Sunday, March 29, 2009

Resume Layout - Getting It Right.

By Cynthia Penfold

When choosing a layout for your resume, it is important that you keep in mind that it is the resume that can get you the interview. It helps you get your foot in the door, but it doesn't get the job for you. Some individuals feel that dressing their resume up with graphics and fancy fonts makes it more appealing. There's a good chance it will, but not always in a good way. The best resume formats are those that are clean and easy to read. Keep in mind that the person reading the resume may have already read twenty or so that day and their job is to weed out unacceptable resumes. If your resume is too loud, unprofessional, or confusing, it may go in with the rest of the rejects.

The objective of choosing a good resume layout and producing a good resume is that you want to capture the reader's interest. You want them to believe that you are interesting enough or qualified enough that you should have an interview. But it all starts with the resume layout, so you need to take it very seriously.

When deciding upon an effective resume layout, there are many online that you can choose from. Remember that you do not have to go with a particular style. You can make your resume reflect your personal style, but you still have to keep the overall resume professional. You can make the resume interesting and let the reader know why it is you are perfect for the job and why it is perfect for you. However, you don't want to convey your entire life story. And if you feel that you have a sad or interesting story to tell, keep it out of your resume. If you must get more personal, save it for the interview.

The layout of your resume should have wide margins. You should also be sure to choose a font that can be read easily, such as Times New Roman 12 or Arial 12. You can pick something that is different as long as it is easy to read. You also want to be careful how you use shading and boxes because the best way to use these functions is when going from one section to another.

When choosing a layout for your resume, you can use the same one for jobs, but be careful that the relevant parts of the resume are specific to certain jobs. You need to convey to the reader why it is you want the job and what you can give them. You won't say the same thing for every job. Lastly, make sure you check spelling and grammar because you need to project that you are a professional.

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