Let's begin with misconceptions about
resumes, get those out of the way, then move on to
getting a resume to work for you.
You can put together the perfect resume that describes you and your
experience.
One resume that you dust off and send for every job, no
matter how "good," works even less than a pair
of pants labeled "one size fits all." You need
to tailor your resume for the specific organization and
position.
The way to land a job is to
blanket the earth with your resume. Eventually, the
resume will spark a job offer.
The keyword is "eventually." This
is one of the least productive methods to find a job.
Sure, if you send enough resumes and wait long enough,
you may get a job offer this way. But few people want to
take those kinds of chances and wait that long.
Resumes need to stand out to be
noticed. Use fancy fonts, boxes, unique spacing and
layout.
One of the new wrinkles that has entered
with the Information Age is that many organizations are
now scanning the resumes they receive and placing them in
a computer databank. All the above elements would cause
your resume to be illegible and you might as well have
thrown your resume in a trash can.
If you've made it
this far and are reading this page, you must be at some
point in a career transition. It may be that you are only
considering new directions toward career development or
career management. Or you may need to find a job as soon
as possible. Either way, you need to write a resume.
You already know that one resume does not fit all positions.
However, writing the first resume or your basic resume will take
the most amount of time. After it is completed, you can
use it to build resumes for specific positions.
In applying for Federal employment, you now
have a choice between using:
| |
A resume; |
| |
The Federal government's
Optional Form 612 (Optional Application for
Federal Employment); or |
| |
The Federal government's
Standard Form 171 (Application for Federal
Employment). |
The key, however, to the Federal job application process,
however, is the vacancy announcement. A vacancy
announcement is issued for every position opened in the
government. Read the vacancy announcement carefully. A
federal resume may differ from the resume you would use
in the private sector. The federal resume may ask for
information which must be included.
There are
dozens of sites on the Internet where you can post your resume.
Depending upon your field, mobility factor and how urgent your need
to find immediate employment, this might be one of the few avenues
you use or just one of many.
It's difficult to think of
anything more disappointing than to work hard on creating
a fantastic resume for an position that you want very
badly and are eminently qualified for....only to have
your resume tossed in the waste basket unread because it
was unscannable.
Many organizations are now scanning resumes into a computerized
database using an optical scanner. The scanner "reads"
the resume and stores it as a computer file. Two
potential problems can arise for the person who submits a
resume that ends up being scanned into a database.
| The optical
scanner may not be able to read your resume
due to the type font, layout and format you use. |
| The computer
will retrieve resumes from the database
based on key words. If you neglect to use the key
words, your resume won't be selected. |
