Preparing a Good Resume

I would like to transcribe Tiffany Eatman Allen's article about resume writing here, which would give you a basic sense of how to write a resume. A good tip is always reading relevant job descriptions, from which you may find many good words for your resume. Remember there is no perfect resume, all you need to do is keep revising it and making it better.

I also found these two books are very helpful.

Manley, Will. (1997, January). Will's World: What library school doesn't teach about resume. American Libraries, 104.

Newlen, Robert R. (1998). Writing resume that work: A how-to-do-it manual for librarians. NY: Neal-Schuman Publishers.

Crafting a Winning Resume
From LISCareer.com, by Tiffany Eatman Allen

A cover letter is an introduction of yourself and is your opportunity to express your interest in a position. A resume, on the other hand, is a summary of your job qualifications, including your education and experience. The two go hand-in-hand when you are presenting yourself as a viable candidate for a position. Your goal when crafting a resume is to communicate information about yourself and your work history clearly and concisely. In both your cover letter and resume, you want to address how your experience matches each qualification listed in the vacancy announcement, so be sure to have a complete vacancy announcement with you when writing your cover letter and resume.

Your job in crafting a clean, clear and presentable resume is to give the readers (the supervisor, the search committee) the information they need to accurately evaluate your suitability for their position. Give them the information they need. Present it to them; don't make them hunt around for it. The easier it is to find relevant information on your resume, the easier it will be for them to consider you as a candidate.

TYPES OF RESUMES

Chronological vs. Functional resumes

There are two standard resume formats. Chronological resumes are the most common and list your experience in date order. Functional resumes, although less common, are appropriate in certain circumstances. Functional resumes group your work experience by function, rather than by time, so this type of resume is best used by older job-seekers and would help to conceal a large gap in employment or highlight transferable skills when someone is changing fields. Library search committees are often more familiar with chronological resumes and may find functional resumes more challenging when trying to review work history and experience, so it may be better to follow the chronological resume format and to address the gap in employment in your cover letter. It is always best to be honest and up-front, and to present information clearly and accurately.

Because chronological resumes are more common, let's focus our attention on those. For more information regarding the formatting of functional resumes, please refer to the list of online sources below.

SECTIONS OF A RESUME

Heading

At the top of your resume, include your header information:

Your name

Mailing address

Telephone number (be sure to include the area code)

Email Address

When choosing an email address to include in the header information, make sure it is professional. If you use a personal email account, make sure the address is appropriate for the workplace; recruiters and search committee members may be a little wary of sending an email to an address that starts with SartyBoy?or CrazyGirl.? If you decide to use your current business email, be sure to check that you are within the appropriate use guidelines for your place of employment. It would also be wise to limit your correspondence via email primarily to non-work hours, regardless of the type of account you are using. You wouldn't want your potential employer to think you spend a lot of time at your current job doing non-work-related activities.

You may also want to include a URL for a personal website as part of your header information to convey relevant information about yourself, your professional involvement, and/or your technical abilities. If you do, make sure it only contains professional information or information that you feel represents you well. Remember, well?is a relative term, so use your best judgment when making this decision; it's usually wise to err on the conservative side.

Objective

Although most information contained in an objective statement can be conveyed in the cover letter, if you decide to include an objective, keep it simple and focused, and make it specific to the employer and the position.

Education

When listing your education, include the type of degree, university, city and state, and the date earned or expected. If you have multiple degrees, list in reverse chronological order with the most recent first.

If applicable and directly relevant to the position, you may want to include a Coursework section following the Education section. Do not list every course you've ever taken. List only a few select courses that relate directly to the position for which you are applying.

Experience

As in your Education section, experience is listed in reverse chronological order. List your current or most recent employment first and work backwards. Be sure to include the position title, company name and address, and dates of employment. For each position, describe your responsibilities and accomplishments. Use action verbs and avoid, if possible, phrases that begin with responsible for or assisted with Action verbs include: administer, control, conduct, develop, direct, initiate, organize, plan, review, supervise, train, troubleshoot, etc. Bulleted lists are fine and actually convey important information in an easy-to-read format. Make sure your bullets are descriptive, but avoid using lengthy narrative.

Other

Additional sections that highlight your skills and qualifications for the position may also include the following. You can list these sections after the Education and Experience.

Computer skills

Foreign language skills

Honors and awards

Volunteer activities

Only include volunteer activities on your resume if they relate directly to the position, i.e. if they show your ability to lead a group, manage a budget, organize an activity, etc. This is not a personal ad's hobbies, activities, group affiliations, etc. should not be included on your resume unless they are somehow directly related to the position for which you are applying.

References

If specified in the vacancy announcement, follow the institution's instructions regarding the submission of references. Most institutions will ask for three professional references. If nothing is specified, but you have your references lined up, go ahead and include their information on a separate page. Make sure they are professional references; that is, make sure these individuals can speak to the quality of your work, not just how wonderful you are as a person. If at all possible, include a current (or former) supervisor, someone who can speak directly to how you work, take direction, show initiative, etc.

When listing references, include their name, title, relationship to you, mailing address, telephone number and email address. Be sure to ASK these individuals beforehand if they will serve as a reference for you, and if they are able to give you a favorable reference. Make sure they have a copy of your application materials (cover letter and resume) and also a vacancy announcement for the position, so they can speak honestly and directly about how your education and experience match the qualifications of the position.

GENERAL COMMENTS ABOUT THE OVERALL RESUME

Layout

Make your resume clean, appealing and pleasing to the eye. Make your margins between ?and 1 inch all around. Be sure to make good use of space on the paper on cram everything into the middle of the page, leaving vast amounts of unused space in really wide margins. At the same time, you don't want a page full of text that is overwhelming to the reader (which is another good reason to use bulleted lists.)

Use a standard 12-point (no less than 10-point font). Use 8 ?x 11 inch white or off-white, standard weight, good quality paper. Avoid colored paper, oddly-sized paper and especially scented papers; they are hard to read, difficult to photocopy or scan, and a challenge to file. These may get you noticed, but not in a good way.

Length

Your resume will grow with your longevity in the profession. Early in your career, expect a resume between 1 and 3 pages in length.

Accuracy

Perhaps the most important piece of advice regarding your resume is to proofread, proofread, proofread! And then have someone else proofread for you. In a profession filled with so many English majors, former editors and prolific readers, spelling and grammatical errors are quickly discovered and harshly judged.

As many have said before, a resume won't get you the job, but it will get you in the door for an interview. So do your research, thoroughly review the vacancy announcement and your qualifications for the position, and carefully craft a winning resume the first step to being well on your way to the job of your dreams.

References and Resources

Build the Resume Employers Want. Retrieved November 29, 2004, from http://www.jobweb.com/resources/library/Interviews__Resumes/default.htm

Denham, Thomas J. Create a Killer Resume. Retrieved November 7, 2001, from http://www.jobweb.com/resources/library/Interviews__Resumes/default.htm

HR Management Partners, Inc. Action Verb Glossary. Retrieved November 29, 2004, from http://www.escambia.k12.fl.us/adminoff/edsupport/forms.htm

Monster.com Resume Center. Dos and Don'ts. Retrieved November 29, 2004, from http://resume.monster.com/archives/dosanddonts/

Monster.com Resume Center. Resume Quick Tips. Retrieved November 29, 2004, from http://resume.monster.com/archives/tips/

About the Author:

Tiffany Eatman Allen is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a BA in Psychology and Political Science, and a Masters of Library Science. She has worked in technical services in an academic library and a small corporate library, and currently serves as Assistant Personnel Librarian at UNC Chapel Hill.

Article published Jan 2005

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