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Resumes and application forms are two
ways to achieve the same goal: To give the employer
written evidence of your qualifications. When creating a
resume or completing an application form, you need two
different kinds of information: Facts about yourself and
facts about the job you want. With this information in
hand, you can present the facts about yourself in terms
of the job. You have more freedom with a resume--you can
put your best points first and avoid blanks. But, even on
application forms, you can describe your
qualifications in terms of the job's duties.
Know thyself. Begin by assembling
information about yourself. Some items appear on
virtually every resume or application form, including the
following:
* Current address and phone number--if
you are rarely at home during business hours, try to give
the phone number of a friend or relative who will take
messages for you.
* Job sought or career goal.
* Experience (paid and volunteer)--date
of employment, name and full address of the employer, job
title, starting and finishing salary, and reason for
leaving (moving, returning to school, and seeking a
better position are among the readily accepted reasons).
* Education--the school's name, the city
in which it is located, the years you attended it, the
diploma or certificate you earned, and the course of
studies you pursued.
* Other qualifications--hobbies,
organizations you belong
to, honors you have received, and leadership positions
you have held.
* Office machines, tools, and equipment
you have used and
skills that you possess.
Other information, such as your Social
Security number, is often asked for on application forms
but is rarely presented on resumes. Application forms
might also ask for a record of past addresses and for
information that you would rather not reveal, such as a
record of convictions. If asked for such information, you
must be honest. Honesty does not, however, require that
you
reveal disabilities that do not affect your overall
qualifications for a job.
Know thy job. Next, gather specific
information about the jobs you are applying for. You need
to know the pay range (so you can make their top your
bottom ), education and experience usually required,
hours and shifts usually worked. Most importantly, you
need to know the job duties (so that you can describe
your experience in terms. of those duties). Study the job
description. Some job announcements, especially those
issued by a government, even have a checklist that
assigns a numerical weight to different qualifications so
that you can be certain as to which is the most
important; looking at such announcements will give you an
idea of what employers look for even if you do not wish
to apply for a government job. If the announcement or ad
is vague, call the employer to learn what is sought.
Once you have the information you need, you can prepare a
resume. You may need to prepare more than one master
resume if you are going to look for different kinds of
jobs. Otherwise, your resume will not fit the job you
seek.
Two kinds of resumes. The way you arrange
your resume depends on how well your experience seems to
prepare you for the position you want. Basically, you can
either describe your most recent job first and work
backwards (reverse chronology) or group similar skills
together. No matter which format you use, the following
advice applies generally.
.
Use specifics. A vague
description of your duties will make only a vague
impression.
Identify accomplishments. If you
headed a project, improved productivity, reduced
costs, increased membership, or achieved some
other goal, say so.
Type your resume, using a
standard typeface. (Printed resumes are becoming
more common, but employers do not indicate a
preference for them.)
Keep the length down to two pages
at the most.
Remember your mother's advice not
to say anything if you cannot say something nice.
Leave all embarrassing or negative information
off the resume--but be ready to deal with it in a
positive fashion at the interview.
Proofread the master copy
carefully.
Have someone else proofread the
master copy carefully.
Have a third person proofread the
master copy carefully.
Use the best quality photocopying
machine and good white or off-white paper.
The following information appears on
almost every resume.
Name.
Phone number at which you can be
reached or receive messages.
Address.
Job or career sought.
References--often just a
statement that references are
available suffices. If your references are likely
to be
known by the person who reads the resume,
however, their
names are worth listing.
Experience.
Education.
Special talents.
Reverse chronology is the easiest method
to use. It is also the least effective because it makes
when you did something more important than what you can
do. It is an especially poor format if you have gaps in
your work history,
if the job you seek is very different from the job you
currently hold, or if you are just entering the job
market. About the only time you would want to use such a
resume is when you have progressed up a clearly defined
career ladder and want to move up a rung.
Resumes that are not chronological may be
called functional, analytical, skill oriented, creative,
or some other name. The differences are less important
than the similarity, which is that all stress what you
can do. The advantage to a
potential employer--and, therefore, to your job
campaign--should be obvious. The employer can see
immediately how you will fit the job. This format also
has advantages for many job hunters because it
camouflages gaps in paid employment and avoids giving
prominence to irrelevant jobs.
You begin writing a functional resume by
determining the skills the employer is looking for.
Again, study the job description for this information.
Next, review your experience and education to see when
you demonstrated the ability sought. Then prepare the
resume itself, putting first the information that relates
most obviously to the job. The result will be a resume
with headings such as "Engineering,"
"Computer Languages," "Communications
Skills," or "Design Experience." These
headings will have much more impact than the dates that
you would use on a chronological resume.
Fit yourself to a form. Some large
employers, such as fast food restaurants and government
agencies, make more use of application forms than of
resumes. The forms suit the style of large organizations
because people find information more quickly if it always
appears in the same place. However, creating a resume
before filling out an application form will still benefit
you. You can use the resume when you send a letter
inquiring about a position. You can submit a resume even
if an application is required; it will spotlight your
qualifications. And the information on the resume will
serve as a handy reference if you must fill out an
application form quickly. Application forms are really
just resumes in disguise anyway. No matter how rigid the
form appears to be, you can still use it to show why you
are the person for the job being filled.
At first glance, application forms seem
to give a job hunter no leeway. The forms certainly do
not have the flexibility that a resume does, but you can
still use them to your best advantage. Remember that the
attitude of the person
reading the form is not, "Let's find out why this
person is unqualified," but, "Maybe this is the
person we want." Use all the parts of the
form--experience blocks, education blocks, and others--to
show that that person is you.
Here's some general advice on completing
application
forms.
Request two copies of the form.
If only one is provided, photocopy it before you
make a mark on it. You'll need more than one copy
to prepare rough drafts.
Read the whole form before you
start completing it.
Prepare a master copy if the same
form is used by several divisions within the same
company or organization. Do not put the specific
job applied for, date, and signature on the
master copy. Fill in that information on the
photocopies as you submit them.
Type the form if possible. If it
has lots of little lines that are hard to type
within, type the information on a piece of blank
paper that will fit in the space, paste the paper
over the form, and photocopy the finished
product. Such a procedure results in a much
neater, easier to read page.
Leave no blanks; enter n/a (for
"not applicable") when the information
requested does not apply to you; this tells
people checking the form that you did not simply
skip the question.
Carry a resume and a copy of
other frequently asked information (such as
previous addresses) with you when visiting
potential employers in case you must fill out an
application on the spot. Whenever possible,
however, fill the form out at home and mail it in
with a resume and a cover letter that point up
your strengths.
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