Resume

The resume is probably the most important tool you have to sell yourself to a future employer. While you may meet all the required skills necessary to succeed in a particular job position, it is of no use to you if an employer decides to reject your resume. You have about 30 seconds to impress your employer before he/she decides whether to throw your resume in the bin

So how do you create a resume that gives you every chance of success? First of all, an effective resume needs to be job specific. It needs to meet the employer’s stated requirements for the position posted. It is important that you recognise what skills and experiences are necessary for a particular job and highlight those in your resume.

Before you begin writing that perfect resume, it might be a good time to look at some of the misconceptions associated with resume writing.

Resume misconceptions

1) You can put together the perfect resume and use it for every job application. Wrong!
One resume that you dust off and send for every job, no matter how "good," works even less than a pair of pants labelled "one size fits all." Resumes need to be tailored for the specific position and company. Don’t use the same resume for every job application.

2) The way to land a job is to blanket the earth with your resume. Eventually, the resume will spark a job offer. Wrong!
This is one of the least productive methods to find a job. Sure, if you send enough resumes and wait long enough, then yes, eventually you may get a job offer this way. But few people want to take those kinds of chances and wait that long.

3) Resumes need to stand out to be noticed. Use fancy fonts, boxes, unique spacing and layout. Wrong!
Scan-ability is key. You have about 30 seconds, so don’t make your employer spend 20 of them figuring out what goes where. Companies today more commonly opt for scanning resumes and placing them in a computer database. Complicated formatting would cause your resume to be illegible and you may as well have thrown your resume in the bin.

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