Other Helpful Tips

ResumeTip Sheet

u Don’t use your current employer’s equipment (phone, fax, computer, etc.) for your job search.

u Don’t apply for positions that you aren’t willing to do such as shift work, weekends and jobs that aren’t in your skill or interest area.

u Don’t include any information on your resume that is not relevant to the position.

u Don’t abbreviate technical terms that might not be known to the general public unless they are common abbreviations that are specific to the job for which you are applying.

DON’T

u Customize your resume to fit each position you are applying for, or at least create several resumes to use for different types of positions.

u Match your qualifications with the job description of the position for which you are applying. Review the job description/position posting and identify key skills the employer requires, then make sure you focus your resume on these key skills.

u Bring a list of references to the interview. Make sure you ask your potential references if they would serve as a professional reference before you provide their name to an employer.

u Key words are critical to your resume. Many companies use scanning software to do initial reviews of resumes. These software products are searching resumes for keywords that match the job description.

u Make sure everything on your resume is accurate and true. It will be fact checked and factual errors can eliminate you from a position.

DO

Education/Certifications:

u Include a cover letter with your resume for all positions, even if you are applying online.

u Use a cover letter to highlight accomplishments not detailed in your resume.

u Tailor your cover letter to the position for which you are applying. Many employers do not read cover letters until they have reviewed resumes and narrowed down the pool of candidates. The cover letter is often the second screening tool.

u Explain gaps in your employment in a cover letter. Indicate what you did during the gap—volunteer, additional training, community work.

u Make sure you follow the employer’s instructions exactly on how to apply for the job, such as regular mail or email.

u Send a clean original—not a copy—if mailing your resume

u Follow-up on your resume but do not expect a call back. Employers receive hundreds of resumes and they will probably not follow-up with each applicant.

u Bring a copy of your resume to an interview and refer to it to help you answer questions. Also bring an extra copy for the interviewer.

u Fill out employment applications completely even if you attach your resume.

In General:

The purpose of the resume is not to get the job but to get the interview. Your resume should include your most important career highlights, not every detail of your work history. Your resume should be:

1). Clear, easy to read and easy to follow2). Accomplishment focused3). Relevant to the open position

Workforce Services Division of Will County is offering the following valuable tips that will help you create a more effective resume and increase your chances of getting an interview.

Equal Opportunity Employment Program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.

u Don’t just show up at an employer’s office unannounced or without an appointment.

u Don’t complete sections of a job application with “see resume.”

u Don’t repeat your entire resume in your cover letter. Your cover letter should be short and concise—no more than three paragraphs. Indicate the position for which you are applying, highlight your skills and provide specific experience relevant to the position.”

u Don’t use the same generic cover letter for every job for which you apply.

DON’TDO

u Don’t use coursework to imply you received a degree if you didn’t. If you don’t have a degree, list the years in school and indicate you have taken coursework towards the degree.

u Don’t put your GPA on your resume. If the job posting asks for it, include it in your cover letter.

DON’T

u List education and relevant certifications such as software programs and languages spoken near the end of your resume.

u Include coursework especially if it led to a certification or license.

DO

Workforce Services Division of Will County | Phone: 815.727.4444 | Illinois Relay: 711Workforce Services Division of Will County | 2400 Glenwood Ave. • Joliet, IL • 60435 | www.jobs4people.org

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Other Relevant Experience:

Accomplishments/Responsibilities:

Content Recommendations

Format Recommendationsu Don’t use any highlighting, italics, underlining,

bolding, or letter shadowing.

u Don’t use your work email address. Company email is private property.

u Don’t use unprofessional email addresses like “prettything@hotmail.com” or “footballdude@aol.com”.

u Don’t include anything that is not related to your professional qualifications such as photos, your age, gender, sexual orientation, or religion.

u Don’t list hobbies, interests, your favorite You Tube videos or family stories on your resume.

u Don’t overfill the pages. Leave enough white space and margins to make it easy to read.

DON’T

u Use standard white paper with black ink and use typical business fonts such as Arial or Times Roman.

u Keep your font size readable. Anything smaller than a 10-point font is difficult for the human eye to read.

u Ensure that spacing, capitalization, font choice, font size and other formatting decisions are handled consistently throughout your resume.

u Have several people proof your resume.

u Make sure your name, address, email, and phone number appear at the top of your resume.

u Be sure the phone number you include is one where you can be easily reached.

u Make sure the outgoing message and ring on your phone are appropriate for an employer to hear if they call you to follow-up on a resume you sent.

u Keep your resume to a maximum of two pages. If you have been in your career for a while, use a two-page resume but don’t ramble on about unrelated experiences just to fill space.

u Use bullet points rather than paragraphs. Bullets should not be more than a sentence or two and do not need to be complete sentences.

DO

Chronological vs. Functional Resumes:

Objective Statement vs. Summary of Qualifications:

u Don’t list personal information, such as age, religious affiliations, pictures, how many children you have, personal hobbies, etc.

DON’T

u List volunteer information and internships especially if you have limited work experience.

u Include clubs, leadership positions, student work, etc. to provide examples of specific experience if you are a student and/or recent graduate

u Show how family responsibilities or life experiences translate to the skills necessary for the job if you do not have any recent work experience.

DO

u Don’t exaggerate or overstate your accomplishments.

u Don’t use words like “responsible for”. Highlight what you actually accomplished, not what you were responsible for.

u Don’t use words such as “I” or “me”.

u Don’t put your accomplishments in a paragraph format. The hiring manager will lose interest after the first couple of sentences.

DON’T

u Use action verbs to indicate active involvement and accomplishment (created, developed, designed, managed etc.).

u Create a list of your work related accomplishments to use as the basis of your resume. Eliminate items that are not related to the position you’re applying for.

u Use numbers and metrics for skills when possible ($, %, #). Numbers speak louder than words. For example, “Increased receivables by 12% in the past 12 months” is stronger than “responsible for increasing receivables”.

DO

u Don’t use a functional resume unless you are changing careers, are a recent high school or college graduate with limited work experience, or are re-entering the workforce after having been out for a while.

u Don’t include specifics about positions you held more than ten years ago unless they are directly related to the job for which you are applying.

DON’T

u List your positions chronologically from the most recent to no more than eight to ten years.

u Summarize older work experience in a bulleted section without specific dates if you have been at one job for more than ten years.

u Include older positions only when they are relevant to the current job opening.

u Focus on key accomplishments and/or skills rather than the positions you have held on a functional resume.

u Identify multiple positions in the same company but make it clear that they were all with the same employer.

u Specify if your employment was through a temporary /staffing agency rather than directly for the company you list. Employers often verify employment and if you do not indicate the staffing agency name, it may not be considered as valid employment.

DO

u Don’t waste valuable space with general statements that don’t provide the hiring manager with useful information about your qualifications.

u Don’t use a generic resume that says you are looking for an accounting job when you are applying for a customer service job

DON’T

u Use an objective statement if you have not had much work experience and need to fill white space.

u Use the position key words that are relevant to your experience in your summary of qualifications, as this will ensure they are captured by resume screening software.

u Tie the summary of qualifications to the position for which you are applying.

u The summary of qualifications can be used as the basis for your elevator speech at an interview. You can glance at it during an interview as a reminder of the key qualifications you want to mention.

DO

Workforce Services Division of Will County | Phone: 815.727.4444 | Illinois Relay: 711 Workforce Services Division of Will County | 2400 Glenwood Ave. • Joliet, IL • 60435 | www.jobs4people.org

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