How to correctly format a resume

Learn how to properly format a resume and make a great impression! Adopted from my newly released job search book entitled "Think Like an Interviewer: Your Job Hunting Guide to Success."

Instructions

1. **KEY sections**

   Every resume must have the following sections on them:

   1) Contact information
   2) Work history
   3) Education

   Your resume should have all your contact info at the very top so an employer can tell who's resume it belongs to. So be sure to have your name, address, phone, and e-mail.

2. **Optional sections**

   Other sections that can go on a resume are:

   1) Objective
   2) Skills
   3) Specialized training

   Your decision to include any of these on your resume all depends on your background and the job or profession you're going for. For instance, if you're changing fields and don't have a lot of experience in the new one, then you probably want to have the skills section on yours. That will help show an employer what you're capable of doing and de-emphasize your lacking practical experience in the field.

   An objective's purpose is to tell the employer the kind of position or work you're seeking. For instance, if you're looking for supervisory (managerial) instead of support. But I suggest not having an objective that's too broad otherwise it's a given. If you choose to have one, make it specific so the employer finds it helpful in understanding exactly what you're looking for.

   Specialized training can be used for those of you who are in a technical field or have some sort of on-the-job training you feel an employer should know about. That's separate from your traditional schooling, like college and high school. For instance, if you were trained in the use of a certain machine or area, then you can list that in a separate section to draw attention to it.

3. **Resume types**

   There are 3 overall layouts you can use to prepare your resume. Each one has it's advantages and disadvantages. The three resume formats are:

   1) Chronological
   2) Functional
   3) Combination

   A chronological's main focus is on your work history and is designed for those of you who have a lot of practical experience in the job or profession.

   A functional's primary focus is on your skills and abilities. It's for those of you who don't have a lot of practical experience, but feel you could do well in that job or profession.

   A combination resume mixes the two together to give a little bit of both. It's primarily for those of you who have limited practical experience but not a whole lot.

   The KEY difference between them, other than their purpose, is which section is the largest. On a chronological, the biggest section is your work history. That's to draw attention to the fact you have lots of practical experience.

   With a functional, the largest section is your skills and abilities. This draws attention to all the things you can do. So your lacking work experience is compensated by your strong capabilities. And doesn't every employer want someone who's capable? Of course! That's the notion behind the functional resume.

   A combination resume pretty much places equal emphasis on the skills and work history sections. So an employer sees a little bit of both. In other words, the employer can see you're fully-capable of doing well and have some practical experience to boot.

   Which format you ultimately decide to use is totally up to you! My suggestion is to pick the one you feel is best and see if you get results. If you want to use another type to see if that works better, go right ahead.

4. **Resume length**

   Generally speaking, a resume should be no longer than 2 pages. It's purpose is not to tell an employer everything, but enough details to convince me to call you in for an interview.

   Who should have a 2 page resume? In general, someone who's got tremendous experience and has been in the field for a long time. For example, someone with 20 years experience.

   But definitely not for a 21 year old who just graduated college. You could not have amassed enough in that short time to justify a 2 page resume. That's the thinking of an interviewer.

   Senior managers who have worked their way high up the corporate ladder will also tend to have longer resumes because of their ever-increasing responsibilities. So for those of you in this category, a two-pager isn't uncommon or wrong.

   And for those of you going for teaching positions, it's very common to have longer resumes. I've seen 10 pages turned in that include publications, classes taught, etc. So there are exceptions to the rule.

   Content, rather than length is most important!

5. **Font choice**

   Unless you're applying for creative-type jobs like a designer or illustrator, you should stick with standard fonts. Yes, it may be boring, but they're professional!

   A fashion designer, cartoon drawer, creative writer, website designer, etc. may be able to get away with fancier fonts. The reason is because it'll help show your creative side, which is critical to success in these types of positions.

   But outside these, they aren't appropriate! You would not send a customer or client something with lots of fancy fonts. It won't look professional and make your company look good. So even though the fonts may be boring to look at, they signal a business frame of mind. And that's extremely important.

   Standard fonts include:

   1) Time Roman or Times New Roman
   2) Arial
   3) Helvetical
   4) Courier

   The main differences between these is the overall size of the characters. For instance, Arial is a larger font than Times Roman. A 10pt character in Arial will appear larger and darker than the same size character in Times Roman.

   Which one you decide to use is your choice, but these are the generally-accepted ones that employers won't frown on.

   And it's perfectly all right to vary your fonts with the different sections and headings. For instance, I can make all my headings in Courier and the main text in Times New Roman.

   Or I can make the work history section in Courier and my education in Arial. You want to be consistent within each section and your headings.

   So:

   1) All headings should be formatted in the same way
   2) All information within a particular section should be formatted the same

   Many simply choose to use one font for everything and vary the sizes. Others vary the fonts and sizes. You use whatever you feel looks professional and nice to you.

6. **Font size**

   You always want to make sure your information is easy to read. This means not making things too small that an employer can't easily read it. And because you don't know how good the reader's vision is, always err on the side of caution. That means never going less than 10pt in size!

   I make the following suggestions:

   1)Your name--16 to 24pt and bolded so it stands out
   2)Headings--14 to 18pt so they stand out. If you'd like, you can also bold, capitalize, and/or underline them to further make them standout
   3)Main text within your headings, meaning your information--10 to 12pt. Don't bold or underline these otherwise they'll look more like headings. Never write in paragraph format because employers won't read it! Bullet them and make them short, sweet, and to the point.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't write in paragraph format, use bulleted points instead

• Make your headings standout by formatting them differently than your main text

• Keep all headings formatted the same

• Watch your fonts and sizes. Make sure it looks professional and is easy to read

• Decide which resume format (layout) you want to use

• Be sure your text within sections is formatted the same