CHOOSING THE BEST RESUME FORMAT IN 2012: Chronological? Functional? Combination?

Author's Note: FAR TOO MANY JOB SEEKERS STILL THINK THAT CHOOSING THE RIGHT RESUME FORMAT IS ALL THERE IS TO CREATING A WINNING RESUME. NOT SO. IT IS ONLY A START AND WILL NOT GUARANTEE A SUCCESSFUL RESUME. WHY? DO YOU KNOW HOW TO SELL YOURSELF ON PAPER?  PROBABLY NOT. PLEASE GET PROFESSIONAL HELP!

Choosing the best resume format in 2012 will increase your chances of getting hired in this recession. It will highlight your strengths and hide or disguise your shortcomings or resume blemishes


IN A RECESSION, THE RIGHT OR BEST RESUME FORMAT IS CRUCIAL You cannot hope to build a winning resume using the wrong or unsuitable format.



The right or best resume format in your case will help a reader see what you're offering in the FIRST 10-15 LINES. That is your "sell" -- the reasons why you should be HIRED.
Do you really know how to do this? 95% of all job seekers will "undersell" themselves. That means your resume WON'T impress.


Your worst solution is to use a readymade RESUME TEMPLATE! They may look good to you but help you very little. Many of those templates are outdated or of very little value to you. (For example, Microsoft Wizard templates were included in Windows 98 when it was first launched in 1998!)



By using a resume template that you can find on the Internet, your resume will look like thousands of other resumes! It WON'T stand out or be noticed. Please DON'T use a cookie cutter template that looks like all the others.



Will someone else's design also showcase your unique job history and achievements? Not as well as it should. The same shortcoming or limitation applies to any preformatted resume template.



Writing your own resume is NOT like baking cookies. It is essential that you choose your resume format wisely. Your goal is to find a suitable layout that will help you highlight your own strengths and hide or disguise your own shortcomings or other resume blemishes.



Fortunately, there are several RESUME FORMATS to choose from.



The LENGTH of your resume is also a factor and we outgrow certain formats. The crucial question is how and where will you record your skills, strengths and experience in the most effective manner? How and where will you sell yourself in your resume?



Here are the advantages and disadvantages of using the best resume formats:



COMBINATION RESUME FORMAT



A modern Combination resume is a very good answer because this will combine the best features of the traditional Chronological (dates in reverse order) and Functional (skills) resumes.



This format is ideal or the right choice for a senior executive or manager who needs a stronger and better resume to compete in 2012.



This type of resume has a crucial 15-line section at the top for writing an audience-oriented Job Objective and a Summary or Profile or Qualifications Statement. There is also room for a Personal Branding Statement which I personally dislike because it often results in a boring paragraph praising you and your skills but which screeners don't feel like reading!



The Combination resume enables you to present your "CAN DO's" as well as a summary of your "HAVE DONE's" in the top half of Page One. Managers and executives will also be able to include two to three columns listing their areas of experience or expertise. This section is referred to as Core Competencies or Areas of Expertise and always impresses a reader -- even in today's recession.



TARGETED RESUME FORMAT



Nowadays, a targeted resume that addresses an employer's specific needs is the best resume format. It is always the right choice because it focuses your resume towards a specific career objective or job advertisement in a specific company, environment or industry. This is crucial in a recession.



The targeting takes place mainly in the first 15 lines.



A Tailored ("Just-for-You") resume shows the reader what a good "fit" you are for the position advertised. Such resumes will be effective in any job market. They are always the best resume formats in a recession. A tailored resume format is the right format for anyone and at any time.








CHRONOLOGICAL RESUME FORMAT



VERSUS


FUNCTIONAL RESUME FORMAT



The traditional Chronological resume (dates in reverse order) is popular but very "basic".



It does NOT allow someone with 5-20 years' experience to do justice to his or her skills, strengths, and accomplishments.



This format is limited to the facts of your Work Experience and Education. ( It's like a C.V.) Sometimes, a weak Summary or Profile is included.




Where will you write about your abilities? Where will you offer your VALUE? How will you sell yourself? Much of what a recruiter needs to know - your "sell" -- will be missing! You can't afford such a format in a tough buyer's market or recession.



It may therefore surprise you to learn that the widely used Chronological resume is actually incomplete because it is weak as a SALES / MARKETING tool. Unfortunately, this type of resume relies too heavily on selling yourself in a separate cover letter which may or may not be read. Nowadays, many cover letters do not get read as in the '80s when the cover letter was an important selling tool.



