For many people, creating a resume is a one-time thing - maybe they wrote one when they graduated and looked for work. Some people didn't really create one then and have not ever written a real resume. I encourage you to create a resume - even if you are not planning to make a job or career change in the near future. By having an up-to-date resume, you have one less task to accomplish if/when you do need to make a change. I believe it is also important to have a historical resume - one that includes your prominent accomplishments and all of your work experiences, but that will be the topic of a different blog post.
To create a resume, it usually helps to write down some specifics about your current or most recent position first. If you are currently employed, you should write down your title and major responsibilities and your accomplishments. To the extent possible, include quantifiable terms to help describe your accomplishments; e.g. the percentage of increase in productivity, sales, etc. for you or your unit; the amount of reduction in expenses, missed work, etc. You will also need to identify some action verbs to describe your work and accomplishments and include transferable skills that you demonstrated.
Depending on how long you have been in your current job, you would write a similar description of the job you had before that. Repeat the process so that you have covered the last 15 years or so of your work life. You would want to include the name and address of your employer and the name of your supervisor.
You should also think about other activities in which you have been involved over the last 15 to 18 years. This could include work and non-work related activities, such as community or church boards, significant committee work, volunteer work, etc. The idea is to identify other ways in which you have demonstrated your transferable skills, particularly those skills you would like to continue to use.
Your resume would also include information about your educational background and training. Write down specifics of your education, if you have earned a degree that is related to the kind of work you do, you may want to list the degree before the institution where you received it. Generally, you would not include your high school information if you have a college degree, unless you are a recent graduate. If you are working on a college degree (even on a part-time basis) you may want to list the degree you will receive and include the notation, "In Progress". Training that is relevant for your current career goal should also be included.
By getting these pieces of information written down, you will have that much more together if you need to prepare for a change in work. In today's world of work, change is much more frequent. You also need to know that in many cases, you need a resume if you apply for graduate school.
Mary Ann Davis is a Licensed Professional Counselor in private practice providing coaching and counseling for life's transitions; including career change or job search, as well as loss of job, retirement planning, grief work, coping with an empty nest and other life planning issues. She is certified as a Master Career Counselor by the National Career Development Association; a Life/Work Counselor by the National Employment Counseling Association; and is a Distance Credentialed Counselor. Check out her web site at www.YourCareerPlan.com.
To contact Ms. Davis, please call (513) 665-4444 x3 and leave a personal and confidential message or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Creating a Combination Resume
Some people who feel a functional resume format is a better way to present their background than a traditional chronological resume format prefer to use a combination resume. As the name implies, it is a combination of the chronological and functional resume, combining some formatting from both types of resumes. If you are inclined to use a functional resume but believe it would be to your advantage to include some information regarding your work experiences, the combination resume format may be the solution.
The primary difference in creating a combination resume is that you would include some statements about your accomplishments or responsibilities with each job title under your work experiences. In that way, you would present more of a connection between your job titles and the skills used and your achievements in that position. The combination resume format would still highlight three or four of your functional skill areas that relate to your current career goal. You would still select the functional or transferable skills that you possess to focus attention to your accomplishments. Action verbs should be used for your headings, so things like directing, supervising, planning, communicating, programming and other headings, as appropriate for your background should be selected. Under each of those skill areas, you would include responsibilities and achievements from your current and previous experiences - paid, volunteer, or community work - statements that help to demonstrate your use of that skill. Also, instead of simply listing previous job titles and names of employers (as you would in a strictly functional resume format), you would write a few statements related to your accomplishments in each position.
You may wish to create a few different versions of your resume and share them with people you know. You would then ask each person for feedback as to which they feel is a better presentation of your background - as it relates to your current career goals. If you have a couple of different directions you can go for your next career move, you may need to focus on different factors from your background. In that case, it may be helpful to have each resume focus on a particular career goal.
Mary Ann Davis is a Licensed Professional Counselor i private practice providing coaching and counseling for life's transitions; including career change or job search, as well as loss of job, retirement planning, grief work, coping with an empty nest, and other life planning issue. She is certified as a Master Career Counselor by the National Career Development Association; a Life/Work Counselor by the National Employment Counseling Association; and is a Distance Credentialed Counselor. Check out her web site at www.YOurCareerPlan.com.
To contact Ms. Davis, please call (513) 665-4444 x3 and leave a personal and confidential message or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.
The primary difference in creating a combination resume is that you would include some statements about your accomplishments or responsibilities with each job title under your work experiences. In that way, you would present more of a connection between your job titles and the skills used and your achievements in that position. The combination resume format would still highlight three or four of your functional skill areas that relate to your current career goal. You would still select the functional or transferable skills that you possess to focus attention to your accomplishments. Action verbs should be used for your headings, so things like directing, supervising, planning, communicating, programming and other headings, as appropriate for your background should be selected. Under each of those skill areas, you would include responsibilities and achievements from your current and previous experiences - paid, volunteer, or community work - statements that help to demonstrate your use of that skill. Also, instead of simply listing previous job titles and names of employers (as you would in a strictly functional resume format), you would write a few statements related to your accomplishments in each position.
You may wish to create a few different versions of your resume and share them with people you know. You would then ask each person for feedback as to which they feel is a better presentation of your background - as it relates to your current career goals. If you have a couple of different directions you can go for your next career move, you may need to focus on different factors from your background. In that case, it may be helpful to have each resume focus on a particular career goal.
Mary Ann Davis is a Licensed Professional Counselor i private practice providing coaching and counseling for life's transitions; including career change or job search, as well as loss of job, retirement planning, grief work, coping with an empty nest, and other life planning issue. She is certified as a Master Career Counselor by the National Career Development Association; a Life/Work Counselor by the National Employment Counseling Association; and is a Distance Credentialed Counselor. Check out her web site at www.YOurCareerPlan.com.
