Effective Resumes

When looking for a job, the thing that will get you the interview is your resume. Employers spend about ten seconds looking at an applicant's resume. This means that a resume needs to show an employer the benefit that you can be to the business. I will highlight some of the things that I have learned recently to improve a resume and help you get that interview.

Resumes typically begin with an objective. The objective tells the employer what you are looking for in a job. In the objective it is beneficial to mention a skill that you have that you would like to implement in a job. This can capture the attention of a person right at the beginning if they are looking for that skill.

After the objective comes the education section in which contains the degrees earned or soon to be earned, major, the school attended, graduation date, and for undergraduates GPA. In this section, you can add awards you received from the school or specific projects that you worked on.

A resume should highlight your skills and experience. You should put in computer skills, related work experience, and related projects. The resume should focus on the results of what you did and not just tell what you did. This is an opportunity to show the employer how you can improve the company.

In many cases, a resume will be the first impression of you, so it is worth it to make your resume the best you can. You should ask yourself "why am I the best employee for this job?" and try to answer that in your resume. This could be the deciding factor in a person's chance of obtaining an employment opportunity.

Information from Susan Jones and Utah State University Career Services

Skills of Prospective Employees

As a student, I am learning about the ways to increase the chances of gaining employment. Although there are many things a person can do to increase their chances of success in getting the job they want, there are five skills that I would like to point out that I feel a person needs to have in order to do well. They may be simple, but can affect the way you are viewed as a prospective employee.

1. Communication skills: It is necessary to be able to converse with others and relate ideas. Also, a person needs to be able to work in tandem with others.
2. Trust/ethical: If an employer does not trust you, they will not give you a job.
3. Technological knowledge: Computers are used so much today that it is necessary to be able to operate them efficiently.
4. Problem Solving: A good employee will be able to solve issues for the company, not create more.
5. Know How to Learn: The job market is changing every day. Employers are looking for people that will be able to keep up with changing times through learning and implementing new ideas.

The skills that employers look for do vary with many factors. As judged by myself, these five are some of the most important and useful values that companies look for. Supporting information can be found on the North Central Regional Laboratory Website including the 5 competencies and the 3 foundational elements.