FUNCTIONAL RESUME FORMAT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA BECAUSE IT IS NOT LIKED BY MOST EMPLOYERS



Should you therefore go "Functional"? Too many people rush to use the Functional format. The awful reality is that many employers do not care for it and in this recession they will actually hate it.



This resume which has a big skills section at the top (under different headings such as "Management Skills" or "Production Skills").



The skills statements are followed by one-line items setting out brief details of dates and names of employers at the bottom of the page. The resume is therefore "top heavy".



Many employers DON'T care to read a lot about your skills, abilities and achievements unless they can MATCH UP these claims with the job titles and dates to which they refer.



Most employers prefer a "normal" Chronological resume format with dates and job description



Many distrust a Functional resume because they know it is used to hide or disguise your work history. It makes them very wary and suspicious. In a recession, they will simply screen you out in seconds.



In short, choosing the best or right resume format to create an effective resume in your case is not an easy matter and you may need to seek professional resume help.



There are many factors to take into account, including the length of your resume, your accomplishments, as well as shortcomings or potential negatives or "red flag" items. All are crucial for successful job hunting in this recession.



A first-class writer deals with problems of resume design every day and has the necessary skill and expertise to find or develop the best solution for you.



ASCII (ELECTRONIC) RESUME FORMAT



OR



TEXT-BASED RESUME FORMAT



Expert resume writers will also advise you about the advantages and disadvantages of using Electronic (ASCII) resumes (in Notepad) and what can be done to make them look better.



To copy and paste a Microsoft Word document into an online box will result in a resume that looks like a dog's breakfast. There will be a major change in formatting, a loss of underlines, italics and bolds, and some types of bullet. It will need to be patiently converted into an ASCII or text-based format with a maximum of 600 characters per line.



So, please do not rely on your limited knowledge of different formats. Your resume is your most important job search tool and it will always pay you to consult a resume expert. In this recession you have little choice but to do so.



FOR FREE ADVICE, PLEASE CONTACT ME ON 1-718-436-3504.
MY FEES ARE EXTREMELY REASONABLE.


MATTGREENE@AOL.COM




COPYRIGHT, 2006-2012 BY MATTHEW GREENE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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Using a Sample Resume in 2012 – Pro’s and Con’s

There are advantages in using a "perfect" sample resume to write your own resume in 2012. First, you can get a good idea of what the final product should look like. Second, you may be able to use the same or a similar format. Third, you may be able to copy a few phrases and buzz words.

But don’t become too confident. No sample resume can provide you with all of the ANSWERS you'll need in writing your own resume. Nor will a sample help you to make important DECISIONS about what to include in yours, what to emphasize and what to leave out .

Readymade resume examples will also mislead you because you will never know what has been added or left out during the writing process.

The worst is that you may be copying blindly from someone else's resume without really understanding why the resume was done that way. That resume was once designed for another job seeker with a different work history and his/her own resume problems (or even blemishes). By using the answers given to someone else, you are using the "medicine" prescribed for someone else's resume. This is not smart at all and it will HURT you. It will also cost you a few job opportunities.

The sample resume you are looking at may look very elegant and be neatly done. But has it worked to get the writer job interviews? Some of the most elegant resumes do NOT generate a single interview! They are completely ineffective. Why? Because an elegant, Garamond resume template may not show you WHERE and HOW to add your own "sell" to the neat headings. That means you will be UNDERSELLING yourself which is a fatal mistake.

And that’s why many resume templates are less-than-useful and even outdated!

Most homemade resumes include 20 to 40 stupid black BULLETS. Why? Only to make the resume look "pretty". But those black dots or arrows or other dingbats will NOT impress anyone. There are too many of them. Instead, only 5 to 10 bullets or arrows should be used to draw attention to your most valuable skills and accomplishments. (Please read my # 1 ranked article on Smart and Strategic Bullets.)

Before you decide to copy a phrase written in fancy English, ask yourself whether that is the LANGUAGE used by the employer. The language of a schoolteacher or journalist or literary writer may not be suitable for a job resume.

This is why you need to be extra careful when copying or adapting a JOB OBJECTIVE. Many samples contain objectives that are all "me", "me" instead of addressing what the employer wants to read – what you are offering to do for him/her. Phrases such as "dedicated" and "highly motivated" are turnoffs! Even "results-oriented" is overused.

And don’t ever write that you're seeking a "challenging opportunity in a progressive company or firm". Only God can understand that, not ordinary employers.

