Jump Start: Resumes and Cover Letters
Developing Quality Resumes and Cover Letters
What: Prepare one or more draft resumes to fit your job goal(s). Prepare a draft cover letter for each resume.
Why: You need to focus each resume on the particular needs of the job. A quality cover letter can help get you noticed.
How: Begin by choosing a resume type that works best for you. Focus resumes and cover letters on employer needs.
Resumes
Resumes can have a tremendous impact on the number and quality of interviews one receives. On the basis of your resume, a prospective employer forms an impression of you long before you walk in the door.
Employers Look for Job Match and Growth Potential
Resumes are important for a number of reasons. They form an employer’s first impression of you, set expectations regarding your fit for the job, suggest your potential for promotion, and provide a feel for your likelihood of success with the hiring organization. As you prepare your resume, view if from the perspective of the employer and write it accordingly.
Ironically, you and employers have the same goal when it comes to your resume. They want to find that you are a perfect match for the job opening, and you want them to find that you are a perfect match for the job opening. So why does it seem so difficult to bring your mutual goals together? The reason, of course, is employers have lots of resumes to consider, and most resumes aren't a clear match with the requirements of the job opening.
There's nothing you can do to change the number of resumes an employer receives, but you do have some control over how well your resume matches the requirements of the job. You also have some control over how easy you make it for the employer to find that you are a good match for the job. This is clearly where you need to concentrate your efforts.
Making the First Cut
Getting your resume noticed is not easy. These days, employers can easily receive 100 to 300 resumes for each position they advertise. There are a variety of reasons for this … the economy, the ease with which resumes are sent via email, use of the Internet for job searches, resume broadcast services, and more.
While it can vary substantially, out of all these resumes, typically only five to ten people are selected for a first interview. Three to five of these might be called back for a second interview. With competition like this, it is critical that your resume stands out and gets noticed. Your resume must be easy to read, and highlight the skills and job potential the employer is looking for.
Important: The following two paragraphs are especially important so please read them carefully.
Due to the volume of resumes employers receive, they may spend as little as five to ten seconds reviewing a resume before discarding or filing it away. Think about the implications of that statement. It means your resume must be so focused that it grabs the reviewer’s attention in as little as five or ten seconds. When you view your resume in the context of the job you are applying for, keep the five-to-ten seconds review in mind.
Just as important, your resume may initially come to the interviewer's attention as a result of a preliminary screening by a computerized document management system. This is especially so if you applied for a job at a large organization or posted your resume on the Internet. These systems electronically scan resumes into a document management database. Once there, they can be searched based upon criteria (keywords, etc.) that the screener or interviewer enters into the screening software. The screening criteria usually consists of keywords in the form of nouns (words that can be used to refer to a person, place, or thing) that relate to the requirements of the job.
The importance of having a very focused and well-written resume is probably becoming much clearer. Not only do you have to consider the short amount of time humans will take to screen your resume, you must also factor in the potential use of electronic systems as an initial screening tool.
As you think about crafting your resume, always keep the requirements of the job in mind. Look at the words in the job description or ad, and carefully consider the keywords (especially nouns) that electronic searches might focus on. In this regard, be sure the words you use are up-to-date with the latest terminology used in your profession. If you're struggling finding the right words to describe your skills or attributes, check out our list of winning words in the Forms menu for suggestions.
Clearly, effective resumes are more difficult to prepare than many people realize. Here's a hint about how to make your resume more appealing. Because of time constraints, interviewers often give a lot of weight to job title matches when screening resumes. Applicants that have held positions with exact or similar job titles when compared to the title of the open position are far more likely to get noticed.
The problem, of course, is that titles vary substantially from organization-to-organization. If you have done exactly what the open position calls for but your current or former employer used some obscure job title for your position, you may be at a significant disadvantage.
