Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests Help with Resume....

Well, since I'm on the edge of being fired.... I am currently seeking other employment. I've never had to send a resume. But I'm interested in a Job at Alliant Energy. I meet the requirments and have typed up my resume. BUT.... I'm a little nervous about it.... I printed it out on the nice paper and all.... And am putting it in a nice envolope. Then should I send it Priority mail??? It needs to be there by the 14th. What are some pointers I need to do? What do you look for when you receive resume's??????? Heres what mine look like........ Thanks, Jason..... Oh and don't call me please!!!!!!
COVER LETTER:

RESUME:

Jason,
I'd like to offer a few suggestions if I may...

1) Don't use past tenses in the first sentence of your cover letter. "I was very interested to see your advertisement for a Construction Associate..."

How about "I am very interested...."

2) Resume: 2000-2000 makes no sense. Just put 2000.

3) Try to avoid personal value judgements in your cover letter. "working at a grueling pace", or "in a chaotic environment". Try to provide concrete examples of your experiences only.

4) Talk about your work experience in your cover letter and what you learned. Rather than "friends come to you for advice".

5) Try to keep a consistent attitude in your cover letter. At times you sound really confident "I'm the type of person you need". Then right after you say "I feel I'm ready to enter the workforce." I get mixed messages reading this.

6) Proper nouns should be capitalized "MS Money, Outlook Express, etc."

7) Resume, Employment section:

I think it's great you started some paragraphs with action words "Helped with..."

Try to do this consistently. Instead of "Was responsible", say "Responsible for....."

Consider stronger action words. Assisted. Thoroughly familiar with. Developed. Produced. Created. Built.

"Dealt with" sort of implies passiveness. How about "Responded to". "Assisted with".

In short, you've got a good start. You're resume is pretty sound. I'd concentrate on your cover letter because that's what's going to get your resume read.

Good luck.
Kerry

Awesome..... thanks man..... I'll get on that!!!!

Man I'm stuck on this paragraph.......

I've spent the last few years bettering my education and experience. I've been to school, worked at a grueling pace, and been involved in a chaotic working environment. I feel as if I'm ready to enter this area of the workforce and put my talents to use.

How can I change this, but yet convey some form of the same message????????

Should I change the sentence,"Friends come to me........... " to something like..... "Co-workers come to me with questions pertaining to work."

?????????????

My first suggestion, is to remove all of the bullets in your cover letter. It looks to me that you are "fluffing" the cover letter to make it look longer. My experience has been, when you are receiving many letters with a resume attached, you want to have it short and sweet so they do not just go right over it.

I agree with much of what Kerrychin has been saying. He can definitely point you in the right direction. Here is a copy of what my resume looks like. I just removed all of the address/phone number information. It is not the greatest, but it works. At my school, I have to do this every year so I am starting to get the whole resume/interview system down. If you need any other help, just ask

jaydog:

In a formal business letter, it is advisable not to abbreviate words, such as IA (Iowa), Wi (Wisconsin), I've (I have), etc.

For your earlier post, here is what I would suggest:
My educational and professional work history have prepared me for the demands of this position. I am prepared to enter this area of the work force and to put my talents to work for your organization.

I'll try to look at rewording your last post later. However, I've got to run to get my own work done. Good Luck!!!!

Nathan

I can help you when I get home tonight. Essentially: HOW have you bettered yourself with experience and education? WHAT have you done? Taken courses? Had relevant previous jobs? If so, say just that.

If you provide examples of what you've done to better yourself, that will answer your question very nicely.

Kerry

In short...no.

I agree with Dweezel in that cover letter should be succinct and concise. If that sentence doesn't work for you, then remove it and expand elsewhere.

I think a good sentence to expand on is the bettering yourself one.

So you went back to school, presumably to enhance your computer skills, from what I can tell. That's great. As a reader, that means that you are willing to continually learn new skills, and have the discipline to return to class to do so.

Also your previous work experience...what have you taken from that? (Notice I didn't say "What did you learn?")

What did you take from previous jobs in product distribution? Meticulousness? Saavy for product cycles and purchasing decisions?

What did your lab monitor job show you? Responsibility and assisting others with their needs (taking ownership for your actions and selflessness?)

End your letter with a specific request. Not "I certainly look towards exploring this further". That's too vague.

How about "I would be most delighted (pick whatever suits your personality) to discuss my experiences and qualifications further, either on the telephone (not phone...that's slang) or in person at your convenience. Thank you for your attention and consideration."

The checkbook balancing thing doesn't do it for me. If it's not directly related to the position you're applying for, don't put it in. Keep to the point.

Hope this helps. Good on you for asking for help. It's not an easy thing to do when it comes to this sort of thing.

Kerry

P.S. Let us know how it goes, OK?

IMHO, the "Objective" could be eliminated; lots of people include it, but I think it's superflouous.

The "Qualifications" should be limited to quantifiable skills (like your experience with various apps). List specifics regarding the "communication and collaboration" portion. The first and last bullets in that section could probably be eliminated, unless you can come up with some specific examples of how you are inquisitive/creative/resourceful.

Fix tab/indent on your current position heading.

Good start; most of this is nit-picking.