RESUME FORMAT

TEN WORDS CAN GET RESULTS. By. CJ Eason, The Job Doctor, JobFairGiant.com

All job seekers struggle with writing a winning resume to grab the attention of hiring employers. What to say? What not to say? What is relevant information about your jobs? It is never easy, especially when all career coaching experts have a different viewpoint on hiring, and it is just a confusing mess of information to regular people just trying to get hired. Okay! Back to this resume debacle. Honestly, I have read thousands of resumes; the average is not written well, the format does not compliment their experience, grammar and punctuation are a big issue, and under-explained job descriptions plague most resumes. I would be more than happy to accept a 10WORD RESUME from a potential candidate; assuming you used ten perfectly selected words to explain your skills and experience; that might save me two minutes of browsing the wrong resumes. Nothing is more frustrating to a recruiter than receiving a resume for a General Labor position only to read the entire resume to discover the candidate is a mechanical engineer –well, I will just be donuts.

I have understood complete for years; my mission has been to simplify the job search process for job seekers – determined to make sense of the job requirements and the complexity of group interviews is beyond frustrating in my mindset. However, I understand that hiring the wrong employee can cost a company millions of dollars, and job seekers have to be willing and able to introduce their skills in the most qualifying format to appear as the best candidate. JobFairGiant.com has launched a challenge for all job seekers to announce their Career Field, Experience, and Skills using ten words. The purpose is to make a straightforward introduction to hiring companies; if you do not know who you are as a candidate, how can you apply for the right jobs. For years, I have told job seekers to tailor their resumes to the company's needs, rewrite their resume based on the job description requirements – for the sake of being positive in this sentence. I will assume that writer's block is the reason why my suggestion is ignored. The point is to give recruiters ten powerful words and spark the attention of hiring recruiters.

A resume is a professional representation of your education, experience, and skills. It is one of the primary marketing tools you will use to obtain internships, jobs, research experience, and entrance into graduate and professional programs. The goal of your resume is to obtain an interview.

There is not one correct way to design a resume. The format is based on your professional and educational experiences and should be unique to you. CHRONOLOGICAL

Resumes typically list education, job experiences, and accomplishments in reverse chronological order. Start with your current or most recent experience and end with your earliest position. Typically, chronological resumes are one to two pages long. LENGTH

Resumes are typically one page for undergraduates and two pages for graduate students and alumni; however, this varies by field. Avoid only filling half a page. MARGINS

All margins should be consistent; ½ inch to 1 inch from each side is appropriate.

DIGITAL FORMAT

Learn some tips to make your resume computer friendly. For example, convert the document into a PDF to ensure that formatting does not change once it reaches the employer. CONSISTENCY

The resume should not be too text heavy, nor should it have too much white space. Strive for a balance that is appealing to the eye. TEXT VS. WHITE SPACE

The content of the resume should be single-spaced; use double-spacing between sections and headings. Maintain consistent formatting throughout, including the use of bold, italics, or underlines. Do not over-design the resume.

NOTE: Students seeking opportunities within certain industries (e.g., Communications, Multimedia, Advertising, or Marketing) should note that this guide is a general overview. Resumes for more creative fields offer additional flexibility and may not always follow the included formats. For more in depth information and to have your creative resume reviewed, schedule an appointment with an advisor at the Toppel Career Center.

By Laura Shin, Contributor forbes.com

As technology gives us the freedom to work from anywhere, more and more people are prizing the ability to do so.

Many companies are responding with flexible work schedules, and seeming to acknowledge the trend, the Department of Labor just announced that in 2017 it will resume its contingent workforce survey, which was last conducted in 2005.

FlexJobs, an online service devoted to listing telecommuting, flexible schedule, part-time and freelance work opportunities, is a prime resource for the segment of the workforce in search of such opportunities.

While one might find many spam emails or subway flyers promising work from home opportunities, FlexJobs offers up legitimate and professional listings for jobs in 50 career categories with positions ranging from entry-level to C-suite.

The third annual list is based on an analysis of more than 40,000 companies and the jobs they posted on FlexJobs in 2015. (Check out the 2015 and 2014 lists, as well as the top 35 companies hiring remote part-time workers in the first half of2016.)

Overall, the site saw a 36% increase in the number of remote listings, with computer and IT jobs topping the list of fields offering such opportunities, followed by medical and health, sales, administrative, customer service, education and training, and finally, marketing.

Some of the most popular telecommutingjobs included writer, engineer, marketing manager, healthcare consultant, case manager, development director and recruiter.

“These companies clearly understand that integrating telecommuters into their workforce is a smart business strategy,” said Sara Sutton Fell, founder and CEO of FlexJobs, in a statement. “Remote working is on the rise, and this acceleration is great news for anyone wishing to trade the office for a telecommuting job.”

Here’s the top 100 list:

1. LiveOps 2. TeleTech 3. Amazon 4. Sutherland Global Services 5. UnitedHealth Group 6. Dell 7. IBM 8. U.S. Department of Agriculture