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15,000 people, from entry-level to executive and from age 18
to 75.
Before you set pen to paper or sit down at your computer,
however, let me review some quick tips that will ensure your
credibility and make your Fearless Résumé flow seamlessly.
Tips for Your Contact Block
Don t use a nickname. Do use your full name. A middle initial or
middle name is optional.
For example, write  Bud Smith rather than  Bud  the Stud
Smith or  Bud  Buddy Smith.
Of course, this example is quite farfetched, but you wouldn t
believe how many silly nicknames I ve seen or heard about on
résumés!
Basically, using this kind of nickname is a turnoff and will
serve only to diminish the importance of your document. Once
you get the job, if you would like your coworkers or your boss to
refer to you by your nickname, that s fine. Just don t make him
try to swallow the nickname before he gets to know you in per-
son or before you get the job.
The same goes for e-mail addresses.
Some of the far-out ones I ve seen are rocketman4563@that-
away.com and ladyloveyou9835@netscore.net.
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Tips for a Terrific Résumé
E-mail addresses with catchy or clever elements like that are
fun to use with your friends and family, but they really are not
dignified enough for a résumé.
Try not to use the e-mail address of the company that you
currently work for.
If you use the e-mail address of the company you are still
working for, watch out. An e-mail address like guy.henry@com-
panyIstillworkfor.net will raise understandable suspicions that
you are using your own desk, your own time, and your com-
pany s time and resources to conduct your own personal busi-
ness. This is something that is strictly frowned upon. Even if your
former company allows you to use their resouces, it is wise to
refrain from using your old e-mail address because you never
know how the prospective employer will react.
" If the prospective employer sees that you ve taken up
the habit of wasting your present employer s time, why
should he expect that you wouldn t do the same if you
were hired to work for his company?
Do use an 11 or 12 point Times New Roman or Arial regular (not bold
or italic) font. Don t use any fancy graphics, typefaces, large-sized
letters, or layout. This kind of style, however artistic it may look,
is really more confusing to the potential employer and makes the
résumé harder to read.
Take the time to get an e-mail address that is both personal-
ized to you and professional.
If you re going for a more professional impression, try get-
ting an e-mail account with Yahoo!, hotmail, gmail, Comcast,
AOL, or some other free e-mail provider, and pick something
that resembles your own name, such as janicegold@freee-mail-
provider.com.
Do use a regular street address. Don t use a P.O. box, if at all pos-
sible. Although the use of a post office box may serve to protect
your privacy, employers often view it with suspicion.
Do use a professional-sounding answering machine or voice
mail system with a clear and dignified message. Finally, just a tip:
for whatever phone number(s) home, office, mobile, or toll
free you are listing in the name block on your résumé, be sure
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Fearless Résumés
that they are equipped with a professional-sounding message (with-
out dogs barking, kids yelling, traffic sounds, music, or other
distractions).
The simplest message to leave would be something in your
own voice (not a mechanical or prerecorded voice if possible)
that says:
 Hello. You ve reached Bob Winston at 243-777-
7877. Thank you for calling. Please leave a complete
message after the tone, including your phone num-
ber and the best time to reach you.
Again, after you get the job, you can put a more personal or fun
touch on your message, but for now, keep it simple and to the
point. Try to get an answering machine or voice mail system that
allows you to check messages remotely if you are not near your
phone so that you ll stay on top of your messages and be able to
return calls promptly. Employers absolutely love to get a quick
response. It shows that you re efficient and enthusiastic about
the job.
You might also consider a call forwarding system, so that if
the employer calls your home phone, for example, the call will be
automatically forwarded to your cell phone so that you can
answer it immediately.
Call forwarding is also available on most cell phones. Call
your local phone company or cell phone provider to arrange
for one of these easy and inexpensive systems while you re job
hunting.
Tips for Your
Objective Block
When you re submitting a résumé as a direct response to a
printed or Internet ad, always use the job title that is used in the
job posting. For the reader, who, you remember, may have 350
résumés on his desk or in his inbox, it is annoying to say the
least to have to wonder what job you re applying for. As much
as you may like to think that the person will read your résumé
and find the best  fit for you in his company, that is not his job,
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Tips for a Terrific Résumé
and it is extremely rare for a busy recruiter or hiring manager
to afford you that favor. Even when you post your résumé on a
job board or Web site, hoping that many readers for many com-
panies will view it, you must still include some sort of job title.
So, in the case of a résumé submission to one company for a par-
ticular job, if your Fearless Résumé has the title Financial Advi-
sor and the job offered is for a Financial Consultant, you must
take the little bit of extra time to go back into your résumé and
change the job title for this company. It is both a courtesy to the
company and an indication that you re serious about applying
for that particular job in that particular company. Hiring man-
agers like to know that you ve put thought into singling out
their company because you specifically want to work there. Hav-
ing no objective or using the wrong words in your objective
when you re applying directly for an advertised position indi-
cates that you were careless and did not really choose that com-
pany at all.
Word Choice
A résumé is a living document.
You don t get to write it once and then use the same thing
forever. You may change it many times in one job search and sev-
eral times during your working life.
It is wise to have the words all the words conform to the
verbiage in the job description as much as possible.
So, if the job description mentions Information Technology
several times, and the first draft of your résumé refers to the
same thing as Computer Science, then by all means change your
résumé.
" Some researchers have shown that the more closely
the expressions in your résumé mirror the wording in
the job description, the better your chances of getting
interviewed.
This rule does not apply when you re talking about official
degrees and certificates. Do not change the name of an official
degree.
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Fearless Résumés
Dates
If you ve been using months and years when presenting your
work history, try this little trick (which is completely acceptable
on modern résumés, by the way). Do not use the months on your
résumé at all. Let s look at a sample of a hypothetical job for
which you note both the months and the years that you worked
there and compare it to including only the years that you were at
the position.
Example of months and years:
Job Title, Company, December 2006
City, State January 2007
How long does it look like you were at that company? You re
right about one month. A very short stay at a particular com- [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]