Need Help: Questions about Resumes ASAP!

[PM_Mama00]

Hey guys. I'm in need of help ASAP! I'm doing a group presentation on resumes, and I have a few questions that I cannot find answers to:

1- How should I handle gaps of six months or more in my background?

2- What if my job experience doesn't line up well with my career objective?

3- How far back should I go in listing my previous jobs and education?

4- How important is it to get all of my information on one page?

5- What if my experience requires more than one page?


Thank u guys so much! I have to have the answers emailed to my partners tonite!

[thesweetestone]

Originally posted by PM_Mama00
Hey guys. I'm in need of help ASAP! I'm doing a group presentation on resumes, and I have a few questions that I cannot find answers to:

1- How should I handle gaps of six months or more in my background?

2- What if my job experience doesn't line up well with my career objective?

3- How far back should I go in listing my previous jobs and education?

4- How important is it to get all of my information on one page?

5- What if my experience requires more than one page?


Thank u guys so much! I have to have the answers emailed to my partners tonite!

I been told that it is important to have only one page. I use a smaller font so all the info will fit.

[lionlove]

Originally posted by PM_Mama00
Hey guys. I'm in need of help ASAP! I'm doing a group presentation on resumes, and I have a few questions that I cannot find answers to:

1- How should I handle gaps of six months or more in my background?

Depends on the situation. Was it a medical leave? Layoff?

2- What if my job experience doesn't line up well with my career objective?

Try to find some aspect that does. Experience dealing with clients and customers? Leadership experience?

3- How far back should I go in listing my previous jobs and education?

In college, nothing from high school should be listed unless it's something really prestigious. After college, it depends on how long you've been out of college and how relevant the experience is.

4- How important is it to get all of my information on one page?

Very important

5- What if my experience requires more than one page?

In college you probably don't have that much experience, just list the really relevant info or format it differently.

Thank u guys so much! I have to have the answers emailed to my partners tonite!

[valkyrie]

I agree that it MUST be one page. You're young, and you can't have that much experience that you would need more. If you are having a hard time fitting it onto one page, have someone else look at it and see what you can cut. You can tweak the margins and font size a *little* but you might be including TMI. Your descriptions should be brief and full of exciting action words.

Resumes are sort of like seduction -- you want to appear so interesting and awesome that they want to interview you to find out more, but you don't want to let them know everything before you have the chance to talk to them in person.

I'm not sure if you're in college or out, but I don't think that when you're starting out gaps are that important, as long as you can explain them in an interview. Are there many gaps? Is it clear that during the time you weren't working, you were in school? If there are only a couple or you were in school, I wouldn't worry too much about it.

If your experience doesn't line up with your objective, try to make it as best you can. Try to describe your experiences in a somewhat general sense that conveys to the reader that while the *experience* itself wasn't perfectly in line with what you want to do, you gained skills that would be valuable to a potential employer. A cover letter is also good for connecting past experiences to what you want to do in the future -- you can say how you learned to do or be X by doing whatever you did at your last jobs.

I'm not sure about how far back you should go. It might depend on the situation and the job. For example, I have two resumes I use -- one that lists jobs I had before law school, and one that doesn't. I use one or the other depending upon what seems right for the position.

[FuzzieAlum]

1) Depends why there's a gap. If you were in school or something, it'll be obvious.

2) Emphasize in your cover letter what does transfer over and why you want this different position - not "I'm desperate enough to apply for anything" of course.

3) Education, college should always be on there. Plus relevant certifications, etc. No high school. Experience, as far back as you want as long as jobs are relevant. If you have a ton of experience, you can leave off that babysitting gig.

4) It's not. Everything I've read lately from professionals suggests that's mostly a legend. It should be under two, however. Let your experience dictate it; if you have to scrunch everything down to three-point font to fit it on one page, don't. But if you just barely go over one page, see if you can pare it down to one.

I agree with everyone else that if you're in college you shouldn't go over one page. But it sounds like your presentation is more general - you didn't indicate if it was aimed solely at college students.

[aephi alum]

1. Gaps of six months or more: Depends on the reason for the gap. If you were in school, you've listed your education, so it's not really a gap. If you were laid off during a recession, the person reviewing your resume will know there was a recession at that time, and as long as you can point to something constructive that you've done during your unemployment (earning a certification, volunteer work, etc) you're ok. Not sure how to handle it if you were fired, or if you took time off to, say, have a baby (since it's illegal for interviewers to ask about family status).

2. If your experience and objective don't quite line up, try to get something onto your resume that indicates that you can do the job. And I agree with FuzzieAlum - get something into your cover letter too.

3. Go back as far as you need to. Many people say to list your last three jobs, but if you're applying for a job in, say, the financial sector, and five jobs ago you worked at a bank, list the bank too.

4. Very important. Many reviewers won't read anything beyond the first page. List only your most recent and most relevant experience. If you're a college grad, your high school shouldn't be on your resume. If you have a section on activities that you participate in, trim it down. Play with fonts, margins, and layouts. Take out the line "References available on request" - if they're thinking of hiring you, believe me they'll ask for references.

5. If your experience doesn't fit on one page, even after doing the above, then something is going to have to be removed.

EXCEPTION: For certain types of jobs (especially academic jobs) you will want a CV rather than a resume. A CV should list, among other things, the papers you've published - so a CV can be several pages long.

[Heather]

Check under "Careers and Employment" if you need some additional info.

http://130.94.21.174/gcforums/showth...threadid=23478

Good luck on your presentation!

[sororitygirl2]

Gaps of more than six months -- Be creative if you can, like list jobs from Fall 2001-Spring 2002, or just from 2001-2002, if you think you can get away from it. Explain in the cover letter or interview what you were doing with that time if you think they will be suspicious (In interviews, I said, "I didn't want to rush into anything until I was sure it was what I wanted to be doing, and now I KNOW this is truly what I want").

If your experience doesn't line up, that is usually fine. It's what you as a person have to offer... Tell your life experiences and how they prepare you for things... You can make anything relate because whether you have been in law, fast food, retail, whatever, you still have to deal with similar concepts -- ethical decisions, high-stress situations, working with people with different personalities than your own, etc...

It's not how far you go back listing education/experience... it's why. Think about each thing you put on your resume and how you can use it to support why you are the bst person... list what you feel is relevant. (Only exception to this... don't list high school stuff unless you have a DAMN good reason)

GET IT ALL ON ONE PAGE!!! Can not stress this enough... You're experience does not require more than one page unless you are much older than you are. Learn the art of brevity...

GOOD LUCK!

(P.S. I swear I am not making this stuff up... I am a job-hunting/interview queen and these have all worked for me)