Hastings Business Support

Resume Preparation

Foreword

     This page describes, section by section, the information you will need to provide. If you have a previous resume, you may e-mail it — plus any updates. If you have a previous cover letter, please e-mail it also, because this helps me to get a fuller picture of how you present yourself to employers.

     If you are starting from scratch, print this page to use as a guide while you make your rough draft. Use Microsoft Word format for the draft, if available, and send the draft as an attachment. If you don't have Word, copy and paste your text into the body of the e-mail message.

     If you prefer to give your initial input over the phone, rather than make a rough draft, let me know so that we can arrange a time. If an evening session is more convenient, I can arrange this also, Monday through Saturday.

Initial Contact

     There are items in every project that require live discussion. Ordinarily, I will have two phone discussions with you — one during your initial inquiry and the other when I call you back after having reviewed your material.

     During the first phone visit, I will tell you the usual price ranges and turnaround times. Then, once I've reviewed your material, I will bring up any questions that I might not be able to answer on my own. I will also give you a firm price on the project — a no-obligation quote.

Rates

     Most resume projects for jobs in the private sector run $100. This includes resume, cover letter, and reference list. Longer projects can run $120 and occasionally $150. A typical federal resume is $120. Longer ones can be $150 to $200. With federal submissions, we're not bound by the standard two-page limit.

     Please be aware that these are ballpark ranges. Once I see your material and know what I'm dealing with, I can give you a firm price.

Payment Procedure

     If the price meets with your approval and you would like me to do the job, I will then get your payment information. You may use a major credit or debit card, or you may write a personal check or money order.

     When the finished work is ready for your review, I will e-mail it to you — ordinarily within three business days. If you need follow-up adjustments to your finished documents for a better fit, I will include them in the price.

General Guidelines

     Resumes shouldn't go over two pages. Employers usually discard anything longer — unless you're submitting a curriculum vitae (CV). The top quarter of page 1 is crucial. It often determines whether an employer decides to read all that follows.

     Employers don't like to search through dense, long paragraphs to find information. The main points should stand out instantly and be easy to remember.

      I achieve this by breaking up long paragraphs and by sparing use of bullet points. In a list where each item is only one line, bullets are unnecessary. Their main purpose isn't to emphasize items but to keep the reader from getting lost. Also, in a resume, I write all numbers as numerals, not words. This makes them easier to pick out and remember.

     If you print your final document, use a laser printer, if possible, and plain white 8½ x 11 paper. Forget the special textures and colors.

     If you send your document by conventional mail, use an envelope large enough to keep the pages flat — no folding, clipping, or stapling.

Cover Letter

     This makes your first impression. Many employers decide to read or toss a resume on the basis of the accompanying letter. I usually write it myself, based on your verbal and written input; but as mentioned above, if you have a previous letter, I'd like to see it so that I can start as much as possible from your point of view.

     Don't send a resume without a letter — unless an employer has instructed you otherwise. Make it less than one full page — with short paragraphs. It introduces you to a prospective employer and should clearly state your objective and key qualifications for the position you're seeking. If possible, it should give one or two brief, specific examples of your achievements.

     Don't address the letter to "Dear Sir or Madam" or "Dear Human Resources Manager," etc. Take time to find out who does the hiring so that you can address this person by name. Call the company or check its Web site.

     Keep the ball in your court. Don't close with "I look forward to hearing from you." The odds are that you won't hear anything. When I come across this problem in letter drafts, I fix it by making a commitment on your part to phone the employer — within one week after submission — to schedule an interview. Once you've submitted your resume, mark your calendar and be sure to follow through by making this call.

Professional Profile

     I ordinarily write this section myself, based on the input you give me. I have taken this example, slightly condensed, from a resume I prepared for a Chief Operating Officer:

     This executive, a veteran human resources manager, was very pleased with the work I did for him. He told me: "With your layout — and your letter — this is the kind of resume I would want to pick up and read — not just put aside, as I have to do with so many of them. There just isn't time to read them all."

     For more customer feedback, see Testimonials.

Core Competencies

     This is another section that I usually write, using your input. I aim for a compact list summarizing your qualifications — perhaps as many as 12 items consisting of one- or two-word phrases — showing areas of your expertise relevant to your job search. For instance, if you have had success in Teaching and Training, Contract Negotiations, Strategic Marketing, or Operational Turnarounds, mention such items.

Professional Experience

     If your work history is extensive, give only the last ten years or so, especially if this will keep the resume from running beyond two pages. List the most recent assignment first and continue in reverse-chronological order.

