Resume Series: Part Three - Experience

Some people will debate over what section should come next in your resume.  Depending on your field of work, some say it should be Education while others say it should be Experience.  The rule of thumb is the next section should be the one that shows you as qualified for the position you are applying for.

For our purposes, we will cover the Experience section in today's discussion. 

In the Experience section, list the jobs you have held in the order of the most recent first.  For each listing, provide a brief summary or a list of bullet points highlighting the key responsibilites you had at each position.

Try to use as many action verbs as you can.  Instead of saying, "responsible for", try saying things like managed, improved, or analyzed.

When you list each job, include your title, the company name and location, and the dates you worked there. 

One other key thing to mention is how much information should you include.  If you're just starting out in the work force, you shouldn't have any problem getting everything on one page.  But if you've been working for many years, you want to limit your resume to no more than two pages.

If this applies to you, you probably only want to include the most relevant job information.  In other words, if you started your career working as a cashier at the local grocery store, chances are that it's not relevant to the position you're applying for now.  Leave the "early years" off of your resume unless the positions you held are directly related to the position you are applying for now.

Tomorrow we will go over the Education portion of a resume.

Have any questions about your resume and what you should/should not include?  We welcome your comments below.

Take Our Latest Poll

Hi Everyone,

As a relatively new blog, we want to make sure that we are delivering the information you need to help you find a job.

Please take part in the poll shown over to the right and let us know why you came to the Your Online Career Center.  If your response is "other", please let us know the specific reason in the comments below.

The only way we can help you is if we know what you're looking for.  We appreciate your responses and please let us know how we can make this a great blog and help you find work.

Thanks!

Resume Series: Part Two - Objective

One of the most common things that people leave out of their resume is the objective or summary section.  Whether it's because they don't know what to say or they didn't feel it was important, anyone who skips this may have a lot of trouble getting noticed.

The objective or summary section is there to get the attention of the reader.  Think of it as you would a book jacket.  The writing there is to get you to invest time in buying and reading the rest of the book.  The same goes for your resume. 

Employers are inundated by the resumes they receive.  If they don't have a way to filter out the good, the bad, and the ugly, they'd never get home at night.  This is one way for them to apply that filter. 

The objective should give them a brief overview of what you want to do and what your qualifications are to do it.  Without that, a recruiter has to go over your whole resume to find the same information.  So if you include it, don't you think that recruiter will think more highly of you than if you didn't?

An example of an objective/summary is:

Over 20 years of accounting experience, including in-depth financial statement analysis, with a reputation of streamlining processes and saving valuable time and resources.

Tomorrow we will go over the Experience section of a resume.

Do you have an objective section on your resume?  How important do you think it is to have one?  Let us know in the comment section below.

Resume Series: Part One - Heading

This week kicks off the start of a three week series on resume, cover letter, and interview tips.  This week we will focus on your resume.

Today we talk about what your resume heading should include:

• Name - you will want your name to appear first on your resume.  Use your full legal name and format it to be a slightly bigger font than the rest of your document.
• Address - always use your mailing address on your resume.  Some of the more rural towns require you to have a post office box for your mail, use that address.  Some companies will send out a post card or letter to acknowledge receiving your information so you'll want to make sure you receive this communication from them.
• Phone number - it's usually best to use a cell phone as your contact number.  That way if an employer is trying to reach you, you can get back to them right away.  Whatever phone you decide to use, make sure that young children aren't answering it and that your voice mail is in a professional tone.
• Email address - use a professional sounding email for your resume.  In other words, if you have an email that's something like partygirl@yahoo.com, don't use it on your resume.  There are a lot free email options out there to choose from, use one that doesn't make you sound unprofessional. 

 All of these items should be included at the top of your resume.  Make sure all of the information is current so that employers have the best possible way to get in touch with you.

Tomorrow we will talk about the most overlooked component of a resume: the objective.

