a job posting and tailor your resume accordingly. Resumes are not “one size fits all”. Make sure that your resume lets a potential employer see that you are qualified.
4. Let a trusted companion help you proof read and edit. Sometimes it is easy to miss a typo when you look at something many times. It is helpful to let someone else read your resume for grammatical errors, content, and spelling.
5. Don’t get wordy or fancy. Make sure that your resume comes in under one page and is simple and easy to understand. You want your resume to stand out for its efficiency and targeted writing.
6. Have a solid objective statement that is tailored to the position that you are interested in. Do not simply cut and paste, but instead, think about the position that you are applying for and tailor accordingly.
7. Do your homework. Take time to read the job post and understand what the employer is looking for. Do not waste your energy on positions that you are not qualified for, but instead focus your time on positions that you know you would be a good fit for.
8. Utilize the internet for resume writing tips.

Once you perfect your resume, you will see that your search for the perfect job is a successful as Grandmother’s famous jello is at Thanksgiving.