A look inside a strong résumé
Do you have questions about writing a résumé? Here is some information we hope will help.
Getting a job is no easy task. Your odds go up – significantly – however, if you have a strong résumé.
A good résumé, notes Bette Tetreault, a lecturer in the School of Business Administration at Dalhousie University, should answer five key questions. They are:
- Who are you? How can you be contacted?
- What do you want?
- What can you do?
- What have you learned?
- What have you done?
In particular, she says, a good résumé highlights information about your skills, experience and achievements. Its purpose is to:
- Open doors, create interest and sell you
- Focus on your qualifications
- Let you to present yourself in your own way (unlike a job application)
- Highlight what is best about you
In the end, says Bette, your résumé must show employers why they should hire you. They are most interested in knowing:
- Can you do the work?
Do you have the necessary education and skills?
- Will you do the work?
Have you been a reliable worker in the past?
Are you properly motivated?
- Will you fit in?
Where have you worked in the past?
Tips for writing the right resume for you.
Writing a winning cover letter.
The goal of a résumé, notes Bette, is to get a person an interview, not a job. That will happen at the interview stage. Getting to that final stage, however, requires a strong résumé, one that is focused on a specific job, where possible.
“You'll need a different resume for each kind of job. Resumes should be focused, therefore, on a particular job title,” says Bette.
If you put some thinking into your résumé before you start writing, you will write a stronger résumé, she adds. “It’s all about putting yourself in the reader’s place and making sure you answer their questions.”
A look inside a strong résumé
Do you have questions about writing a résumé? Here is some information we hope will help.
Getting a job is no easy task. Your odds go up – significantly – however, if you have a strong résumé.
A good résumé, notes Bette Tetreault, a lecturer in the School of Business Administration at Dalhousie University, should answer five key questions. They are:
- Who are you? How can you be contacted?
- What do you want?
- What can you do?
- What have you learned?
- What have you done?
In particular, she says, a good résumé highlights information about your skills, experience and achievements. Its purpose is to:
- Open doors, create interest and sell you
- Focus on your qualifications
- Let you to present yourself in your own way (unlike a job application)
- Highlight what is best about you
In the end, says Bette, your résumé must show employers why they should hire you. They are most interested in knowing:
- Can you do the work?
Do you have the necessary education and skills?
- Will you do the work?
Have you been a reliable worker in the past?
Are you properly motivated?
- Will you fit in?
Where have you worked in the past?
Tips for writing the right resume for you.
Writing a winning cover letter.
The goal of a résumé, notes Bette, is to get a person an interview, not a job. That will happen at the interview stage. Getting to that final stage, however, requires a strong résumé, one that is focused on a specific job, where possible.
“You'll need a different resume for each kind of job. Resumes should be focused, therefore, on a particular job title,” says Bette.
If you put some thinking into your résumé before you start writing, you will write a stronger résumé, she adds. “It’s all about putting yourself in the reader’s place and making sure you answer their questions.”