But what kind of job seeker are you. Are you looking basic resume examples a change of pace from your everyday job. Are you just starting out in the workforce. Believe it or not, some people especially those who are completely new to the workforce have never seen a resume before, let alone written one. So what is a resume. A resume is a document used by job seekers to help provide a summary of their skills, abilities and accomplishments. In other basic resume examples, a resume is typically a short and quick way for a job seeker to introduce themselves to a potential employer. In North America a resume should not be confused with a. Resumes are normally submitted to hiring managers along with a cover letter Need help writing a cover letter. Check out our articleusually via email or on online job posting. And not just any resume… a professional resume. Employers use resumes as a way to quickly screen potential applicants, selecting only the individuals they feel are right for the position, so making sure your resume is in tip-top shape is absolutely vital. All you need is that one qualified person, but as you look through the piles of paperwork, you feel your stomach starting to knot up. These resumes are a mess. You call maintenance and ask them to empty your trash can, again. You continue to slog through the pile of papers, your eyes growing heavy with each rejection. And then you see it. The font is professional, the layout is well organized and thoughtful and the qualifications are…gasp…actually on target. Story time is over…back to reality. How would you like to be that hiring manager. Unfortunately, odds are, your current resume is probably buried in that mountain of not quite right resumes…or worse yet, in the trash waiting to go out with the next trash run. Most people look at writing a resume as just something you have to do to get a job. Just a bunch of stuff thrown on a page with the expectation that if the company really want to hire you, they should be able to look at that mess and pull what they need out of it and bring you in based off of that. Research has proven that hiring managers only bring in about 1 person per 200 resumes received. Time to step up your game and go from one of the 200 to that one out of 200. In fact, you should know that a lot of companies today are using Applicant Tracking Systems to help them screen resumes and find the best candidates. How does this work exactly. There are basic resume examples few things you can do to ensure your resume gets past the software and into the hands of hiring managers, which Lifehacker does a nice job of outlining. In the meantime, here are our best practices to follow when it comes to formatting your resume. Resume Fonts Of course you want your resume to stand out, but for the right reasons…and you have to understand that it starts with the very first second someone looks at it. Your resume is a marketing tool to sell you to an employer and that means making sure it clearly represents you in a professional manner. Who is ever going to take that font seriously. You get, on average, 10 to 20 seconds to make a first impression with your resume… so make it count. If your resume is sloppy or has unprofessional font, odds are those 20 seconds are going to end with you in the trash. There are two categories of font. Serif fonts are stylized fonts with tails and other subtle decorative markings. Examples of serif fonts include Times New Roman. They are perceived as being reliable, authoritative, and traditional. San-serif fonts are also often used and are characterized as being simpler and no-frills. San-serif fonts include Helvetica and Arial and are associated with being clean, universal, modern, objective and stable. No matter which font you use, the biggest consideration you have to keep in mind is legibility. You need to make sure that your typeface is easy on the eyes and shows up well both in print and on screen, regardless of formatting or size. Another consideration to keep in mind is that not everyone has basic resume examples same operating system on their computer so unique or gimmicky fonts that look great on one computer system might show up as absolute nonsense on another. Which one is right for you. While Times New Roman may have been the tried, tested and true choice of job seekers for the last few decades, we recommend giving it a pass. Well, for that reason exactly. The first rule of layout is, keep it clean and clear. The last thing you want is to have a printer crop your resume and leave off important information. Font Size — With the exception of your name which can be larger, you want to keep your font size at between 10 and 12 point. Ideally you want your resume to be a single page so feel free to tweak your font size a bit to make it fit some programs allow you to adjust sizes by half points but remember, keep it readable. Spacing — Generally single spacing works the best, with a blank line between each section of content. Use off-white, ivory or bright white paper and always stick to the standard 8 ½ X 11 paper in the highest quality you can afford. One of the biggest problems with many resumes is they lack focus and clarity. Double check yours and make sure your categories are well defined and organized. The basic resume examples you choose and what order they go in will largely depend on what type of resume you decide to write: chronological, functional or combination which we will explain in full in the next section. As a general rule of thumb, the way they are presented here is a good place to start, but don't be afraid to move them around based on the style of resume you choose to write. Header — Start your resume off with the most important information first: your personal information. Include your full name, phone number, email and. Regardless of whether you include an objective or a summary, keep this short and sweet no more than a sentence or two. This is listed in reverse chronological order with your most recent job first. These can include things like computer skills, technical skills, language skills, anything that can help make you the perfect candidate. References — Including references is no longer a requirement. Check out our article on if you need more basic resume examples. Interests — This category is a tough one. This category should be carefully considered before you add it. Weigh the pros and cons very seriously. Chronological Resume Chronological resumes are the most commonly used layout and is exactly what it sounds like, a chronological listing of all your work history with your most recent positions listed first. It also often includes an objective or career summary as well as education, certifications, and special skills. Here is a great chronological sample resume: Source: Functional Resume Functional resumes focus more on skills and experiences rather than on chronological work history and are perfect for people who are changing careers or have a gap in their work history as they focus attention on specific skills and capabilities. Rather than displaying a timeline of your work history, the functional resume focuses on the actual skills you possess and highlights what you know rather than when you did it. Here is a great functional sample resume: Source: Combination Resume Combination resumes are exactly that, a combination of chronological and functional. A combination resume lists both your skills and experiences as well as your employment history in chronological order. The first part is your functional resume section and highlights your skills, achievements and qualifications and the second part is your timeline of work experience. Although more complicated to pull together and keep cohesive and clear, this type of format is effective when used by an applicant who wants to show off the most relevant skills while still documenting work history. Here is a great combination sample resume: Source: So How Long Should A Resume Be. Nowadays the rules are a little more relaxed and the new rule is: Your resume should be long enough to entice the hiring manager to call you in for an interview. The best way to determine how long your resume should be is to follow these simple rules: If you have less than 10 years of experience, are in the middle of a career change, or held multiple positions with one single employer, keep your resume to one page. If you have more than 10 years of experience, your field is technical or engineering related and you need space to list all your skills and qualifications then two pages is appropriate. And only in the most rare of situations, usually scientific or academic fields where extensive lists of publications, speaking engagements, professional courses, licenses or patents are normal, can you have a resume three or more pages long… Okay, got all that. It will help to have it open as you go through the next section. Out of all of those resumes, there are hundreds of qualified candidates…people who would probably do an amazing job and would be great additions to any company. In fact, yours is brilliant and you are the perfect candidate. Have you ever tried to get an animal to come to you. Ever tried to entice a horse to come to you with a juicy steak. Give the steak to the tiger and the hay to the horse. Cats typically respond well to string and lasers. Dogs love to chase balls. And job hunting is exactly the same. Possibly, but I doubt it. That means if you send out 500 resumes for 500 job listings, each and every one of those 500 resumes will be different. When you get the job of your dreams…you bet. The problem is, each job is different basic resume examples what each hiring manager is looking for is different. If you want to catch the attention of the hiring manager, you have to give them what they want. Start by really reading the job posting the job description specifically. What are they look
