The Resume

The first piece of information a company will receive about you is the resume. It should be presented at the beginning of any interview that you have with a company. Ideally, resume should not be longer than one page. The contents of a resume can be roughly categorized as: 1.Personal information (address, telephone number) 2. Job objective 3. Education 4. Experience 5. Skills 6. Extracurricular activities 7. References. The resume should also be perfect in grammar and appearance. The best resume is concise, while exceptional or unique. The objective, like the application or inquiry letter, is to attract attention and elicit a positive response.

The resume begins with personal information, name, address, telephone number centered at the top page.

The work history begins with the most recent job and work period (beginning and ending dates) and proceeds to the first or earlier jobs held. Positive attributes must be incorporated in every description of prior work experiences.

The reason for stating the type of firms where you’ve worked is to show prospective employers that you’re familiar with the industry. In fact, many job listings say something like this: “Experience in finance (or real estate, or law, etc. preferred.)”

The education history is also reported in reverse chronological order, with the most recent listed first.

For references, it’s permissible to merely state: “ References available upon request.” Don’t list references, however, unless you’ve first contacted the people you want to speak on your behalf. Get their permission to use their names. When making personal contacts, be ready to share with these people the top attributes that describe you in a positive way. Ask your references if they agree and, if so, will they please mention these attributes in their letters of reference.