Career Development Article for March

Ten Keys to a Dynamite Resume

And, Common and Uncommon Spelling, Grammar, or Word-Use Mistakes Found in Resumes and Cover Letters: Watch Out for These .

To help you construct a better, more powerful resume, here are ten overall considerations in regard to your resume's content and presentation. These ten resume tips should help you learn how to write a professional resume with strength and clarity.

1. Position title and job description. Provide your title, plus a detailed explanation of your duties and accomplishments. Since job titles are often misleading or their function may vary from one company to another, your resume should tell the reader exactly what you've done.

2. Clarity of dates and place. Document your work history and educational credentials accurately. Don't leave the reader guessing where and when you were employed, or when you earned your degree.

3. Explicitness. Let the reader know the nature, size and location of your past employers, and what their business is.

4. Detail. Specify some of the more technical, or involved aspects of your past work or training, especially if you've performed tasks of any complexity, or significance.

5. Proportion. Give appropriate attention to jobs or educational credentials according to their length, or importance to the reader. For example, if you wish to be considered for an engineering position, don't write one paragraph describing your current engineering job, followed by three paragraphs about your summer job as a lifeguard.

6. Relevancy. Confine your information to that which is job-related or clearly demonstrates a pattern of success. Concentrate only on subject matter that addresses the needs of the employer.

7. Length. This is an important issue, and there's two sides to consider depending on the type of job you're considering and the amount of experience you've had. In both cases though, try to be as concise as possible.

If you think the job calls for it, fill up only a page or two. If you write more than two pages, it sends a signal to the reader that you can't organize your thoughts, or you're trying too hard to make a good impression. If your content is strong, you won't need more than two pages.

Yet, some jobs may look for a person who has had a lot of experience. In this case, the length of the resume is not as important as readability. Don't try to cram a careers worth of information into one page. It's better to show what you've done with two or more pages in a readable and understandable fashion, than overwhelming the reader with one page with few breaks or white space. Overwhelming the reader will not help your case.

8. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Create an error-free document that's representative of an educated person. If you're unsure about the correctness of your writing (or if English is your second language), consult a professional writer or editor. See below for common spelling, grammar and word-use mistakes found in resumes or cover letters.

9. Readability. Organize your thoughts in a clear, concise manner. No resume ever won a Nobel Prize for literature; however, a fragmented or long-winded resume will virtually assure you of a place at the back of the line.

10. Readability. Be sure to select a conventional type style, such as Times Roman or Arial, and choose a neutral background or stationery. If your resume takes too much effort to read, it may end up in the trash, even if you have terrific skills. Finally, I suggest you write several drafts, and allow yourself time to review your work and proofread for errors. If you have a professional associate whose opinion you trust, by all means, listen to what he or she has to say. A simple critique can make the difference between an interview and a rejection.

In addition, the following resume tips should help

. Text should be broken out by using bullets and sentences or phrases rather than long paragraphs

. Format resume with:

. Work History-Employers, Position Titles and Dates including Month And Year

. Detailed Work Activities-Duties and Responsibilities

. Specific Achievements and Accomplishments

. Education- Degrees, Special Schools , Certifications and Short Courses

. Use numbers ( $'s, %'s, MM, K, .) and acronyms that an employer will quickly understand (CMMS, ISO, RCM, TPM, STOP .) to demonstrate specific achievements and accomplishments.

Common and Uncommon Spelling, Grammar, or Word-Use Mistakes Found in Resumes and Cover Letters: Watch Out for These

As individuals who look at numerous resumes and cover letters daily, we can attest to the fact that many contain mistakes. Most mistakes on resumes are probably just simple oversight, and some are probably due to laziness. In either case, it is important to find mistakes in your resume and correct them immediately. Remember that your resume is the first picture an employer or recruiter has of a candidate, so you want to put forth a clean, coherent resume that has been checked and edited for spelling and grammar mistakes. Though a few employers may overlook the simple mistakes, many will not. Do yourself a favor and check, check, check your resume and cover letter for spelling, grammar or word-use mistakes. In addition, it is imperative that you always have additional people review it as well. This will increase your chances exponentially that you will put forth a "clean" resume and cover letter.

The lesson to learn with these mistakes is certainly to use a spell checker, but ALSO, to check the spell checker and have a second or third pair of eyes look over your resume. As you will see, each word that is bolded is either spelled right, but is the incorrect word, or is spelled incorrectly but is the right word. So, always check for grammar and spelling and that the proper words are used.

These mistakes are from actual resumes and cover letters.

Using lead instead of led - as in "Lead a team of engineers." Very common.

Overlooking spelling of manager - instead using manger . This is quite common as manger is an actual correct word for spell checkers. "Maintenance manger."

"I wish to put froth my resume."

"Position was illuminated as of the first of the year due to downsizing and lack of work."

"I would like to get to a wormer climate."

"Increased sickle time."

"Supervised maintenance screw ."

"Security Clearance: Secrete ."

Yikes! Don't let these resume and cover letter mistakes happen to you!

View and Print a Sample Resume at http://www.nerisearch.com/sampleresume.pdf

Current Job / Advancement Opportunities

Due to confidentiality issues with our clients, more specific information about the positions cannot be given in this newsletter. For more information on any of the positions you see, contact us directly at the number or email address listed below. You may also put forth your resume for consideration for any of these positions via our web form at http://www.nerisearch.com/resumeform.html

Process Engineer - Industrial Minerals

Production Superintendent - Industrial Minerals

Mine Engineer- Industrial Minerals & Aggregates

Mill Metallurgist

Project Engineer

Process Engineers - Minerals

Process Engineers - Cement

Plant Manager - Minerals - Midwest , Mid-Atlantic and Southeast

Assistant Plant Manager - Minerals - Mid-Atlantic and Southeast

Maintenance & Engineering Manager - Cement

Maintenance & Engineering Manager - Metal Fabrication

Project Manager - Minerals - SW

Mine Manager - Non-Metallic Minerals - SE, SW, Rockies , NW

Clay Geologist

EH&S Manager - Minerals



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