Do you have a question about your resume and what you should include and/or leave out?  Let us know in the comments below.

5 Reasons to Work From Home

Approximately 2.8 million of the U.S. population work from home for most of their work week.  This doesn’t include self-employed individuals or unpaid volunteers. It is also estimated that about 34 million people work from home on an occasional basis.

With the internet, smart phones, and plenty of Wi-Fi connections and various locations to choose from, it’s no wonder that working remotely has become so popular. Let’s look at a few of the advantages to working from home.

• No Commute – the average U.S. worker commutes 30 – 45 minutes one way to work. That's the equivalent of five hours or more a week that is lost to commuting. When you combine that with high gas prices, you have a fairly good reason to telecommute.

• Child Care – another major expense for U.S. workers is child care. When you telecommute, you may be able to save money by taking care of your children in the comfort of your home.



• Dress for Success is optional – as long as you don’t need to meet people face to face, no need to bother with makeup, ties, or business suits?
  
  
• No boss or irritating co-workers – working from home gives you the luxury of being in your own world to work and not suffer from an overbearing boss, phone calls, and the latest gossip at the water cooler.  Some people even discover that they're more productive at home because there's fewer interruptions. 
  
  
• Save money on food – you won’t be tempted to stop and get coffee because you were running late.  You can brew it at home for a lot less money. You also won’t be tempted by "Donut Fridays" or lunch outings with co-workers. You can make your own breakfast and/or lunch at home and it will more than likely be healthier and definitely a lot less expensive.

Even though working from home sounds like a dream come true for most, some workers prefer not to be in solitude all day. This can be a serious drawback if you need interaction with others on a regular basis.


What are your thoughts on working from home?  What have you found to be the advantages or disadvantages of working from home?  Please let us know in the comments below.

**Special note - next week we will be starting a three week series on resumes, cover letters, and interview tips. 

Upcoming Job Fair Info for FL, NV and RI

Please note the following job fairs that are coming up:

Goodwill Big Bend Job Fair - Port St. Joe, Florida, August 15th.  For more information, please click on their link.

Amazon Warehouse Job Fair, Fernley, Nevada, August 10th.  Click on this link for more information.
Infusion Resource Health Care Job Fair, East Providence, RI, August 13.  Click here for more information.


If you want to know about other job fairs that are coming up, please let us know in the comments below.

Job Fair Tips

As you've probably noticed, we try to post job fair information at least a couple times a week.  Given that, we wanted to post some information that we thought would be helpful to making a job fair more successful for attendees.

• Read all the facts - you want to read all of the information related to the fair.  The job fair may only be for specific industries or job types so make sure it is the right event for you.  You will also find relevant information like dates, times, and registration information. 
• Allow plenty of travel time - most job fairs are held in major cities which means a problem with two things.  Traffic and parking.  Avoid any additional stress and give yourself plenty of time to get there and park.     
• Registration - find out if you need to register ahead of time.  In some cases, if you register ahead of time, you may have access to more information before the event starts.  This also may allow you to make appointments with potential employers or attend resume critiques.
• Attire - Unless the event information says otherwise, ALWAYS dress professionally.  Think of the job fair as you would going to a job interview.  Some of the fairs will even give you the opportunity to interview with potential employers.  Be prepared.
• Bring your resume - Always bring copies of your resume.  You never know who you're going to meet and who's going to request it.  You can buy an inexpensive folder or binder to place them in so they will be easy to carry around with you.
• Follow up - At some point, you are likely to meet and chat with someone about what your looking for and how you might be a good fit for their organization.  Make sure to get a business card and follow up with them within a few days.  Remind them of your conversation and what you talked about.  Try to set up a time to meet them one-on-one if you haven't already.

Job fairs can be a great way to get yourself in front of a lot of companies but it can also be very overwhelming.  The more prepared you are, the more successful the event will be.

What tips do you have about attending job fairs?  Have you found a job by attending one?  Please let us know in the comments below.