Author: Lavie Margolin, Career Coach
Have you gone to your local department of labor, asked a former colleague for help, met with a career coach and read advice online and received different answers on how to compose your resume? Some may say your resume has to be only one page, while others will say it can be two (or more). Your resume can only go back ten years or fifteen years or twenty years. Some tell you to put your education first or put your work experience first. You must include months in the dates for your work experience or you should only put in the years. It can be really confusing at a time when you are in need of concrete direction.
Some things to keep in mind to keep you from getting too dizzy: there are many different paths to success. Doing one thing does not necessarily make something else wrong. Think about who is giving you advice? Who is most likely to know what they are talking about? Remember though that there are no absolutes! Your resume is an advertisement of your skills, experiences and abilities for that job. Think about what type of message you trying to get across and who are you ‘selling’ to? In some situations, it may be best to list twenty years of experience, for other situations, ten will do. For some positions, your education will be most important, for others it will be your work experience.
Every time you submit your resume for a job, it should be an effective advertisement for that position. In order to be an effective advertisement, the resume must change every time. Modify as appropriate for every job in order to increase your chances for success.
About the Author: Lavie Margolin is a New York-based Career Coach and the author of Lion Cub Job Search: Practical Job Search Assistance for Practical Job Seekers. To learn more, go to Lavie’s website, Lion Cub Job Search:www.Lioncubjobsearch.com