CANDIDATES
RESUME TIPS & SUGGESTIONS
Resumes will not & can not get you a job! They will & can get you an interview.

The first thing they are used for is to “screen you out” of an interview.

Most importantly, resumes serve as the “first impression” a manager, recruiter or hiring authority will have of you.

Studies indicate you have 10 - 20 seconds to make that first impression.

Does the person opening your resume want to spend more time reviewing it?

Mediocre Resume
=
Mediocre Candidate

Unorganized Resume
=
Disorganized Candidate

Inconsistent Resume
=
Lazy Candidate

Typos on Resumes
=
Careless Candidate
Following Are Some Resume Tips To Help You Make That First Impression And Showcase Yourself As An MPC, A Most Placeable Candidate. Help Us Sell You!
Write your resume in your own words.
Make sure that your resume realistically reflects your abilities and your vocabulary.
Put your resume in chronological order. Make sure the format is appealing at first glance.
This is your only first impression. It must be clear, concise, focused, and easy to read. Your Name, Work Experience and Education should be bold and in larger font size than the rest of the resume. You should also bold and use a bigger font or SMALL CAPS for company names. Job titles should be italicized. Do not widen or shrink the margins unless absolutely necessary.
Make the most of your experience.
Use paragraph form to describe what you sold, to who & where (call points) and in what geography. Use bullet points to describe how well you did it, what you accomplished, ranked, etc. Refer to the questionnaire for examples of what employers are looking for here. Remember to avoid large paragraphs – over 6 or 7 lines.

  • Use arrows for interest.
  • Try to list most important accomplishments first under each job.
  • List all of your awards. Explain the awards briefly.
  • List promotions and their dates.
  • Quantify accomplishments – use real numbers.
  • Use annual rankings and specify the number of sales people against whom you competed.
  • Your attained % of quota – add how your quota ranks among your peers’ quotas.
  • Make sure your statistics are relevant and impressive.
  • Don’t add information that is not complimentary such as being in the top 40%. Putting information that you are slightly above average will not get you a job.
  • Be a profit center by illustrating how you have increased the bottom line.
  • Get to the point.

Potential employers want an idea of what you can do for them. Telling someone that you are at 115% of quota does not mean much unless you describe how your peers are doing. Potential employers don’t know if the rest of your team is at 98% of quota or 150%. Employers will feel more comfortable hiring you if they can verify your accomplishments.

Use strong action verbs to attract attention.
For example, avoid “Was responsible for establishing…” Instead, state it as “Established….” Following are a few good action words:

  • Achieve
  • Establish
  • Initiate
  • Secure
  • Vitalize
  • Advance
  • Excel
  • Manage
  • Surpass
  • Validate
  • Attain
  • Expand
  • Promote
  • Strengthen
  • Conduct
  • Implement
  • Reduce
  • Transform
  • Develop
  • Increase
  • Save
  • Utilize

A good source for more words is the online thesaurus at www.m-w.com (Merriam Webster).

Keep your resume to a maximum of 2 pages.
No need to list hobbies or activities that have no bearing on your career.
List no more than 4 companies on one page or you may appear to be a job hopper.
Here is where you can adjust margins or spacing if necessary.
If you have 2 or more positions at 1 company.
Show the date range of the entire time you have been employed. Make it clear that you have not job hopped. Example:
COMPANY NAME
May 2009 – Present
Executive Sales Specialist (06/11 – Present)
Description of duties/responsibilities

  • Achievements
  • Awards
  • Etc.
Sales Associate (5/09 – 06/11)
Description of duties/responsibilities

  • Achievements
  • Awards
  • Etc.
 
Focus on most recent and most important positions.
In the interest of saving space you may want to limit the amount of information regarding jobs that were long in the past.
Pay attention to spelling and punctuation.
Keep punctuation consistent: If you use a period at the end of bulleted phrase, make sure that all phrases have periods. It is okay to not use a period at the end of a bulleted phrase – just keep it consistent. Be sure to run a spelling and grammar check as well.
Tell the truth.
Not only because it is the right thing to do, but you could always get caught.
Do not use “I” or “Me” on the resume.
They will know it is about you.
Proofread!
Read word-for-word and then look at the resume as a whole to see how balanced and easy to read it is.
Make sure it is email friendly.
Avoid using tables and making too many format customizations because most likely they won't stay with your resume when someone else opens it.
Make sure your email address is included at the top of the resume.
Save and name your resume in a professional manner.
The way you have saved your resume is the way it will be sent and viewed when opened. Save at 100% print view (opening a resume that has been saved at 150% can be irritating). Save it with your name such as ‘Fred Smith Resume’ as opposed to just ‘resume’.
Education belongs at the end of the resume.
Example

Education

School, Year, Degree
Accolades
Sports
Clubs
Good GPA

Remember: Luck Is Where Preparation Meets Opportunity.
Be Prepared!