non show biz resume prep?

[thetinymagic2]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 4:03am

Hi...Does anyone have a suggestion for a good free source of resume prep (not so much for text content) but for formatting and design?
Is "Monster" any good...what else? This is for a short term retired (youngish) person going back to work. Thanks.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 3:41pm

If you have Word there are numerous great formats in there already. Or google Resume formats and you'll find a zillion of them.

Make sure you have someone proof it- no matter how many times you do it. You need to have fresh eyes read it.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 3:46pm

And make sure the person you ask to proof it isn't someone on BWW.

[Calvin]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 3:46pm

Agree. I like the Word templates.

Remember -- you don't want to try to be too elaborate or bizarre with the design of you rèsumè. Unless you're going for some sort of job with visual design as the focus, what it says is many, many times more important that how it looks.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 3:49pm

What's the consensus on an objective line? I personally have always thought they were kind of redundant. My objective is to get a job.

[Calvin]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 3:51pm

I hate those almost as much as I hate cover letters.

But I still do them. Or, at least, I still did them last time I was sending out rèsumès.

[blueroses]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 3:52pm

Phyll, I don't think it's necessary.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 3:53pm

Yeah, cover letters are BS, but you can't seem to avoid them. Objective lines are stupid and contain at least one (if not more of the following words/phrases) - utilize, grow, stretch, detail-oriented.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 3:54pm

I have an HR pal- he says it's your chance to write one sentence that will get read- make it as specific as possible: "My objective is to obtain a job int he food service industry that does not leave me smelling of fried fish."

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 3:59pm

Cover letters are less important than thank you letters...but it's always good to have two versions of your resume. One with an opening objective sentence and one with an actual cover letter.

Keep it short...one page is best, two if necessary...three, forget it! Take off the summer you worked at 7-11! Noone cares if you know karate!

[Calvin]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 3:59pm

Yeah, that's what I did, and I used it as an extra opportunity to sell myself. For a while, it was something like: "Award-winning journalist is seeking business reporting opportunities at such-and-such circulation newspaper."

Now, the interests and hobbies section? Kill it. No one cares if you like needlepoint and baking.

eta: and doodle, that's true in most professions, but not in mine, as it's often the first indication of your writing skills -- so my cover letters are a particular pain in the ass. Updated On: 10/18/07 at 03:59 PM

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 4:00pm

I have an HR pal- he says it's your chance to write one sentence that will get read- make it as specific as possible: "My objective is to obtain a job int he food service industry that does not leave me smelling of fried fish."

But seriously, what the hell are they looking for with an objective line?

And while we're at it, what do other people say when they have to say their weaknesses? I tell them my weakness is James Gandolfini.

[Calvin]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 4:02pm

Just never say "I'm a workaholic" or "I'm too much of a perfectionist." They never buy that, either.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 4:02pm

I think it's a test to see what you're really looking for- are you looking for a job- any job? Are you really interested in taxidermy? Is it a fill-in job till you see what happens at the sentencing hearing?

[Calvin]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 4:04pm

Exactly, Joe. It's a chance to set yourself apart from people who are just using a scattershot approach and sending out as many rèsumès as possible. It indicates that you want THIS job and not just any job, even if the latter is closer to the truth.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 10/18/07 at 4:09pm

NEVER say you are a people person...those people end up bringing an axe to work, and HR knows it!