To contact Ms. Davis, please call (513) 665-4444 x3 and leave a personal and confidential message or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Writing a Functional Resume
The last blog I posted talked about creating a standard chronological resume. Many employers prefer that format because that is the format with which they are most comfortable and familiar. If that format provides a good representation of your background, then I encourage you to use a chronological format for your resume - or at least one version of it. For many people, the chronological resume does not give them the flexibility they want in presenting various aspects of their background. If that is your situation, you may want to consider creating a functional resume.
A functional resume is one that highlights three or four of your functional skill areas that relate to your current career goal. The advantage to a functional resume is that it allows you to emphasize the skills you want to use and to downplay the job titles that you have held, and that perhaps do not directly relate to your current career objective. A true functional resume includes only a listing of former job titles and employers, without details about the responsibilities performed in each job title. Your overall responsibilities and accomplishments that relate to your current career objective would appear in your functional skill areas.
Due to the nature of the functional resume, it is often used by people who are changing careers or for job seekers who are re-entering the workforce after a period of absence.
A functional resume will still begin with your name and contact information. Whether you include a Job Objective or some other type of summary is up to you. Many people include a Skills Summary including several statements related to skills they possess and hope to use in their next job. The most significant part of writing a functional resume is in selecting the functional skill words to use as your headings. If you need a list of words to work from, that is available. Obviously, you should select functional skills that fit with your accomplishments and other strengths. Under each heading, you will list your accomplishments from your various experiences - work, volunteer, school, or family. You can include activities from non-work/non-paid activities in addition to your work history, if appropriate for your current objective.
In a true functional resume, you would provide only a basic list of your job titles, dates of employment, and names of employers. Your education and/or training and other skills, if desired, would be presented in the appropriate spaces, just as in the other resume formats. If you have a draft of a resume and you wish a meeting to review and discuss it, that can be arranged. Beyond correcting any grammatical or formatting errors, there are two primary suggestions I offer to my clients about their resume. First is that it should be something they feel comfortable with and presents quality highlights of their relevant background. Secondly, they should not spend an inordinate amount of time trying to make their resume - whatever format is selected - perfect.
There really is no such thing as a perfect resume. And even if you create one that appears "perfect" for one job, it is likely at least a little less than perfect for a different job. So start with something that is acceptable that you can give out. Then, as the need exists and time is available, you can make revisions. The goal is to get positive responses to the resumes you give out. If that is not happening, then you either need to adjust your resume and, or your approach in using it.
Mary Ann Davis is a Licensed Professional Counselor in private practice providing coaching and counseling for life's transitions; including career change or job search, as well as loss of job, retirement planning, grief work, coping with an empty nest and other life planning issues. She is certified as a Master Career Counselor by the National Career Development Association; recognized as a Life/Work Counselor by the National Employment Counseling Association; and is a Distance Credentialed Counselor. Check out her web site at www.YourCareerPlan.com.
To contact Ms. Davis, please call (513) 665-4444 x3 and leave a personal and confidential message or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.
A functional resume is one that highlights three or four of your functional skill areas that relate to your current career goal. The advantage to a functional resume is that it allows you to emphasize the skills you want to use and to downplay the job titles that you have held, and that perhaps do not directly relate to your current career objective. A true functional resume includes only a listing of former job titles and employers, without details about the responsibilities performed in each job title. Your overall responsibilities and accomplishments that relate to your current career objective would appear in your functional skill areas.
Due to the nature of the functional resume, it is often used by people who are changing careers or for job seekers who are re-entering the workforce after a period of absence.
A functional resume will still begin with your name and contact information. Whether you include a Job Objective or some other type of summary is up to you. Many people include a Skills Summary including several statements related to skills they possess and hope to use in their next job. The most significant part of writing a functional resume is in selecting the functional skill words to use as your headings. If you need a list of words to work from, that is available. Obviously, you should select functional skills that fit with your accomplishments and other strengths. Under each heading, you will list your accomplishments from your various experiences - work, volunteer, school, or family. You can include activities from non-work/non-paid activities in addition to your work history, if appropriate for your current objective.
In a true functional resume, you would provide only a basic list of your job titles, dates of employment, and names of employers. Your education and/or training and other skills, if desired, would be presented in the appropriate spaces, just as in the other resume formats. If you have a draft of a resume and you wish a meeting to review and discuss it, that can be arranged. Beyond correcting any grammatical or formatting errors, there are two primary suggestions I offer to my clients about their resume. First is that it should be something they feel comfortable with and presents quality highlights of their relevant background. Secondly, they should not spend an inordinate amount of time trying to make their resume - whatever format is selected - perfect.
There really is no such thing as a perfect resume. And even if you create one that appears "perfect" for one job, it is likely at least a little less than perfect for a different job. So start with something that is acceptable that you can give out. Then, as the need exists and time is available, you can make revisions. The goal is to get positive responses to the resumes you give out. If that is not happening, then you either need to adjust your resume and, or your approach in using it.
Mary Ann Davis is a Licensed Professional Counselor in private practice providing coaching and counseling for life's transitions; including career change or job search, as well as loss of job, retirement planning, grief work, coping with an empty nest and other life planning issues. She is certified as a Master Career Counselor by the National Career Development Association; recognized as a Life/Work Counselor by the National Employment Counseling Association; and is a Distance Credentialed Counselor. Check out her web site at www.YourCareerPlan.com.
To contact Ms. Davis, please call (513) 665-4444 x3 and leave a personal and confidential message or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.
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