Nycor Group - Professional Tips and Advice (Resume Writing Tips)

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The Basics -

1) Enter your name, address, and other contact information centered at the top of the page, then begin your resume with an overall ‘summary’ which will provide an overview of your skills and experience. Use plain, bold lettering for your name and heading. Your name should be the largest thing on the page and easy to read. Fancy fonts can make the resume harder to read and the sender appear unprofessional. If the resume is more than one page number the pages or place a header with you name and the page number in the top corner. This prevents accidental loss of a page.

2) Next, list employment history in reverse chronological order, (most recent job first). Always include your title(s) and exact dates. If you received a new title or position during your tenure with a single employer, it’s considered alright to create a separate paragraph to describe that work. Also, consider bullet points to make an impact on the reader. Long paragraphs often don’t get read, so it is best to make impactful one-sentence statements using descriptive, ‘action’, words.

1) Use descriptive words to detail what you accomplished and contributed at each position. Avoid a nondescript listing of duties. Employers want to know what value you bring in terms of productivity so highlight your unique capabilities and sell yourself!

2) Be sure to include a listing of specific technical skills – (i.e. Autocad 2004, Unigraphics V.9 & 10, TQM, SPC, JIT, MRP, Visual C++, MFC, COM, DCOM, etc..). Citing specific skills either in the body of your resume, or as a separate section is vital in the technical realm because your marketability is often in direct proportion to your ‘know-how’. Also, a non-technical person may be reviewing resumes in search of ‘buzzwords’ only and weed out those that don’t have the readily apparent skills.

3) Finally, wrap up with Education listing degree(s) earned, dates received, University attended, etc.. All other training specific to your career should be included here as well. Even company sponsored training and seminars may be listed if that training enhanced your technical abilities.

Consider the reader -

As you formulate your resume, consider your audience. Who’s going to be reading your resume and making a decision about bringing you in for an interview?

· As good as they are, many human resources staffers aren’t as adept at discerning the skills of a software engineer as they relate to a current open position they are working. As mentioned in item number 4, help them match your skills for the job by including the list of ‘buzzwords’.

· A technical hiring manager will know what all the buzzwords on your resume mean, but is probably looking for what you have done with those technical skills. Again, list accomplishments and contributions via ‘action’ words such as, ‘Led’, ‘Developed’, ‘Implemented’, ‘Improved’, ‘Managed’, etc… If the technical manager reviewing your resume knows the value you can bring to the table, he can have confidence in bringing in a potential star that will make him look good to his boss. (The terms ‘he’ and ‘him’ are meant to be gender neutral here)

· All you want your resume to do is to generate enough interest by the reader to want to bring you in for an interview. It must be written in such a way that it does not distort or embellish your background, but still it must ‘SELL’ you to the reader. Again, consider your audience, and have knowledgeable people review your resume and give you candid feedback.

· We have all heard that we should keep our resumes to ‘one page’, but it may not be practical to squish 20 years of highly technical jargon and education onto one sheet. Best bet is to come up with a one page synopsis of your skills, accomplishments, and education along with company, title, and dates of employment. This can be used in situations where you may want to just introduce your skills and generate enough interest to get an interview. You can always ship them your multi-page ‘War and Peace’ version if required. Also, never hesitate to tweak your resume for different positions in order to highlight certain aspects. Leaving some things out, putting different things in depending on the position can make for a more focused resume.

Final thoughts:

· We don’t recommend an ‘objective’ unless you’re in a very narrow niche industry. For most of you, including an objective could pigeon hole you and possibly lock you out of an opportunity.

· Leave off all personal information such as high school graduation date, whether you’re married/single, height/weight, social security number, number of children, hobbies, etc.. As much as we want people to know who we are, unrelated information is unnecessary and distracting. Unless it is information that helps qualify you for the job, leave it off. You can share these things with your co-workers after you start. Be choosy about which awards you list. Mention ones only pertinent to the position or your field, with the exception of such things as Leadership awards.

· If you are faxing a resume ALWAYS include a cover page that states how many pages are being sent. Even if it a simple cover page you put together yourself, it makes sure that your resume is completely received and prevents it from being mixed up with other miscellaneous faxes.

· If you are emailing a resume, remember that if you send an attachment someone at the company is going to be reading the file name you saved it under. Use a professional appearing email address. Addresses with your name are best such as JohnSmith@VirginaCompanyofEngland.com. There are more than enough free email sites out there that creating such a thing should be easily accomplished. It is nice if you feel you are twohott4you@whateverdomain.com but a future employer won’t be impressed. Do not under any circumstance use an email address that includes profanity, racial slurs, sexual content or other offensive items. Remember, everything counts in making that first good impression.

· At Nycor, our policy is to always contact you prior to submitting your resume or credentials to any client company. To insure that other firms you are dealing with let you know what they are doing on your behalf, consider including the following notice on the cover sheet you send with your resume:

“Notice: This information is provided to enable you to determine possible matches for your or your clients’ needs. Possession of this information does not constitute authority to present it to a client or to act as my agent in any other way. I request that I be contacted regarding each individual employment opportunity to obtain my permission before discussing or presenting my resume to a client company or hiring authority. Doing so will allow us to avoid potential conflicts of interest relative to your efforts on my behalf and my own search activity.”