QUANTIFY YOUR SKILL SETS ON YOUR RESUME

by Sheeba Riyas

Before you send out a resume, take a good look at it and ask two questions:

1)      Does it reflect who you are or is it a distorted version?

2)      Does it have the ability to impress potential employers?

Although if your skill sets fails to match the job profile, you would not qualify for an interview, this doesn't mean that you should provide false information in order to qualify for a position. Instead, focus on displaying the appropriate skills sets in a strategic fashion on your resume so that it would get the employer's attention.

If you have participated in certain competitions or extra curricular activities which require skills that match the job profile, during your academic years; including them in your resume would be highly recommended. Similarly, do not mention skills which are not related to the job profile. It is unlikely that a software company would be interested in the pizza eating competition you won in college! In regards to your working experience, ensure that you specify the responsibilities you had when you were with the previous company, along with accomplishments and appraisals must also be mentioned.

Your resume must contain concise and specific information. It should not take more than a minute for someone to go through the entire resume for most employers would not have the time to read pages of curriculum vitae and would prefer to gather sufficient details about the applicant at just a glance.

If you must mention your personal interests or hobbies, believing that they would add value to your personality and potentials; do so in a very brief manner.

At times, an employer would be looking for additional skills in a candidate but may not mention it in the advertisement. A graphics designer who can also handle some basic programming has a better chance of fitting into the job profile than someone who has no additional skills. So, if you have acquired some additional skills that relate to the job profile, it is wise to mention them in your resume, as it would be an added advantage.

Before you begin to create or update your resume, analyze your potentials and skills and create a list. Match the skill sets with the job profile and then include them in your resume appropriately. A resume should reflect you. The resulting image should have clarity, compatibility and facts, as that reaches your interviewer's desk first.

By Michael J. Smith

Someone once told me that when you're conducting an active job search you should be sending out three to five resumes per day. While that number may seem a little high, you should certainly be applying for at least one job per day.

Depending on the length of your job search, that could be a lot of resumes. If memory serves me correctly, I believe I sent out more than 30 resumes as my college graduation approached.

Considering the importance of finding a job, I strongly recommend keeping track of all of the cover letters and resumes you send, as well as all correspondence you send and receive. Being organized can keep you from making a huge blunder during the interview process.

Create a folder on your computer that will hold all of your job search documents. I call mine Job Hunting. Granted, mine will probably be a little different than yours, the concepts should be the same.

For me, inside this Job Hunting folder, I have several subfolders, to even further keep track of things. My subfolders include: Cover Letters, Resumes, Reference List, Salary History, and Thank You Letters.