Preparing Your Resume: Seeking and Applying for Employment

Becoming employed, especially in the field in which you want a career, involves many steps. As with many things in life, you must be adequately prepared before taking the next step toward employment. This discussion suggests ways you can prepare and what to expect while taking these steps.

Your resume and cover letter are your own personal marketing tools and may be an employer’s first look at you. Although not all employers require a resume, you should prepare one for those that do. Preparing a resume also forces you to look at your qualifications for a job. That alone justifies having a resume.

Keep in mind that although you may spend hours writing and refining your resume, an employer may only take a minute or two from his or her busy schedule to look it over. With this in mind, put together a resume that tells the employer who you are in such a way that he or she wants to interview you.



A resume normally includes your contact information, career objective, skills and/or accomplishments, work experience, education, and a statement about references. There are different formats you can follow when designing your resume. If you have limited work experience, make sure the resume emphasizes your skills and accomplishments rather than work history. Even if you have no work experience, you can sell yourself by highlighting some of the skills and attributes you identified in your employment plan.



When listing or mentioning your attributes and skills, express them in a way that shows how they relate to the job you are seeking. For instance, if you practice every day at your favorite sport so you can make the team, you may want to describe yourself as being persistent, determined, motivated, and goal-oriented. Another example is if you have ever pulled an all-nighter to get an assignment done on time, it can mean that you work well under pressure and always get the job done. Another example would be if you keep your promises and do what you said you would do, you may want to describe yourself as reliable, a person who takes commitment seriously.

Identifying your skills may be a difficult task, so have your family and/or friends help you. Keep in mind that you have qualities and skills that employers want. You need to recognize them, put them in a resume, and tell them to your potential employer. Do not put the responsibility of figuring out who you are on the employers—tell them.

Here is an example of a basic resume for an individual seeking an entry-level position as a technician.

A sample of a resume for someone who has little work experience.

Putting Together an Effective Resume
Follow these guidelines while preparing and writing your resume:

• Make sure your resume is neat, uncluttered, and easy to read.
• Use quality white paper.
• Keep it short—one page is best.
• Let the resume tell your story, but do not try to oversell yourself.
• Use dynamic words to describe your skills and experience, such as accomplished, achieved, communicated, completed, created, delivered, designed, developed, directed, established, founded, instructed, managed, operated, organized, participated, prepared, produced, provided, repaired, and supervised.
• Choose your words carefully; remember that the resume is a look at you.
• Make sure all information is accurate.
• Make sure the information you think is the most important stands out and is positioned near the top of the page.
• Design your resume with a clean letter type (font) and wide margins (1½ inches on both sides is good) so that it is easy on the eyes.
• Only list the “odd” jobs you had if they are related to the job you are applying for.
• Do not repeat information.
• Proofread the entire resume to catch spelling and grammatical errors. If you find them, fix them and print a new, clean copy.