In a sample resume, the DATES of employment will usually look "normal". So what must you do about your short-term positions or gaps in your employment history that make you look like an unstable "job hopper"? In a well-written sample, the dates of employment will be expressed only in YEARS. By doing that, the gaps between jobs are closed, your stay in each job will seem longer, and you can now safely omit – yes, leave out, a few of the positions you have held. After all, a resume means "SUMMARY". It is not a True Confessions sheet!

Finally, it is a painful fact that 90% of home-made resumes and resume templates will NOT work in this recession. Please get your resume written or strengthened or "fixed" by a good professional writer.

CALL MATTHEW GREENE FOR FREE ADVICE ON 1-718-436-3504

OR WRITE: mattgreene@aol.com

Copyright, 2006-2012 by Matthew Greene. All rights reserved.
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USING SAMPLE RESUMES

USING SAMPLE RESUMES IN THIS RECESSION,

A MANAGEMENT RESUME IN 2012 MUST BE EFFECTIVE. THAT IS CRUCIAL IN A RECESSION.

An effective management resume is crucial in 2012 or any recession. It sells you in the strongest way and makes the best first impression. This helps you to beat the competition for jobs, gets you interviews and more.

To be effective in a recession , a management resume should highlight your strongest management skills (or skills set) and accomplishments. Do you have any special management or project management training or certifications? Such items will help to "sell" your VALUE or worth to recruiters and employers. They are absolutely crucial.

A good management resume is much more than a plain or "basic" resume. For maximum effectiveness, your resume should target the employer's specific needs or requirements and "sell" you up front. That is crucial in a recession The employer needs to know (in your resume) what type of position you are applying for and what you are offering to meet his or her needs.

Selling yourself starts in your JOB OBJECTIVE! It is the marketing "head" of your resume and tells the reader what position you are seeking.

You should also list your areas of skill or experience or expertise (your key or core competencies) in two or three COLUMNS so that the reader will quickly see that you offer "Leadership" or "Project Management" or "Operations Management" or "Strategic Planning" or "Solutions Selling" or "Team-building" or "Negotiating Skills". And so on.

Thus, in only 10-15 lines, your resume will make you LOOK like the strong management candidate they are eager to interview and hire -- even in 2012 and this recession.

Is your resume still on one page? As a rule, managers CANNOT do themselves justice on one page!

Does your Work Experience consist of 5-7 boring, gray paragraphs with run-on lines?

Do your accomplishments lie buried in the text on Page 2 or 3 where they'll be overlooked or do they stand out?

Are you using 20-50 black "bullets" or arrows in your resume? Why? If you try to draw attention to every line, then every item may be ignored! [Please read http://winning-resumes.com/bullets.htm]

You should be highlighting buzz words or keywords such as "strategic planning" or "cost containment" or "cost reduction" or "turnaround" or "start-up" or "strategic or tactical selling" or "selling to C-level executives" or "business process improvement". Such items are of crucial importance. They could get you hired in this recession.

Are you using black bullets or arrows decoratively in your resume? Why? Bullets should be "smart" and strategic. They are crucial for drawing attention to your accomplishments.(http://winning-resumes.com/bullets.htm)

Finally, why do highly qualified management candidates often fail to land interviews? Many of these were beaten by a less-qualified candidate with the best resume.

Please read the following exerpt from a valuable article that recently appeared in Career Hub. It explains how the employment system works:

"The Best Products, Best Singers and Best Employee Don’t Always Win" (Career Hub)

Seth Godin, the well-known marketing guru and best-selling author feels that "success in business is NOT about the best product. The best products do not win. It's the best marketed and branded products that win." This helps to explain why someone as talented but low-key as 21-year-old Laura White was voted off very early in X-Factor -- the U.K. version of American Idol -- a competition she was supposed to win. Why? She failed to make real contact with the voting audience and she neglected to market and promote herself.

Similarly, it's also a shame when talented, hard working people get laid off or are not hired for jobs while less talented managers either remain employed or find employment. The best approach for getting hired, is effective marketing, branding and self-promotion.

That's what a truly effective job resume can do for you. A resume must be a MARKETING tool. It's the way the hiring system works in a marketing economy. Please don't fight it! Time is NOT on your side. We are in a recession that will be "long and deep". (Warren Buffet). It may even turn into a Depression.

PLEASE CALL MATT GREENE FOR FREE ADVICE ON 1-718-436-3504

OR WRITE: mattgreene@aol.com

Copyright, 2006-2012 by Matthew Greene. All rights reserved.

Tags:

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MANAGEMENT RESUMES IN A RECESSION,
EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT RESUME IS CRUCIAL,
MANAGEMENT RESUME IN A HARD TIMES,
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