Dear Career Advisor:

Good day. I really do need to make a career change for 2018. I want to change my job to one that will position me in the direction I now want my career to go. I found the suggestions you gave late last year to be very useful; however, I am still having challenges trying to create a “perfect” résumé. Do you have suggestions on how to make my document just perfect? Are there examples I could adopt?

Yours truly,

Karen

Dear Karen:

Thank you for your affirmation in reference to the suggestions presented in the final publication of 2017.

Here is a secret you might find surprising: there is no such thing as a “perfect” résumé. Nor is there a cookie-cutter solution to crafting a winning résumé. If you truly want a document that is effective in marketing your experience, skills and competencies, you must be prepared to devote time to preparing it. Trying to hastily throw nice sounding phrases together will not yield the desired results. Instead, you need to carefully think about what you have done or, are doing, and try to determine the best way to present the information in a manner that will hold the interest of your reader.

Here are a few tips you should consider.

1. Think of your résumé as an advertisement designed to differentiate you from other potential candidates.

2. Do not try to give every detail about yourself or your accomplishments. Only give sufficient information to keep the reader interested in learning more about you. Additional details, if necessary, can be given during the interview.

3.The document should be visually appealing, properly formatted, and free of errors.

4. Begin with your basic résumé then try to tweak relevant sections to suit the position for which you are applying.

5. Your résumé should contain, at minimum, the following sections:

a. Identifier section

b. Branding Statement

c. Skills Summary

d. Experience

e. Education and Training

f. Optional categories

6. Be sure to use key words or phrases that are relevant to the position you are seeking. Recruiters use keyword searches to filter and short-list from large pools of potential candidates. For example, if you want to be hired as a customer care agent you might consider including key words or phrases that describe aspects of your experience that show your effectiveness in relating to customers such as, “build strong relationships”, “leveraged strong interpersonal communication”, etc.

7. Try to quantify your accomplishments by including results-oriented information.

Remember, your document should tell your story in an interesting manner. Therefore, you should only include those things that are relevant.

I hope you will find these additional suggestions useful.

All the best,

Career Advisor

Carolyn Marie Smith is associate vice-president of student services at Northern Caribbean University in Mandeville, Manchester. Submit your questions to her at careeradvisor@ncu.edu.jm