Resume Tips

“In creating, the only hard thing’s to begin; a grass-blade’s no easier to make than an oak.”
- James Russell Lowell

Creating your resume can be a very difficult task. How do you summarize in 2 pages what you have been doing for your entire career? We hope that this guide will provide you some insight as to how to accomplish this task. You may only have a few seconds to capture the attention of the reader or to reinforce a positive impression with the resume you create. So let’s see how to make this document as powerful and memorable as possible.

As a practical matter, you shouldn’t expect a resume that obediently lists every position you have ever held. Today’s practice is to go back your last five (5) roles or ten (10) years. With technological and market changes, what you did more than 10 years ago is likely irrelevant today.

What Decision Makers Want to See

• Strong core knowledge of basic financial principles and accounting
• The ability to apply those principles to a wide variety of situations
• A working knowledge of the financial and economic environment in which the hiring company operates
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• General familiarity with multiple software packages

What a Resume is Intended to Do (and Not to Do)

• A resume IS meant to be scanned
• A resume IS meant to be a convenience to the hiring official
• A resume IS an opportunity for you to leave the reader wanting to learn more
• A resume IS NOT an application for a position
• A resume IS NOT a single document that you write once and then it is finished

Adapt the formats of appropriates resumes – whether they follow a chronological format that examines dates of employment, a functional format that emphasizes key skills of interest to a particular reader, or a combination of the two – with an eye toward making a dramatic, confident, positive impression on your reader.

Preparing your Resume

Coming up with the answers to the following 8 questions is NOT something you should be able to do in half an hour. We recommend that on your first attempt to complete this task that you devote at least 90 minutes.

Major questions to answer when preparing your resume

1. What is your most recent position and what are the duties associated with that role?
2. What are your previous roles and the duties associated with each?
3. What skills have you had to develop to be able to carry out each of these roles?
4. What are the most dramatic examples of verbal and written praise you’ve ever received from any supervisor or client?
5. Think of at least 3 times for your most recent/ current role where a supervisor outlined a problem for you to solve – what was the problem, what steps did you take to resolve it, what was the outcome?
6. Write down the specifics of at least five situations when coworkers came to you for help and you were able to provide it
7. Make a list of extra-curricular activities/ volunteer/ charity work that you are or have been involved in
8. Make a list of at least 10 people – former employers, colleagues, professional associates – who would be willing to act as references for you whether it be verbally or through a short written recommendation.

For questions 4 through 8 – these answers will be what you include in your resume as your accomplishments or highlights.

Deciding on the Type of Resume to Utilize

Functional
The functional, or “summary”, resume distils your total work experience into major areas of expertise, and focuses on skills developed over the years rather than on where, when or how you acquired them. The attention is focused on the skill set itself, rather that the context or time frame of its acquisition. When to use a functional resume:

• The functional resume works well if you have changed jobs or careers often and you wish to downplay your work history and highlight your level of expertise
• The functional resume also works well when the hiring company’s main concern is your technical skills

Chronological
The chronological resume presents your skills and accomplishments within the framework of when they actually happened. This resume normally brings excellent results since it is the most explicit description of the quality and application of your skills within a specific time frame
When to use a chronological resume:

• The chronological resume should be utilized when the prospective hiring manager is specifically interested in a steady, progressive and advancing employment history.

Rules to Follow

For Cover Letters

1. ALWAYS TELL THE TRUTH
2. Customize the letter to your intended audience and ensure you have it addressed to the correct company (I cannot tell you the number of times that a cover letter has been sent to us for one of our positions but it was addressed to another company)
3. Focus your remarks into a few concise paragraphs – a cover letter SHOULD NOT exceed one (1) page
4. Read your letter carefully and ensure you put it through the spell and grammar check on your computer
5. Enlist someone you trust to review your letter – they will catch errors that you have missed
6. Do not mention compensation requirements unless you were instructed to do so
7. Never Focus on negative elements of your background
8. Include full contact information in the letter including day and night time contact phone numbers – DO NOT include your work number if you do not want to be contacted there
9. Close the letter with a promise of future action (i.e. I will follow up with you on…) and then follow up.

For Resumes

1. ALWAYS TELL THE TRUTH
2. Customize the letter to your intended audience and ensure you have it addressed to the correct company – your resume is to be considered a Work in Progress – for each role to which you apply, you need to tailor your resume to outline the skills that you have that relate to the job in question
3. Do not include too much information – a resume is meant to leave the reader wanting to call you to find out more
4. Read your resume carefully and ensure you put it through the spell and grammar check on your computer
5. Enlist someone you trust to review your resume – they will catch errors that you have missed
6. Display energy, creativity and personality without exceeding the bounds of good taste
7. NEVER include personal information such as martial status, race, religion, etc…
8. Break up your points in “readable” chunks – sections that are too long won’t get read in full
9. Eliminate “fluff” – stick to the point – readers want to know what you have done
10. Include full contact information in the letter including day time and night time contact phone numbers – DO NOT include your work number if you do not want to be contacted there

The Following are Tables of Words to Utilize in your Resume to make it more POWERFUL – remember, everyone is putting together a resume so you want yours to stand out – unique vocabulary is one way to accomplish this

Experience & Abilities

Energy & Drive

Stability, Maturity & Foresight

Imagination & Creativity

Leadership & Get-Along Ability

Communication

Persuasive Words

Words and Phrases Describing The Companies with which you have Worked

Words and Phrases relating to the Jobs you have Held

Words and Phrases to Motivate

Resources