Friends,
I came across this article on the web sometime back and thought that it would be very much usefull. Please go through it;
Experience
As a general rule, include your work experience of the last 10 years and avoid work period gaps whenever possible. Experience older than 10 years is usually too remote and outdated—especially given how fast and relentlessly IT and relevant skill sets constantly evolve.
Include any work experience you have had, whether you were paid for it or not. If you completed the work as an intern, volunteer, or teacher’s assistant, include that information if it is relevant to the job for which you are applying. To properly list your experience, you should include three components, your employer, your position, and the time period during which you held that position. For example:
IBM, Database Administrator, June 2001 – present
Database Administrator, IBM, June 2001 – present
If your job title was significantly more impressive than the employer’s name in the industry, list your title ahead of your employer’s name. If your company is as impressive as—or more impressive than—your title, lead with the company name.
If you held different positions within the same company, use the company as a heading and list your positions below. For example:
IBM
Senior Database Administrator, June 1999-present
Database Administrator, June 1998-June 1999
Standing Out From the Crowd: Positioning Your Experience
As much as any other step in your job search, positioning is incredibly important when drafting and perfecting your résumé. As you learned in How to Stand Out From the Crowd, positioning yourself is a five-step process.
1.Take the research you have done about the company for whom you’d like to work and use it to determine what the company needs from you.
2.Take the research and contemplation you have done about yourself and identify the skills that you have that the company needs.
3.By understanding both the company’s needs and the skills and traits you can offer, you can compare the two and determine how you, as a potential employee, can most help the company.
4.Explain and demonstrate to the company’s representatives how your skills will benefit them by citing specific examples of how you’ve applied your skills in the past.
5.Lastly, be sure to show the company how your soft-skills complement and compound your technical skills, making you an even more valuable potential employee.
PAR
A widely used and very good technique for positioning your skills and experience within a résumé is commonly referred to as PAR (Problem, Action and Results). Use the PAR approach when citing past work experiences and accomplishments to explain your value to your potential new employer. PAR statements, in essence, answer the following questions in the following order:
1.Problem – What problem did I solve for my employer?
2.Action – What action did I take to solve the problem for my employer?
3.Results – What were the beneficial results of my action?
Consider using the PAR structure when detailing your prior employment experience. For example, a PAR statement on your résumé would read:
Reduced cost of purchased network systems by over $35,000 by finding and negotiating with alternative suppliers.
Implemented standardized configuration control standard to streamline helpdesk operation and increase calls handled per hour by over 23%.
RECOGNITION AND AWARDS
Make sure your résumé highlights outstanding recognition you have received for past accomplishments. Such recognition and awards might include:
■ CSTE Certifications
■ Customer recognition for an achievement
■ Co-worker recognition for an achievement
■ Manager recognition for an achievement
■ A promotion
■ A company award
■ A productivity bonus
■ Being selected to assume greater, special professional responsibilities
WHO CARES?
To determine if everything you have included in your new résumé is truly relevant, you should review every item on your résumé and ask yourself, “who cares?” Your responses – in the affirmative – will help you with your self-positioning. It will help you to acquire the habit of explaining not only what you did but, just as importantly, why it matters to your potential employer.
For example, the following statement would flunk the Who Cares test and not really position you in the way you want to be positioned:
Implemented standardized configuration control standard.
However, this statement—based on the same work experience and accomplishment—passes the Who Cares test with flying colors:
Implemented standardized configuration control standard to streamline helpdesk operation and increase calls handled per hour by over 23%.
How to Format an IT Résumé
MAKE IT SCANNABLE
In all likelihood, a company is going to scan your résumé when they receive it. To make your résumé easily scannable:
■ Use the document/paper size standard in the country in which you are applying for work (A4 in most of the world and 8.5 x 11 inches in the United States).
■ Use high-quality white paper and avoid paper stock possessing any large or noticeable watermark.
■ Use a highly legible type font—Times New Roman is very popular—in a font size large enough to be easily read without looking like a children’s book—usually 10-12 pts.
■ Avoid italics.
■ Avoid horizontal lines or boxes.
■ Only use boldface and/or all capital letters for headings and make sure letters do not overlap or touch.
■ Place your personal contact information at the top of the résumé.
■ Do not fold the page.
■ Always submit cleanly laser printed originals—not photo copies.
