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Résumé magic : trade secrets of a professional résumé writer
- Author / Creator
- Available as
- Physical
- Summary
-
A giant compendium of advice and before-and-after resume transformations explains resume creation and illustrates professional techniques with actual examples that show why the techniques work. All...
A giant compendium of advice and before-and-after resume transformations explains resume creation and illustrates professional techniques with actual examples that show why the techniques work. All of the tricks professional resume writers use to create eye-catching, result-driven resumes are revealed in this book.
Details
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- Creator
- Susan Britton Whitcomb
- Format
- Books
- Language
- English
- Publication
-
- Fourth edition
- Indianapolis, IN : JIST Works, [2010]
- ©2010
- Physical Details
-
- xxi, 583 pages : illustrations ; 28 cm
- ISBNs
- 9781593577339, 1593577338
- OCLC
- ocn320799583
- Includes index.
- 1. A résumé primer -- Tools for the task -- The résumé tool : asset or liability? -- Employers and candidates usually view résumés as having different purposes -- You need to do more than write a résumé to get a job -- A résumé is most effective when it follows face-to-face or voice contact with a hiring manager -- A support person or computer program will probably be the one to screen your résumé -- Résumés are not read thoroughly -- You won't always need a résumé to land a job -- Then why write a résumé? -- And why this book? -- Some success stories -- Your most important tool -- Top 10 tips to create résumé magic -- 2. How to use branding and advertising strategies to get an interview -- Elements of your career brand -- Authentic image -- Advantages -- Awareness -- The proven ad agency formula -- Step 1 : how to grab your reader's attention -- Headlines and hard-hitting leads -- Visual appeal -- Step 2 : how to capture your reader's interest -- Selling points--front and center -- Where's the center of the page? -- Place supporting information below the visual center -- Skimmable material goes at the bottom of the page -- Step 3 : how to create desire for your product--you! -- Why you buy -- Why employers buy -- Prove your superiority -- Step 4 : call to action -- Top 10 résumé strategy tips -- 3. How to choose the most flattering format to support your résumé strategy -- Two tried-and-true winning formats : chronological and functional -- The chronological format -- A chronological format worked for David -- The functional format -- A functional format helped Grace get a new life -- A "wonder mom" goes back to work -- Marching to new orders -- Genetic variants of the two main résumé types -- The accomplishments format -- An accomplishments format worked for McKenzie -- The combination format -- Condensing 30 years of experience -- The creative format -- Themed résumés -- Using specialty paper -- The curriculum vitae (CV) -- The dateless chronological format -- A dateless chronological format helped Anne -- The international résumé -- The linear format -- A linear format worked for Richard -- The newsletter format -- Some newsletter formats that worked -- The reordered chronological format -- A reordered chronological format helped John -- The targeted format -- A targeted format helped Fred -- If it works, it's right -- Top 10 résumé formatting tips --
- 4. The blueprint for a blockbuster résumé -- Data bits, or contact info -- To list or not to list your business telephone number -- Other solutions for daytime contacts -- Sample résumé headers -- Three data bits -- Four data bits -- Five data bits -- Six data bits -- Seven data bits -- Eight data bits -- Objective, or focus statement -- Key features, or qualifications summary -- Professional experience -- Skills -- Education, credentials, and licenses -- Affiliations -- Publications, presentations, or patents -- Awards and honors -- Bio bites -- Endorsements -- Keywords -- What not to include -- Putting it all together -- Top 10 résumé blueprint tips -- 5. How to write great copy -- Keywords -- What are keywords? -- Where to find keywords -- How to position keywords -- Top 10 résumé keyword tips -- The objective or focus statement -- Cover letter focus statement -- Title statement -- Traditional objective -- Exercise for assembling a focus statement -- The qualifications summary -- Professional experience -- How far back? -- Where to find material for your job descriptions -- How long is too long? -- Solutions for downplaying less-relevant positions -- Recently demoted -- Demoted several months ago -- Most recent position title sounds like a demotion, but isn't -- Obscure titles -- Skills -- Focusing on skills worked for Jan -- Education, credentials, licensure -- Recent high school graduate -- Recent college graduate -- Degree obtained a number of years ago -- Degree in a field different from your major -- Degree not completed -- Two-year degree -- Degree equivalent -- No degree -- Including credentials, licenses, and certificates -- Affiliations -- Publications, presentations, and patents -- Publications -- Presentations -- Awards and honors -- Bio bites -- Endorsements -- Top 10 tips for writing great copy -- 6. Accomplishments : the Linchpin of a great résumé -- What's in it for me? -- Words to woo employers -- Buying motivator #1 : make money -- Buying motivator #2 : save money -- Buying motivator #3 : save time -- Buying motivator #4 : make work easier -- Buying motivator #5 : solve a specific problem -- Buying motivator #6 : be more competitive -- Buying motivator #7 : build relationships/image with internal/external customers, vendors, and the public -- Buying motivator #8 : expand business -- Buying motivator #9 : attract new customers -- Buying motivator #10 : retain existing customers -- Strategies for presenting accomplishments -- Numbers : the universal language -- Comparison--a powerful form of communication -- ROI--how quickly can you deliver? -- The company's mission statement--make it your mission -- The CAR technique--challenge, action, and result -- Where to find material for your accomplishments -- Performance appraisals -- Your career management file -- Impact-mining : probing questions to unearth hidden treasures -- Sifting through the accomplishments you've gathered -- Focusing on accomplishments worked for Patrick -- Use impact statements to portray yourself as the right fit -- Top 10 tips for writing accomplishments --
