Resume review - Making job search easier

As assistant director at the Career Service Center at Southeast Missouri State University, Fran Bock helps people write resumes that get them noticed.By Laura Johnston ~ Southeast Missourian

Although the new semester at Southeast Missouri State University begins today, students are starting their job search months before graduation.

With an economic slowdown and industry cutbacks, people seeking jobs or re-entering the market need an impressive resume to get noticed.

Employers can afford to be more selective now that fewer jobs are available, so a resume should really stand out, said Cheryl Walter, owner of Mailboxes & Parcel Depot in Cape Girardeau, which helps clients write resumes.

Although there isn't any particularly slow or busy season for resume writing, business does seem to pick up more in May when college graduates are preparing for careers, Walter said.

Fran Bock, assistant director at the Career Service Center at the university, helps students and community residents write the resumes that get them noticed -- or at least to the first interview.

The major issue to consider when writing a resume is what kind of job do you want to get, Bock said.

Walter encourages her clients to write a job objective at the top of their resume.

Good resumes should be focused and written in the style that a particular profession selects as appropriate. "If I'm hiring a teacher, then I want a professional teacher's resume. If I'm hiring an accountant, I want an accountant's resume," Bock said.

Brag on yourself

But the basic tips are the same: make a resume easy to read, organize it well, omit spelling and grammar errors.

Walter often suggests that resumes be printed on a lightly colored paper of heavier stock. "I once read that blue was the most appealing to an employer, but I don't know if that's true," she said.

After fixing spelling and grammar errors, it's good to point out strengths and accomplishments, Bock said. Sometimes it helps a resume to list a summary of the person's accomplishments or the career areas they are interested in.

Teresa Neumeyer, who owns The Resume Doktor, said most people don't do a good job of listing their accomplishments. "This is the time to brag on yourself," she said. "It's time to say why you should be hired."

Action verbs and skill clusters -- lists of related skills and job duties -- can help grab a reader's attention, Neumeyer said.

Most employers already have a list of qualifications job candidates should meet, she said. Listing those qualities and skills in a cluster "helps them see what you're qualified for right up at the top."

It is possible to put too much on a resume, and often resumes don't highlight enough of a person's successes and achievements. Personal information and photographs shouldn't be included.

While you should list accomplishments and some description of duties, "it isn't the resume that gets you the job," Walter said. "It's the resume that gets you the interview. It needs to be good, but you don't want to give them all the information because then what will you tell them when you get an interview?"

The presentation style can be one of 1,000 for a resume: You can use bullets, lines or set type in boldface. Regardless of what the presentation style is, "you send a message with your resume," Bock said.

Sample critique

So I gave Bock my resume to critique. And just as she pretends to be an employer when she reads student resumes, she read mine.

After a while she was ready with the assessment:

The resume highlights a bachelor of journalism degree with honors -- that sends a message, she said. Any potential employer at a newspaper would quickly pick up on that since it's in boldface type. But if I were applying for a job as an accountant, it "wouldn't make any sense."

There is little on my resume about the actual responsibilities of my jobs and no verbs. Verbs are important elements on a resume, she said.

"It's important to know where you're trying to get the job so you write the best resume," she said.

And if I was to apply for another job with a newspaper, the message a reader "would get is that you've had a tremendous amount of experience as a writer and as an editor.

"Also one thing I find interesting is that you've worked in different parts of the country, so that probably means you're very sophisticated," Bock said.

But there are some messages you don't find on my resume that are vital to those of new graduates: community or club involvement.

"We just make suggestions on how to make it stronger," Bock said of the advice she offers.

ljohnston@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126