Recession Survival Guide: Make your resume work for you
By Laura RillosEUGENE, Ore.--A resume is an essential job search tool, but it trips up many job seekers. Deb Chereck, the director of the University of Oregon's Career Center says many folks treat the resume like a job application when they should look at it like an advertisting tool. She offered the following tips: DON'T include the names of supervisors, their phone numbers and the addresses of previous workplaces. DO include only relevant jobs, experiences and skills. "One of the biggest errors I've seen tend to be people try to give a laundry list of everything they've done," said Chereck. "It's not focused, it's not thematic, it's not clear what their skills are." Chereck added, "They think that [including every job] may be more attractive because it speak to any number of opportunities. But in this age of technology, it should be honed for the interview and the opportunity you're interested in. You know if you've got a resume for food service and a resume for working at a hotel and a resume for another purpose, you're almost there." DON'T submit the same resume for every job. DO craft one great basic resume. DO customize that resume for the postion you're applying for. DO proofread your resume. Grammar or spelling mistakes will get your resume thrown out. DON'T rely on spellcheck. Many words have different spellings and the computer program may pick the wrong one. DO have another person--or maybe two people--read over your resume. DO keep your resume as succint as possible. Keep it to one page if you're a younger job seeker, but older folks with lots of relevant experience can go a little longer, according to Chereck, who says another half page is fine. "But the psychology says you don't want to fill up that second page," she said. DON'T think that's a green light to pad your resume. Only include relevant information. DON'T focus all your attention on internet job searches. They can only go so far. DO network. Let people know you're looking for a job. Friends, family, previous co-workers might know about job openings. DO meet people for informational interviews about possible job openings.
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