In cases such as this, it is reasonable and appropriate to use a more descriptive title (one describing your actual role). Use this title as the title or heading for your job rather than your current or former employer's rather obscure job title. For example, lets say you are applying for a job in the Billing Department. If your previous role was that of a lead billing clerk, but your formal (official) title was "Clerk III," you should seriously consider using "Lead Billing Clerk" as the job heading for that section of your resume. During the interview process, you should clarify that this wasn't your formal title, but it is reflective of your actual duties. Remember, most employers will check references. You don't want to be perceived as falsifying your resume.
Here's another hint. Once job screeners or interviewers get interested in your resume because of your past job titles, they will be looking for keywords that tell them you are the type of candidate they want to talk to. So, how do you know what those keywords are? Ironically, they are given to you by the company or organization reviewing your resume. You need to look no further than their job advertisement, job description, position specifications, or other information that led you to the job in the first place.
Modifying your resume to include those keywords can be a little time consuming, but the effort can pay off handsomely. You might even want to use bold type as a way of drawing attention to selected keywords. Put yourself in the interviewer's shoes. If you find a resume that has job titles and uses keywords that match the specific needs of the company or organization, you'd pay attention. People who have such resumes have a significant competitive advantage over those who don't.
Hopefully, you’re beginning to get the message that this is a bit of a "numbers game."Interviewers might start with hundreds of resumes, and narrow it down to just a few. The big challenge is to make your resume one of the few that are seriously considered.
Types of Resumes
Resumes come in all shapes, sizes, and configurations. As a general rule, there are two primary formats. One is most often referred to as "functional" (or "skills-based") and the other as "chronological." There are also hybrid combinations of the two.
As their descriptions imply, a functional resume focuses more on the job functions performed by the applicant (and the required skills) and less on work history. The chronological resume focuses on a chronological sequence of the applicant's work history with somewhat less emphasis on skills. Both types can be effective. Deciding on which one works best for you depends upon some analysis of your background and other considerations.
In general, if your skills are more impressive than your job history or titles, a functional (skills-based) resume may be a good choice. On the other hand, if you have a solid work history with good job titles, a chronological resume is probably your best choice. Keep in mind, however, that you have a lot of latitude in mixing and matching both types into a hybrid that fits your particular needs and background
Chronological resumes are usually a good choice. Some of the reasons for the popularity of chronological resumes among interviewers include: 1) the ease in which job progression can be determined, 2) the clearer view it gives of skills and accomplishments as they apply to particular jobs held, and 3) the greater value most interviewers place on recent accomplishments, which are listed chronologically. To view a sample chronological resume, click the following link: Sample Chronological Resume
Once your resume is developed, you need to think about creating cover letters that are specific to the type of job or industry you are targeting. Use the job description as a guide, note the required skills and experience and make sure your cover letter addresses key points.
Cover letters are important so take the time to prepare and customize them for the particular job for which you are applying for. When customizing your cover letter, you can specify why you are interested in the position and summarize your strengths. The cover letter can also demonstrate your writing style and skills. If your cover letter is well written and customized, it can persuade the recruiter or hiring manager to review your resume more closely.
Keep your cover letter short and to the point! Since the average time spent initially screening a resume is probably less than 30 seconds, the cover letter likely gets far less. The use of bullet points can help speed the reader’s focus to the particular points you want stressed. The bullet points should focus on your accomplishments as they relate to the job you are applying for and the benefits the employer would receive if they hired you. Some people have found success in creating a short table that lists the employer's job requirements in one column, and their matching skills and accomplishments in a second column.
To test the effectiveness of your cover letter, give it to a friend and give them five seconds to look it over. Then ask them what significant points they got from it. If they don’t tell you the same thing you wanted the employer to see, re-write it and try again.
Use the same header as your resume for your cover letter so your contact information will be easy for the employer to find. Use the same formatting (e.g. font size and style) for your cover letter as you did your resume, as this makes your marketing messages appear united and consistent. To view a sample cover letter, click the following link: Sample Cover Letter. You'll also find cover letter templates in the Forms section of this website.