- 7. Editing : résumé-speak 101 -- Development editing : a primer in power writing -- Top 10 tenets of developing your résumé -- Examples of résumé-speak -- The keys to writing compelling copy -- Address the needs of your audience -- Summarize by using the ABC method -- Focus on transferable skills -- Résumé-speak 101 -- Deliver the goods up front -- Start sentences with action verbs or noun phrases -- Sidestep potential negatives -- Give outdated experience a feeling of real time -- Avoid an employer pet peeve : baseless personality -- Attributes -- Convey confidential information without giving away proprietary/trade secrets -- Technical editing/copyediting : the mechanics of résumé-speak -- Abbreviations -- Acronyms -- Active Voice -- Articles (in absentia) -- Auxiliary or helping verbs -- Capitalization -- Colons and semicolons -- Commas -- Commas that separate -- Commas that set off -- Comma trauma -- Contractions -- Dashes -- Ellipsis marks -- Elliptical sentences -- Gender equity -- Hyphenation -- Numbers -- Parallel sentence structure -- Parentheses -- Parts of speech -- Passive voice -- Periods -- Possessives -- Prepositions -- Quotation marks -- Sentence fragments -- Slashes -- Split infinitives -- Tense -- Verbs -- Writing in the first person -- Prune, prune, prune -- Proof, proof, proof -- Top 10 résumé proofreading tips -- 8. Visual artistry : the missing link -- Design elements -- Create a visual pattern -- Consistency counts -- Use tab stops sparingly -- Apply white space liberally -- Make bullets work for you -- Think in threes -- Keep headings to a minimum -- Segment paragraphs -- Segmenting made Martin's résumé more readable -- Balance is beautiful -- Pay attention to vertical balance -- Balancing a two-column format -- A two-column format worked for Gail -- Balancing a full-width layout -- A full-width layout worked for George -- Balancing unevenly distributed copy -- Patricia's résumé became a good balancing act -- Balancing impact statements -- Justification--ragged right or full justification? -- Hang it on the wall! -- Use typefaces tastefully -- Choosing a font -- Fonts that buy more space -- Use discretion in mixing fonts -- Go easy on bold, underline, and italic -- Establish a logical sizing hierarchy -- Tweaking tips -- Technical tools to create tables -- Add white space -- Change line height -- Expand character spacing -- Tricks to make text fit -- Use bullets strategically -- Creating bullets -- Adding or subtracting spacing between bullets and text -- Changing the type of bullet -- Using the right bullet size -- Use rule lines -- Other graphic elements -- Visual artistry made the difference -- Top 10 visual appeal tips --
- 9. E-résumés, e-portfolios, blogs, social media, and profile sites -- How people get hired -- Résumés in MS Word .doc or .docx format as e-mail -- Attachments or Web form uploads -- The advantages and disadvantages of MS Word résumés for e-mail attachments and Web form uploads -- MS Word résumé do's and don'ts -- Do's -- Don'ts -- ASCII text résumés as e-mail body text or Web form upload -- The advantages and disadvantages of ASCII résumés -- ASCII résumé do's and don'ts -- Do's -- Don'ts -- Steps for ASCII conversion -- Converting to ASCII for E-mailing using MS Word -- Converting to ASCII for pasting into e-forms -- Quick cleanup of an ASCII conversion -- How to post an ASCII résumé to a Web site -- Web résumés, e-portfolios, and blogs -- The advantages and disadvantages of Web résumés -- The technical how-to's of web résumés -- Use an online résumé-builder service -- Do it yourself -- Hire a pro -- What to include in a Web résumé or e-portfolio -- Getting on the blog bandwagon -- Creating a blog -- Using RSS (really simple syndication) technology -- Marketing your blog -- Social media sites and online profiles -- Scannable résumés -- Scannable résumé do's and don'ts -- Do's -- Don'ts -- Applicant-tracking systems : what happens after you e-mail or post your résumé? -- Positive aspects of applicant-tracking technology -- Negative aspects of applicant-tracking technology -- Conflicting advice -- Résumés of the future -- Top 10 technology tips for e-résumés, E-portfolios, and blogs -- 10. Cover letters and other parts of the puzzle -- Strategy and style -- The value mantra -- Sell, don't tell -- Reveal a secret -- The segments of a cover letter -- The carrot -- Example of intrigue [new graduate] -- Example of inspirational quotation -- Example of an interesting fact -- Example of appeal -- The corroboration -- The close -- Cover letter anatomy -- Sticky wickets -- To whom it may concern? -- Missed a filing deadline? -- Terminated from a job? -- Relocating? -- Request for salary information? -- Other types of letters -- Direct-mail campaigns -- Writing to a recruiting firm -- Thank-you letters--a chance to resell yourself -- Other pieces of the puzzle -- References -- When to send references -- When and how to ask for references -- How to improve the traditional reference list -- Networking cards -- Addenda -- LinkedIn profile -- Do -- Don't -- Paper -- Sending your cover letter and résumé -- By surface mail -- By fax -- By e-mail -- Futurist career management -- Top 10 cover letter tips -- Appendix A. Worksheets to catalog professional history -- Appendix B. Survey : what executive recruiters really want in a résumé -- Appendix C. Sample résumés by professional writers -- Index