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Your contact information is more than how to get in touch with you, it is your very first impression that you present to a potential employer.

You should include your name, address (with zip code), and your phone number. If you are concerned about identity theft you may wish to only include your city and state as your address. You should put only one phone number on your resume. Which one? The one you will answer the most! Most likely this will be a cell phone. You do not want to miss that all important call when it arrives.

You also need to have an email address on your resume. The best choice here is to have something with your name in it like JohnSmith@gmail.com. You should avoid unusual emails like HotDude@dudesRus.net. You can see how this email address may turn off a potential employer. Your name is the safest bet for an email address.

You should avoid using abbreviations that the reader of your resume will not understand and it is important that once you send out a resume with this information that you check your voice mail and email often. A delay in a response could result in a loss of an opportunity.

Remember that this is your first impression. Make it a good one.

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Here we will be amassing all of the critical resources related to job searching. As we add information please feel free to comment on our success or failure. Please leave your suggestion here.

Good Luck in your job search.

A resume is summary of all of your education and experiences. It may also be referred to as a CV or curriculum vitae which is another way of saying that it is a summary of your academic and work history. Regardless of what you call it, you need it.

Below are the parts of a resume. Click on each part to review how to present it on your resume.

Parts of your Resume

1.  Contact Information

2.  Career Objective

3.  Summary

4.  Experience

5.  Education

6.  Additional Details

Remember to use Action Verbs to describe yourself.

The first thing that a potential employer will see on your cover letter is the format. this first impression will set the tone and attention that your letter will receive. Make sure your letter has a crisp, clean format and clean, clear content.

Here is the breakdown of how to write a great cover letter:

Return Address

Place your return address at the top, left margin. It should look like this:

Your Full Name
123 My Street
Hometown, MI 48331
(313) 987-6541
Email@provider.com

Today’s Date

Next you should add the date of your letter with one line space between it and your return address. Do not abbreviate the date. Use the format: December 21, 2012.

Recipient Address

After adding another line space you should include as much recipient address information that you have. Use this format:

Place your return address at the to, left margin. It should look like this:

Ms. Jane Smith (use their formal name not their nickname)
Manager
Important Corporation
456 Their Avenue
Work City, CA 94321
(800) 776-6554

If you do not have a name you can use “Hiring Manager”  or leave it blank.

Salutation

If you now the recipients name you should use it in a formal way such as “Dear Mr. Whatshisname” or “Dear Ms. Whosit.”  Otherwise using “Dear Sir or Madam” or “Dear Hiring Manager” is the acceptable practice.

Main Body

First Paragraph

In your first paragraph you need to say what position you are applying for and where you learned about the position. This is also a good time to grab their attention and tell them something that will interest them in reading further.

Second Paragraph

This is where you make a few relevant points about how you meet the job postings requirements. Mention a few of your qualifications but do not rephrase your resume. Try to use fresh examples that will say something about how you can do the job.

Closing Paragraph

In your closing paragraph you need to thank the reader for their time and inform them of any follow up action you plan to take. Some postings do not allow for follow up. In these cases you can simply show your enthusiasm for the new opportunity.

What ever you write, avoid sounding desperate. Remember that you are focusing on your strengths. Also remember to use Action Verbs when describing yourself.

Closing

Keep your closing simple. Using “Sincerely,” will suffice. Leave room for you signature and then type your name. Use at the very least your first and last name.

Proofread & Send

Proofread your letter to ensure it is free of errors. Have a friend read it if you can. Use a white 9″x12″ envelope for mailing your letter and resume because it will most likely be scanned when it arrives. Standard business envelopes will leave creases from the folds and may induce errors in the scanned file.

Writing unique letters can be difficult and time consuming but, they will get better attention than form letters or hastily sent cover letters.

Objective

This should be saved for your cover letter and it should be geared toward the specific positions that you are applying for.

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Do you know what you want? Do you know what you do not want?

Geography

Do you know where you want to work and live?  Do you want to stay where you live today?  Do you prefer a warmer climate? Do you desire a specific lifestyle? To help you decide where you might want to live, you might want to consider taking the survey at Find Your Spot.

Type of Job

What do you want to be when you grow up? Before you can search for a job, you need to know what that job is. If you do not already know what job you want you may wish to take a career test to help you decide.  About.com has a good list of online career test sites to help you decide. Check the list out here.

$$$ How Much Money $$$

Along with what you want to do you will also need to know how much money you need or want to make.  What do you want to be when you grow up? Before you can search for a job, you need to know what that job is. If you do not already know what job you want you may wish to check out the Bureau of Labor Statistics to get reliable statistics on different jobs, in different geographical locations, at different times in your career.

And Everything Else

What ever your life style is or whatever you needs are, you will need to define those requirements up front prior to the start or your job search.

A short paragraph describing your qualifications using action verbs. Include a strong clear description of who you are and what you have to offer in a short concise paragraph. Remember that you are selling yourself so try to include information that describes your ambition, commitment, intelligence, and motivation. If you have extensive work experience you may want to include a separate optional summary page.

This is another of those first impression opportunities. You need your summary to grab the reader and let him know that you are the best candidate for the job. After reading this section of your resume the reader will either be compelled to read more or the reader will discard your resume.

Choose your action verbs carefully and make solid claims about what you can accomplish. Use measurable accomplishments whenever possible. Make you self noticed now.

This section may need to be rewritten for each employer you apply to; customizing you summary to the specific needs of each potential employer.

Start with a concise phrase that describes your profession. Add to this a phrase that describes your specialized experience.

Make a few more concise statements to show the full extent of your skills, an accomplishment worth noting, the diversity in your experience, and/or personal characteristics of value.

When you are done have someone you trust to read your summary and tell you if it describes you accurately.

Remember, this is the meat of the resume (or perhaps the tofu). Everything that follows is backup documentation.

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The experience section of your resume only becomes important if you have properly sold yourself in the summary section and in your cover letter.

An experience section should include the name of the company, a brief “what the company does” description, the dates that you worked there, your position or title, what you did there (repsonsibilities or duties), and what you contributed.

Start by using the official name of the company and provide the dates that you worked there. Use “present” for the ending date if you are still working at that company. Put a brief line describing what the company did. Here is an example:

Widgets ‘R Us, Inc. 2009 – present
A tier one supplier of widgets
Sales Manager
Managed six sales associates covering the North American market.

- Increased widget sales by $6 million in one year.

Remember to use Action Verbs when describing your accomplishments.

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The education section should include the type of degree (without periods), the major or program, and graduation the year.

Here are some examples:

MBA, Strategic Management, Davenport University, Dearborn, MI 2010
BA, Advertising, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 2005
AAS, Electronic Engineering Technology, Macomb Community College, Warren, MI 1999

Continuing education courses, programs, training units, etc. should be listed if relevant:

- Diversity or Management Training
- Crisis Management
- First Aid Certification
- Teacher Certification

Academic honors or graduated with distinction can be included as well:

- Summa Cum Laude – “with highest honor”
- Magna Cum Laude – “with great honor”
- Cum Laude – “with honor”

Grade Point Average is important for recent grads. Use your Major GPA or your overall GPA which ever is higher.

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