Resume Tips

1. An layout that is easy to read and follow. HR people are busy and they are receiving tons of great resumes and have no intention of wasting their time to clean up your résumés formatting.

Use Microsoft Word and use it with borders and shading elements to design your résumé. When you e-mail it out, it will retain its original format.

2. Skills Summary.

There are many types of skills you can list on your résumé. Focus on your job specific skills and your technology skills.

Here is an example for a legal transcriptionist:

Type 80 WPM
Legal Terminology Knowledge
Microsoft Word
Corel WordPerfect
Express Scribe
FTP Knowledge

4. Honesty. Companies are hiring sophisticated research companies to investigate your background. Don’t think because your supervisors are all long gone, that your record is gone too. There is always a human resources department or a payroll company that processed your paychecks. And when all else fails, they will ask for pay stubs or old tax records for proof of what you wrote in your résumé. DON’T LIE.

5. Keywords/Buzzwords - companies are using an automated system that scans your résumé for the qualifications necessary for the specific job opening. If your keywords and industry buzzwords are missing, your résumé will not be selected as a match from the company database and a real person won’t even look at your résumé.