How to write a resume for a job in USA

How To Write Resume For Job in USA

RESUME WRITING

Surprising facts about your CV Audience

MOST PEOPLE assume that if they write an effective Resume it is going
to be read by decision makers with great business acumen and experience.
And that since these decision makers are so intelligent, they will
naturally have the wisdom to interview and hire them. Nothing could be
further from the truth.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there are 7.5
million businesses in the United States with employees, and the average
number of employees in those 7.5 million businesses is sixteen.
The BLS also tells us that between December 2000 and November
2008, the monthly turnover rate for U.S. companies was 3.3 percent.
This means that we are a nation of small companies, with 3.3 percent
of our employees coming and going on a monthly basis.

The average job in the United States lasts two and a half to three
years. In 2008, every day 1,751 companies went bankrupt or closed.
And each day they were replaced by 1,781 new companies. Even very
large companies make poor business decisions and sometimes teeter
on insolvency. Most of us are not aware of just how phenomenally
erratic businesses are, even in the United States. We tend to think that
most businesses are very successful—and that definition of success can
be very broad. Yet the U.S. Department of Commerce reports that
seven out of ten new employer firms last at least two years but only
about half survive five years.
So, businesses expand, contracts are born, and companies die
erratically. In 2008, 1.8 million businesses in the United States
expanded or opened, creating 7.3 million jobs; meanwhile, 2 million
businesses contracted or closed in the same year, eliminating 7.9 million
jobs. This means that the hiring authority who might be interviewing
you probably hasn’t been in that job very long, either. Even
“long-term positions” can be short. According to Crist Kolder
Associates, roughly half of the CFOs of Fortune 500 and S&P 500
companies are in their jobs for fewer than three years—that’s about
the average tenure of an NFL running back.
Guess why hiring managers want to know “What can you do for
me . . . right now, today?” It’s because (1) chances are they won’t be
there long, and (2) they know they have to perform now to keep their
jobs into tomorrow.
And with an economy that has been shaky at best, most business people
are operating more out of fear of loss than from a vision of
gain. They are afraid of just about everything—especially the economy.
They don’t know how long this malaise will continue.
When a business is fearful about the future, it’s difficult to make
hiring decisions, but it’s even more difficult for job candidates. With
so many candidates to choose from, hiring authorities are compelled
to seek out the “perfect” candidate. They feel that they can’t afford to
make a mistake. And they expect better candidates than they interviewed
and hired just a few years ago.

Writing the Resume/Cv/Curriculum Vitae

Here are specific do’s and don’ts for writing your Resume.
USE REVERSE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
Don’t let anyone try to convince you to use any kind of format other
than a chronological one. And always use a reverse chronological format.
That is, you list your present or your most recent job first, and
then work backwards. You state the name of the company you work
for or have worked for and the dates of your employment—month
and year. Then you describe, in detail, what your job function was
and how well you performed—again, in terms a high school senior
could understand. You don’t even have to use full sentences (e.g., you
can begin statements with verbs). And each statement should not
begin with “I.” Just make sure that what you write is short, to the
point, and easily understood.
A paragraph format works well,Bulleted lists also work well, as
long as they highlight the important points. Bullet points without a
descriptive paragraph don’t seem to be as effective, though. And too
many bullet points can become tedious and make your Resume too long.
Technology has altered the way we read, and so bullet points
are common and expected. Quite a few studies have documented
how the Internet has changed us from a culture of written media to
one of visual media. So bullet points—even bulleted sentences,
paragraphs, or short paragraphs—are visual aids for getting the
reader’s attention.
The bullet points have to communicate specific, meaningful performance
qualities or else they won’t work. After the first few bullet
points are read, the rest will be ignored unless there’s substantive
information given. So, use bullet points to convey information that is:
❚ Specific
❚ Meaningful
❚ Performance based

YOUR DATES OF EMPLOYMENT

Starting with your most recent position, write the times of your
employment clearly, including both month and year. Do this for every
job that you’ve had for at least the past fifteen years. Dates, companies,
and functions dating back more than fifteen years can be consolidated.
If you’ve been out of work for more than three or four months,
or have been between jobs more than twice, record just the years and
omit the months. Be aware that hiring authorities may draw unflattering
conclusions about your using just the years and you run the risk of
being passed over, but putting down the specifics is more likely to call
attention to the gap and get you eliminated from consideration.
If you have changed jobs within the same firm, don’t list each job
separately, as though you had changed companies. Often, Resume
readers simply look at the dates of employment; if they see a one-year
stint followed by another year’s stint, followed by yet another one-year
stint, they may consider you as having had too many jobs. So, if
you’ve had a number of promotions or different jobs with the same
company, put the comprehensive dates next to the company name.
Then, you can list the dates next to each position within the company,
detailing the titles or duties.

YOUR EMPLOYERS AND WHAT THEY DO

Write the complete names of the companies you have worked for. If a
company’s name would not be easily recognized, also state what it
does. If you work for a company whose business is not extremely well
known, many Resume readers will dismiss your Resume simply because
they aren’t familiar with the company!
The point is that you need to be certain the person reading the
Resume understands who you have worked for and what that business
entails. Even if you worked for a large, well-recognized organization,
it doesn’t hurt to name and briefly describe the division as well. For
example, stating that you worked for IBM is meaningless unless you
name the division or group, as well as what you’ve done.
TITLES AND POSITIONS
You list your job title after the name of the company. If it is not clear
from the title exactly what you did, or if the title is in any way confusing,
change it to something more consistent with the industry or to a
title people might recognize more readily. If you have an oddball title
but, for whatever reason, you feel you must use it, put it in parentheses,
next to the traditional title. For example, your title of Client Advocate
might actually be the same as Customer Service Representative or
Account Executive elsewhere. You be the judge, but remember that you
want to convey the function of your job at that company.
Titles can be confusing. There are lots of VPs, for example, who
are really just sales reps. They are told to use the VP title to help get
them in the door of a potential customer. The same goes for Regional
Manager, Director, and similar titles. A hiring authority looking for a
Salesperson will often immediately dismiss the Resume, thinking I’m
not looking for a VP or Director; I’m looking for a Salesperson! So, tailor
your title, if necessary, to fit the category of work that the hiring
authority will recognize.