     Keep job descriptions brief. If I start to get bored with them, be assured that the employer is going to get bored, too. Focus on accomplishments, not tactical day-to-day items.

Awards, Honors, Recognition

     Sometimes I list these standout items in a section by themselves, preceding Professional Experience. These can be either formal awards (some companies don't give them) or initiatives you took — when you went above and beyond normal job requirements and added lasting value.

     Try to emphasize things you did in each position that made you a standout and produced long-term benefits for the company. Employers want to know what you've done; but — still more important — they want to know what you can do for them — and what you're especially good at doing. Here is one example from my own experience:

Licensure and Certification

     List items relevant to your job search — with the years, if known, that you obtained each license or certificate. If the license or certificate is no longer valid, either get it renewed or skip mentioning it.

Computer Skills

     Since the computer is in nearly every workplace these days, no matter how large or small a part it may play in the job you're seeking, be sure to list any computer skills you have — operating systems, software programs, and programming languages.

Education

     If you have college experience, skip mentioning your high school education. List the most recent degree or certificate first and continue in reverse-chronological order: If you graduated within the last couple of years, list your grade-point average (GPA). Otherwise, leave it out, unless you're applying for a federal position. For recent graduates, I move the Education section up to second position on page 1 — right below Professional Profile.

Other Professional Development

     List training courses, workshops, and seminars relevant to your job search. Give, if possible, the years you completed them.

Related Professional Organizations

     The following are examples of such organizations listed in resumes I have done for senior managers:

• Strategic Leadership Forum
• Association for Management Consulting
• American Marketing Association
• American Advertising Federation

References

     Don't list references as part of the resume document — and don't bother with "Available on Request." Keep your reference list ready in case an employer brings up the subject during an interview or phone visit. It should have all available contact information for each person — phone number, full address, and e-mail address.

Don't Get Personal

     Omit hobbies (unless relevant to your job search), reasons for leaving former positions, date of birth, marital status, health status, and children's names and/or ages. These items can wait till the job application stage and/or interview stage. Handle this material the same way you would handle references — i.e., don't volunteer any of it unless asked for it.

Internet Postings

     If you need to post your resume on the Net and don't know how to do so or don't have the time, I can post it for $20 extra. See Rates above. Just give me the Web address where you would like the file uploaded.

     Key words, based on the job description in the vacancy announcement, are important.

     Net postings — and some e-mail transmittals — require a plain-text (ASCII) version of your resume — .txt format — which renders the material as follows:

• Courier New (typewriter) font — 10-point size
• 80 characters per line — maximum
• All lines left-justified and blocked from left margin
• No headers or footers
• No formatting — i.e., no boldface, underlining, italics, or indents
• No bullets

     If you don't know how to make a plain-text version and would prefer not to do it yourself, I can take care of it for $20 extra.

Federal Resumes

     Federal resume guidelines are exacting and must be followed precisely. I have a copy of these guidelines and can help you set up a federal resume — or review what you have already prepared — to make sure that it meets submission requirements.

     Note key words in the vacancy announcement and incorporate them into your own text. At a later stage, either you or I will input your resume into an online federal form. The system database will then match key words in your text to key words in the job posting.

     Thus it is crucial that all words and names be spelled correctly. I once had to take apart two federal resumes — and rebuild them line by line — for a customer who not only couldn't spell — or, perhaps, simply didn't know how to use spell-check — but also couldn't seem to find the space bar.

     On the phone, this man came across as intelligent and motivated — with good initiative and a keen sense of where he wanted to go career-wise. However, judging from his typing and spelling alone, I would have guessed the very opposite. It's no wonder the database system rejected him as unqualified — even though he was, in fact, found to be qualified for the positions he sought. So many key words — and other words, for that matter — were misspelled in his original material that the system threw him out.

Final Observations

     With resume work, computer technology and e-mail have increasingly come into play since the mid-1990s. When I started my business in 1996, many of my customers didn't have Internet access and e-mail; so I held a good number of face-to-face visits when starting projects.

     Today, most of my customers are using available technology to get these projects done without having to leave their homes or offices. Consequently, I now hold most consultations by phone, and I receive most of the original written input by e-mail — some by fax.

     Spelling, punctuation, and grammar are crucial. Lapses in these areas can detract from impressive credentials and performance. And they can sink your credibility.

     With today's software programs that make it easy to create your own resume, it is especially important to have your material reviewed by a professional. If I couldn't find any way to improve on your original, I would turn down the job. But, invariably, I will find things to improve — just as I do in my own writing.

Copyright © 1997–2008 by Jim Hastings. All rights reserved.

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