CREATE AN ASCII RÉSUMÉ
If you must submit your résumé electronically, follow the instructions provided by the employer. If you are emailing your résumé as an attachment, first determine what sort of file the recipient requires. In most cases, they will accept PDF documents or popular word processor documents, such as Microsoft Word files.
If you are emailing your résumé as a word processor file, save it so it is compatible with the lowest application version you can to allow for the lowest common denominator in software versions.
General Résumé Tips
When writing your résumé, you should try to the follow these general rules:
REPLY AS REQUESTED
Read the job description carefully and make sure your skills and experience meet the required qualifications. Our Member Companies complain frequently that they are approached by a vast number of unqualified applicants. If you apply for a job for which you are unqualified, you may hurt your chances of ever being considered for any other job with that firm.
SELL YOUR QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS
A strong technical résumé comes down to your skill set. Clearly define your qualifications and skills near the beginning of your résumé, and you’ll have an advantage.
FOLLOW THE RULES
Pay attention to submissions processes, which help companies manage incoming résumés. Some companies require certain résumé formats and others want reference request numbers included in emails. If you do follow a company’s specific résumé submission guidelines or requirements, you may be automatically rejected or receive lower prioritization within the screening process.
DOCUMENT LENGTH
Managers often expect technical résumés from experienced people to be three to five pages in length. The first half of the first page is crucial. This is what someone will see when they open the email or document. For college graduates, one page is still the industry-standard and expected document length.
USE PAR
Do not simply list your job functions—use the PAR approach to show how you helped your employer solve a problem or start a new process, ultimately achieving positive business results.
SELL YOUR “SOFT SKILLS”
Your technical skills will often get you an interview, but your “soft skills”—such as your ability to communicate and work well with others—will help a hiring manager to justify hiring you over any equally technically qualified competitors.
GAPS IN YOUR WORK HISTORY
If you were unemployed for a period, be honest and feel free to explain it. Otherwise, companies will usually sense if you are trying to hide something. Beware, though—some companies are suspicious of candidates with multiple employment history gaps and will question such a candidate’s employability.
PROOFREAD. PROOFREAD. PROOFREAD.
Proofread your résumé at least three times. Read it aloud to yourself. Once you’re satisfied with your résumé, share it with a few trusted friends and colleagues. Have them review it to look for problems with accuracy, readability, and mistakes.
Source
I came across this article on the web sometime back and thought that it would be very much usefull. Please go through it;
Experience
As a general rule, include your work experience of the last 10 years and avoid work period gaps whenever possible. Experience older than 10 years is usually too remote and outdated—especially given how fast and relentlessly IT and relevant skill sets constantly evolve.
Include any work experience you have had, whether you were paid for it or not. If you completed the work as an intern, volunteer, or teacher’s assistant, include that information if it is relevant to the job for which you are applying. To properly list your experience, you should include three components, your employer, your position, and the time period during which you held that position. For example:
IBM, Database Administrator, June 2001 – present
Database Administrator, IBM, June 2001 – present
If your job title was significantly more impressive than the employer’s name in the industry, list your title ahead of your employer’s name. If your company is as impressive as—or more impressive than—your title, lead with the company name.
If you held different positions within the same company, use the company as a heading and list your positions below. For example:
IBM
Senior Database Administrator, June 1999-present
Database Administrator, June 1998-June 1999
Standing Out From the Crowd: Positioning Your Experience
As much as any other step in your job search, positioning is incredibly important when drafting and perfecting your résumé. As you learned in How to Stand Out From the Crowd, positioning yourself is a five-step process.
1.Take the research you have done about the company for whom you’d like to work and use it to determine what the company needs from you.
2.Take the research and contemplation you have done about yourself and identify the skills that you have that the company needs.
3.By understanding both the company’s needs and the skills and traits you can offer, you can compare the two and determine how you, as a potential employee, can most help the company.
4.Explain and demonstrate to the company’s representatives how your skills will benefit them by citing specific examples of how you’ve applied your skills in the past.
5.Lastly, be sure to show the company how your soft-skills complement and compound your technical skills, making you an even more valuable potential employee.
PAR
A widely used and very good technique for positioning your skills and experience within a résumé is commonly referred to as PAR (Problem, Action and Results). Use the PAR approach when citing past work experiences and accomplishments to explain your value to your potential new employer. PAR statements, in essence, answer the following questions in the following order:
1.Problem – What problem did I solve for my employer?
2.Action – What action did I take to solve the problem for my employer?
3.Results – What were the beneficial results of my action?
