How To

How to Prepare a Basic Résumé

Contributor
By eHow Contributing Writer
(69 Ratings)

There are as many kinds of résumés as there are jobs. Use a style that matches your personality and career objectives.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Instructions

Things You'll Need:

  1. Step 1

    Choose one or two fonts at most, and avoid underlined, boldfaced and italic text. Many companies use automated recruiting systems that have difficulty with special formatting.

  2. Step 2

    Opt for the active voice rather than the passive voice (say 'met the goal' rather than 'the goal was met').

  3. Step 3

    Provide contact information such as your home address, phone number and e-mail address at the top of your résumé.

  4. Step 4

    Include an objectives statement, in which you use clear, simple language to indicate what kind of job you're looking for. This should appear below your contact information.

  5. Step 5

    List your most recent and relevant experience first. Include time frames, company names and job titles, followed by major responsibilities.

  6. Step 6

    In a second section, outline your education, awards, accomplishments and anything else you wish prospective employers to know about you.

  7. Step 7

    Hire a proofreader or have someone you trust proofread your résumé. Mistakes in spelling, grammar or syntax can land it in the circular file.

  8. Step 8

    Limit your résumé to one page unless it is scientific or highly technical. Less is definitely more when it comes to résumés.

  9. Step 9

    Write a cover letter to submit with your résumé (see 'How to Write an Effective Cover Letter').

Tips & Warnings
  • Refrain from using "I" in your résumé.
  • Leave out personal information, particularly as it relates to your age, race, religious background and sexual orientation.
  • Avoid obscure fonts, clip art and other unnecessary visuals.
  • Choose résumé paper with a little personality. If you are interested in a high-technology field, send your résumé via e-mail.
  • Print your résumé on a high-quality laser printer or new ink jet printer for crisp letters. Avoid using dot matrix and old ink-jet printers that can smear and blur.

Comments  

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jsmith123 said

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on 6/26/2009 Hi ,all if you are wandering on how to create resume,you can use these resume builder sites for creating an professional resume

http://www.interactiveresumebuilder.com
http://www.eresumemaker.com
http://www.resume-builder.net

Best of luck !!

willowman1 said

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on 5/24/2009 Looking for a job?, you may need to shop online to see what jobs are perfect for you. You Should look at http://www.Hound.com After reading this article I found a great job search solution is http://www.Hound.com, no matter who you are, you can find the best quality jobs on this site. I like using to look for jobs because it has jobs only from employer websites and far more jobs than you will find on other job boards. It is fun, easy and it really works and you can start right now. I was really impressed by this website and I know you'll love it too. Happy searching

smiln32 said

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on 2/13/2007 Be sure to tailor your resume to the specific job you are seeking.

http://www.professional-resume-example.com/target-job.html

Anonymous

Anonymous said

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on 8/8/2006 Keep your resume on file saved to disk, so that in the future should you need to update it, you can.
Many times in our lives we change our status. This is when the disk you saved will come in handy.

Anonymous

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 When selecting an objective on a resume, never give a list of ideas of what you hope to do for that employer. Just give the job title. I.e., Administrative assistant, Material Handler, Delivery Driver, etc.

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