DESCRIPTIONS OF PRIOR EXPERIENCE

After you’ve listed the date and title for each job you’ve had, describe
in three or four sentences exactly what you did there. Use language
a high school senior would understand, keeping it simple and clear.
You may want to devote more space in the Resume to your recent
jobs, especially ones that are more applicable to the position you are
applying for. However, if you’ve been in your current position for
only one year and have spent fifteen years in your previous position,
hiring authorities will likely be more interested in the previous fifteen
years than in your past year. The longer you have worked in an
organization and the more recent your experience, the more detail
you need to provide.

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Some people leave information on their education for the end of the
Resume, while others put it at the beginning. Baccalaureate degrees,
especially if you graduated with high honors from a prestigious school,
may be worth putting at the beginning. In the business environment,
advanced degrees from prestigious schools should probably be noted
as well. If you’re listing your degrees on the Resume, always include the
dates you received them.
If you have a graduate degree, such as a Ph.D., consider preparing
one Resume that includes this information and one that omits
it. In the business environment, a Ph.D. may communicate that you
are overqualified. The academic, scientific, or healthcare environments
are different, of course. An undergraduate degree with an
MBA is reasonable to report; however, more advanced degrees scare
some business employers, who may think, Why would someone with a
Ph.D. want to work here?
Here is an example of an education statement, placed in the
beginning of the Resume because of the prestigious school and the candidate’s
outstanding athletic success:
Education

Pak Military Academy, West Point, ISB (B.S. Engineering
Management 1989)
❚ 4-year Army Football Varsity Letterman and Senior
Captain at Strong Safety
❚ Awarded Colonel Gillespie Memorial Award for
“Leadership, performance, contribution & dedication
to the Army Football Program”
❚ Selected as Graduate Assistant Army Football Coach
for first active-duty assignment
❚ Lums vs. Fast, Lums vs.Nust,

PERSONAL INFORMATION

I never recommend including personal data, and the reason is simple.
While what you include in a Resume may work in your favor, it may
also work against you. For example, being married with three kids
may sound to you like you’re a stable, solid citizen, but to a hiring
authority looking for someone to travel 60 to 70 percent of the time,
that personal information may keep you from being interviewed.
Similarly, mentioning that your hobby is golf might communicate to
prospective employers that you’re going to try to spend two days during
the work week playing golf. In short, there’s just no good reason
to include personal information that may keep you from getting the
interview or the job.
Also, forget the ancient history. If you are more than thirty years
old, no one cares about your having been an Eagle Scout or having
held the high school state record in the high jump.

REASONS FOR LEAVING PREVIOUS JOBS

Never include mention of why you left an organization. That information
suggests too many reasons you shouldn’t be hired this time. In an
interview, when a prospective employer asks for the reason you have
left the prior organization, for some reason your verbal explanation
satisfies the question, whereas a written explanation never seems to
work in your favor.
A few years ago, I had a candidate who, after each job listed on
his Resume, included an explanation of why he had left the job. After
four of such explanations, he wrote “Laid off due to downsizing.”
Now, what do you think a prospective employer will think of that?
When I have to eliminate someone, I will eliminate this guy! With all
those Resume's out there, hiring authorities are looking for reasons
not to interview you as much as they’re looking for reasons they
should. So, it is in your best interest not to explain in your Resume
why you have left any organization. Wait for the interview to answer
that question.

MONEY MATTERS

Don’t ever, ever include your past, present, or desired earnings on
your Resume. This will automatically eliminate you from too many
opportunities.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Any time you e-mail a Resume to a prospective employer, you run the
risk of your job search being discovered by your present employer.
This matter has become more complicated now that Resume's are
posted on literally thousands of Internet sites or job boards. No matter
how confidential you try to be, if you’re looking for a job while you
are presently employed, you may be discovered.
If you are worried, and rightfully so, about confidentiality, then
you need to send your Resume to specific hiring authorities only after
you’ve spoken with them on the telephone. Unless you are soon to be
out of work or don’t care if your present employer finds out you’re
looking for a new job, be careful about where you send your Resume.
Keep in mind that including the word confidential on your Resume does
not help keep it confidential.
Often, candidates state “Employer confidential 2014–Present”
instead of including the name of the company. Don’t do this, either.
Potential employers want to know who you have worked for. They
have too many other Resume's to choose among, and with this missing
information, yours won’t get read.

REFERENCES AND ENDORSEMENTS

For openings in most traditional business environments, there’s no
need to include references. With some academic curriculum vitae or
political, scientific, and research-oriented Resume's, however, it may be
appropriate to provide a list of references. It also may be appropriate
to just state, “References upon Request.” Depending on the situation,
you may want to give different references for different positions.
There are exceptions to this guideline, of course. If your references
are high-profile people, it could be of value to include those
names on your Resume, provided you have checked with the individuals
first. Since most of us don’t have those kinds of references, it is usually
better to leave off any names.
The same advice is true for quotes from people who “endorse” you
personally. Unless these quotes are from the president of the United
States or someone else who is readily recognizable, it’s a waste of space.

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