Resume Writing

The word resume is French for "summary." It is typically a one or two page summary of your education, employment history and interests & skills, which reflect your personality and experiences that are pertinent to prospective employers.

Resume Format

There are essentially three formats your resume can take:

1. Reverse Chronological: shows all employment in reverse chronological order, starting with your current/most recent employer. It emphasizes your job duties and highlights a steady work history. 
   

2. Functional: highlights your experience, skills and job accomplishments, but not in date sequence. Headings are based on your most important skills. It does not include employers & dates of employment. 
   

3. Combination: lists your experience by skill area and includes employers and dates of employment.
   

4. Studies by Human Resources Association of Calgary show that approximately 90% of businesses in Calgary favour the chronological format. It is the simplest to read and shows a trend in your career. The following is an example of this style of resume.

Chronological Resume Format

Identification: Your complete name, address, telephone and fax numbers are typically displayed at the top of each page centered and bolded.

Career Objective (optional): Should be "open ended" and reflect a reasonable progression for the next few years. Typically 1-2 sentences long. For example, "To gain a challenging position in the financial area which utilizes my accounting expertise."

Education: Work back from your most recent educational experience. Be sure to include any degrees, awards, special honors or continuing education courses.

Work Experience: Describe the positions that you have held, also beginning with the most recent. Do not forget to list the employer, location, dates of employment and duties & responsibilities of you job. Listing volunteer work is recommended but optional.

Extra-Curricular Activities: Include activities that are of a "non-controversial" nature, such as sports clubs and personal interests.

Skills: Highlight any skills that you have acquired along the way such as software packages, working well as a member of a team, etc.

References: Most potential employers prefer a list of people who can speak to the quality of your work and your work habits. These can be supplied upon request or listed as part of your resume.

Critical Factors

Be concise, neat, well organized, articulate and truthful.
Emphasize your strongest skills.
Be accurate; avoid misspellings and errors of grammar.
Do not list previous salaries, names of supervisors, or reasons for leaving.
Avoid using "I." 
Target it toward the employer and the position you are applying for.
Use action words - verbs ending in "-ing"; for example: preparing, managing, etc. 
Use point form as much as possible.
Make it eye catching; bold print headings, have a good use of white space.

Other Considerations

Use good quality paper, preferably white.
Resume should look business like - avoid using "pretty" fonts.
Do not make copies of copies.
Do not bind the resume.
Use a personalized covering letter to introduce yourself, and your resume, to potential employers.

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