Your resume is the first thing that a prospective employer sees, and should be written to show you off to your
best advantage. At Rogers & Partners, we are committed to putting your best foot forward, and to that end, we offer
you the following pointers for writing your resume:
Mistakes in your resume can damage or even kill your career because a substandard document can prevent you from
being called for a job interview.� If your resume isn't 100% perfect, you're not alone.� The following are the six
mistakes that ruin most resumes and how you can prevent them. (source: National Business Employment Weekly,
published by The Wall Street Journal©1999 Dow Jones & Company, Inc., September 26-October 2, 1999): �
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Mistake #1: No objective or summary.
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Mistake #2: Focusing on you and your needs.
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Mistake #3: Focusing on duties and responsibilities instead of results.
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Mistake #4: Too many big words.
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Mistake #5: Errors in spelling and punctuation.
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Mistake #6: E-mailing a garbled resume.�
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Think "Professional". Keep your resume concise and to the point.�
Make sure you include all your contact information, including your phone number at home and work
(direct dial number, if applicable), home address, and e-mail address.� This will ensure that you can
be reached easily by the prospective employer.�
Focus on your accomplishments.�
Remember to keep it simple when describing your duties and responsibilities. Details of a project
can be filled in during an interview.�
The most important areas of your resume are Experience (Work History), Skills (Technology), and
Education. These areas should appear in that order unless, for example, you have some extraordinary
skill or degree that should be apparent to the employer right at the beginning.�
Starting with Experience, show your current employer first, then the next employer
chronologically (present to past). �
Show the dates of employment (e.g. June 1995 to Present), the name of the employer
(no need to show the address, although the city and state is ok), and your current
position title (e.g. Network Administrator). �
If you have had several positions within one company, show the dates for each position in
parenthesis after the title. Note that the dates of employment on the first line should include
the entire time you were with that company.�
Use the past tense when describing your duties at previous companies. The only duties to be
described in the present tense are your current ones.�
When listing your education, put what's important first. Your degree should come before the
name of the university or college. For example, "BS in Computer Science (1988), University of Minnesota"
and the course you took should come before the name of the place where you took the course.�
Edit your resume to emphasize the requirements of job you are seeking. For example, you may have had
some experience along the way as a computer operator, but you are now seeking a position as a helpdesk
administrator. Emphasize the duties you performed as a computer operator that would be beneficial to the
new job that you are seeking.�
Avoid using all but the most obvious abbreviations. Others may not know what you are referring to.�
Avoid giving personal information. It wastes valuable space and weakens your message.�
Check punctuation, spelling and grammar. Use the spell check feature on your computer and have
someone else check over your resume to make sure you haven't missed anything.�
Remember:
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Think "Professional"!
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List the important things first.
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Always check punctuation, spelling and grammar.
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To learn more, read our Interviewing Hints or return to our Hints for Success