Consider using the PAR structure when detailing your prior employment experience. For example, a PAR statement on your résumé would read:
Reduced cost of purchased network systems by over $35,000 by finding and negotiating with alternative suppliers.
Implemented standardized configuration control standard to streamline helpdesk operation and increase calls handled per hour by over 23%.
RECOGNITION AND AWARDS
Make sure your résumé highlights outstanding recognition you have received for past accomplishments. Such recognition and awards might include:
■ CSTE Certifications
■ Customer recognition for an achievement
■ Co-worker recognition for an achievement
■ Manager recognition for an achievement
■ A promotion
■ A company award
■ A productivity bonus
■ Being selected to assume greater, special professional responsibilities
WHO CARES?
To determine if everything you have included in your new résumé is truly relevant, you should review every item on your résumé and ask yourself, “who cares?” Your responses – in the affirmative – will help you with your self-positioning. It will help you to acquire the habit of explaining not only what you did but, just as importantly, why it matters to your potential employer.
For example, the following statement would flunk the Who Cares test and not really position you in the way you want to be positioned:
Implemented standardized configuration control standard.
However, this statement—based on the same work experience and accomplishment—passes the Who Cares test with flying colors:
Implemented standardized configuration control standard to streamline helpdesk operation and increase calls handled per hour by over 23%.
How to Format an IT Résumé
MAKE IT SCANNABLE
In all likelihood, a company is going to scan your résumé when they receive it. To make your résumé easily scannable:
■ Use the document/paper size standard in the country in which you are applying for work (A4 in most of the world and 8.5 x 11 inches in the United States).
■ Use high-quality white paper and avoid paper stock possessing any large or noticeable watermark.
■ Use a highly legible type font—Times New Roman is very popular—in a font size large enough to be easily read without looking like a children’s book—usually 10-12 pts.
■ Avoid italics.
■ Avoid horizontal lines or boxes.
■ Only use boldface and/or all capital letters for headings and make sure letters do not overlap or touch.
■ Place your personal contact information at the top of the résumé.
■ Do not fold the page.
■ Always submit cleanly laser printed originals—not photo copies.
CREATE AN ASCII RÉSUMÉ
If you must submit your résumé electronically, follow the instructions provided by the employer. If you are emailing your résumé as an attachment, first determine what sort of file the recipient requires. In most cases, they will accept PDF documents or popular word processor documents, such as Microsoft Word files.
If you are emailing your résumé as a word processor file, save it so it is compatible with the lowest application version you can to allow for the lowest common denominator in software versions.
General Résumé Tips
When writing your résumé, you should try to the follow these general rules:
REPLY AS REQUESTED
Read the job description carefully and make sure your skills and experience meet the required qualifications. Our Member Companies complain frequently that they are approached by a vast number of unqualified applicants. If you apply for a job for which you are unqualified, you may hurt your chances of ever being considered for any other job with that firm.
SELL YOUR QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS
A strong technical résumé comes down to your skill set. Clearly define your qualifications and skills near the beginning of your résumé, and you’ll have an advantage.
FOLLOW THE RULES
Pay attention to submissions processes, which help companies manage incoming résumés. Some companies require certain résumé formats and others want reference request numbers included in emails. If you do follow a company’s specific résumé submission guidelines or requirements, you may be automatically rejected or receive lower prioritization within the screening process.
DOCUMENT LENGTH
Managers often expect technical résumés from experienced people to be three to five pages in length. The first half of the first page is crucial. This is what someone will see when they open the email or document. For college graduates, one page is still the industry-standard and expected document length.
USE PAR
Do not simply list your job functions—use the PAR approach to show how you helped your employer solve a problem or start a new process, ultimately achieving positive business results.
SELL YOUR “SOFT SKILLS”
Your technical skills will often get you an interview, but your “soft skills”—such as your ability to communicate and work well with others—will help a hiring manager to justify hiring you over any equally technically qualified competitors.
GAPS IN YOUR WORK HISTORY
If you were unemployed for a period, be honest and feel free to explain it. Otherwise, companies will usually sense if you are trying to hide something. Beware, though—some companies are suspicious of candidates with multiple employment history gaps and will question such a candidate’s employability.
PROOFREAD. PROOFREAD. PROOFREAD.
Proofread your résumé at least three times. Read it aloud to yourself. Once you’re satisfied with your résumé, share it with a few trusted friends and colleagues. Have them review it to look for problems with accuracy, readability, and mistakes.
Source
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