Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf
What experience is this statement based on? As I have mentioned NUMEROUS TIMES, I ALREADY have a good resume and cover letter. I am looking to have mine tailored and tweaked more.
It's based on my experience in job-seeking. I've tweaked my own docs and have a pretty good idea of what works. I get calls back when I apply at a pretty high percentage, and there's no disconnect in what they're looking for vs the skills I'm offering. No paid service required, I just looked at other resumes in my field and free resources via Google on how to write a good resume for that field. I'm in management consulting, so I'm not sure that my experience here will help you. I've helped others write and tweak, so I'll share what I have below.
Library science which involves (to varying degrees); Taxonomies, folksonomies, search engine optimization, reference, research, project management, software development, we development, collection development, etc, etc.
I asked because if it was my field, I'd offer to help you free of charge, because that's the kind of board this is (sometimes, heh). Unfortunately, I have zero clue when it comes to LS. I'll offer this, and maybe it'll save you $200, if not, maybe this will help weed out the services you're looking at.
First find out if the field is conservative or not, because that's going to dictate the overall format of your resume -- conservative fields require a very specific format. I'm seeing that first hand now as I'm finishing a law degree and the resume requirements are very different from consulting.
If you're free to dictate your own format, here is what I use:
- Name/contact info at the top
- Personal Summary (list key accomplishments, broad skills, and personal strengths)
- Selected Accomplishments (use a heading for each project you've completed, then some sub-bullets to outline the specific milestones and tools you used to do it, this is where you want to use proper keywords from your field in case they're searching text)
- Work Experience (1-2 lines each, employer, dates, key responsibilities. most of what you did for them is covered in the section above, so keep it brief)
- Education (reverse chrono, also list certifications)
This should all fit on one page with decent whitespace unless you're a career changer, have lots of publications (add a section for that), or just have a ton of experience that you can't cut out. Two page resumes aren't the worst thing in the world, they do get read, especially if you're going into a niche field.
My legal resume is a lot different: Header, education (incl activities and co-curriculars), legal experience, other work exp/skills. It actually makes it easier to write since they want it to look like that, but it makes it harder to stand out.
Cover letters are a similar story no matter what. First, make sure its properly formatted as a formal letter. Neatness counts in any field, and your professionalism comes through in your writing.
Formal Greeting:
First paragraph, summarize who you are, where you're coming from, the position you want, and any namedropping (so and so referred me, etc). Finish it with a sentence stating that you can do something for them, as opposed to why you would like to work there. It's always about what you can do for them.
Second paragraph, highlight your skills, and weave in the job requirements they're looking to fill. Make sure you tie together your skills with what they want accomplished. This is the meat of it, so make sure you address what you know vs what they're looking for, and also talk about what you can do in terms of learning and keeping up with the field. Address any deficiencies in your candidacy here too.
Third paragraph, close it. If I can provide any more info/writing samples/whatever, please contact me. I look forward to... whatever.
Signature.
Hope this helps a little bit.
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