Introduction

The following are "tips" or "general rules of thumb" when putting together a resume. The resume is your most important calling card and first impression to a prospective employer. Please use 10, 11, or 12 font size in Arial or Times New Roman font style.

Contact Information

		Include your mailing address, home phone, cell phone and email address.
		In addition, make sure your voicemail message and email address is professionally presented.
		Your name can be two font sizes larger than all other text; make sure all information is balanced and consistent from document to document.

Professional Summary

		Consider starting your resume with a benefit oriented professional summary, not an objective of the position you would like to obtain. The summary should be 3 to 4 sentences describing you and your key skills without using the word "I".
		Try to make this paragraph benefit oriented to the reader (i.e. ...significantly impacting the sales revenues and profits of a fast growing company). Attempt to keep fluff, adverbs, and adjectives to a minimum. Keep your summary focused to the position sought.
		State the number of year's experience you have in your professional field as well as adjectives describing yourself. If you have more than 20 years of experience, just state 15+ years. (All three leading career management associations suggest years mentioned should not exceed 15).

Education

		If you have less than 10 years of work experience, you should create a 1-page resume and Education should go in this order before Technical Skills.
		However, if you have 10 or more years of experience and are creating a 2-page resume, Education should be after your Professional Work Experience. Only under extraordinary situations should a resume be 3 pages.
		If you have more than one degree, start with your highest degree first.
		You need to state your degree, the university attended, city and state of the university, major, and the year your degree was attained. If you earned a degree beyond 15 years, you may consider not including the year attained.remember, your education is a great tool: however, it is not the main catalyst for mid to high level executives.

Technical Skills

		Indicate what hardware, software, operating systems, and networks you are proficient with or have experience using.
		If you work in a non-technical field, it is important to display your additional value i.e. job-specific professional development progressions obtained. Show the reader you can contribute beyond the position being considered.

Professional Experience

		Start with the most recent company first. State your position title, the company name, and the dates of employment in years only. Make sure to bold this information.
		Following this information, you should include a one-line sentence on what your company sells (products and services). This information is helpful so that the reviewer understands the disciplines you have experience in.
		Next, describe in a couple sentences what your duties and responsibilities were in this position.
		In 3 to 5 bullet points following, highlight your accomplishments in this position. Prospective employers do not want to know every detail of your duties, but rather what significant and measurable achievements you were able to accomplish to differentiate yourself from others in a similar role. When you are formulating accomplishments, consider using CAR ( C hallenge, A ction, and End R esult). Use specific dollar amounts or percentages when appropriate to substantiate your success.
		The above process then needs to be repeated for each prior position in reverse chronological order.

Other Components

		Include professional training courses, affiliations with associations, certifications, licenses, accreditations, or languages.
		Hobbies and interests are optional, but should be relevant to the position you are seeking.
		Key seminars attended or relevant books/magazines read.
		Keep your formatting consistent as well as fonts, verbiage, and tone.

Send your resume via e-mail. Most companies prefer to receive it in Word or PDF format as an attachment. Along with your resume, you should always include a brief custom Cover Letter summarizing your primary skills in approximately 3 paragraphs. The primary skills you summarize should also correlate to the position and company (most companies have information on their website that could be invaluable in constructing a cover letter) you are submitting your resume for. You should choose words that show your enthusiasm, passion, and commitment.

Free Resume Critique

Assure your personal career search documents are "up to the job" with a complimentary resume evaluation with our partners, Career Services International . Submit your resume today to: mrchicago@careersi.com for FREE Resume Consultation.