RESUMES - PLAN BEFORE YOU WRITE

Plan before you write

Use the following outline for your resume:

1. Contact heading
(name, address, phone, e-mail address)

2. Career objective
(clear, brief, specific)

3. Summary statement
(a bulleted list of your key skills and qualifications)

Example: Public Relations/Community Relations professional

Diversified background in internal and external communications and fund-raising and development
Experience includes: designing and implementing educational programs for public, hospital personnel and medical communities; and marketing hospital services, guest relations services, media campaigns, and in-house publications

4. Work history
(include specific results for which you were personally responsible, with supporting data)

Use action verbs and quantify your experience as much as possible.
Cite sales goals achieved, production volumes increased, lines of code debugged, number of employees managed, revenues increased.

5. Education
(college degrees, relevant courses or workshops, list of internal or corporate training courses completed)

6. Optional information
(relevant memberships, awards, publications, certificates, etc.)

7. Personal statement
(an overview of the personal characteristics that make you an excellent candidate for the job)

THANK YOU LETTERS

Last impressions: As important as the first

The perfect final touch to an interview is a sincere thank-you letter. Just a brief note of appreciation to your interviewer for sharing their time and knowledge can do wonders. It reminds the interviewer of who you are and demonstrates exceptional professionalism. Follow these simple guidelines to write thank-you letters that will make you hard to forget.

Make a statement of appreciation
Thank your interviewer for his/her time.

Recall the interview
Make reference to at least one topic of discussion during your visit to demonstrate your interest in the conversation and the company.

Connect yourself to the job
Remind the interviewer of how your qualifications meet the needs of the company and emphasize your interest in the job.

Indicate next contact
Let the interviewer know that you look forward to speaking with her/him soon about the job opportunity.

Proofread your note
Be sure your letter is flawless. Do not tarnish a great interview with poor spelling or grammar in the follow-up letter.