How To Write An Effective Resume -- And What To Do With It Once You've Got It!

Updated 4/21/2006

JMB Communications'

How To Write an Effective Resume . . .

and what to do with it once you’ve got it.

The Internet's Foremost Free Guide To Getting a Better Job

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This Site Was Produced by the Editors of

JMB Communications · Post Office Box 1812 · Plymouth, MA 02362-1812

Copyright, ©, JMB Communications, 2006 and 1993 through 2005

A Word About What This Is, and Who Wrote It. READ THIS FIRST.

This is the World Wide Web's foremost FREE resume-writing website. Here you will find heavily detailed information about how to write your own resume regardless of your level of writing talent. There are no charges for you to simply read this and use it...none whatever.

If after reading this you want us to write your resume, we'll do it -- but we suggest you read this and draft your own first. (You may not need us or anyone else to do the work for you.)

Please keep on reading... no scrolling down to see where the good stuff is, ok?

I originally wrote the first version of this 7,700-word article in 1992, in the middle of the recession when a lot of people needed it. Friends knew I was a marketing writer who for years had helped people write resumes and coached them on how to job-hunt successfully. Finally I packaged it and gave it away. (That was dumb, but that's old news.)

I put this on my website simply as a writing sample since I write for a living, never dreaming a lot of people would actually find it and love it. Good; that's what it's for. (And it is still 100% free.)

But the fact of the matter is I do write for a living so if you or anybody you know is looking for a very good, seasoned freelance marketing / PR / Web content writer, I'm it. Click "JMB Communications" or "Capabilities" up top to learn more.

The Deal Is if you like and find valuable all the stuff you see below, remember me and recommend me and the site to someone who needs good marketing writing for PR, brochures, content for Web sites, whatever. [End of pitch.]

Now onto the stuff you came here for, but don't forget our deal, ok?

----Jeff Berger

WE WILL NOW EDIT AND WRITE YOUR RESUME:

Lots of folks ask me to write resumes for them or edit their existing resumes. I do it, for a price. If you still want help after you read this whole article, write to me at resume@jmbcommunications.com and you'll get details. The price is reasonable for what we deliver.... plus, it's far better than any cookie-cutter resume service! We accept VISA, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express for our resume services (payable in advance only).

JMB accepts American Express, VISA, MasterCard, Diner's Club, Carte Blanche, Discover, and Japan Bank Cards (JCB) for resumes.

Now for the current resume stuff:

Foreword.

At one time or another, for any number of reasons, each of us looks for a job. This Guide is designed to make that process easier for you. While no one can guarantee that any one method will land you the job of your dreams, it's important to realize that your ability to get the kind of job you want depends to a sizable extent on how good your resume is . . . and on what you do with it once you've got it. This Guide is over 6,700 words -- so look it over closely. It's a great job-hunting resource.

This Guide will show you how to:

Decide what your "ideal" job is;
Weigh your experience realistically, to determine what kind of job you're qualified for;
Reconcile the first two items;
Decide what should go in your resume, and how it should be organized;
Target and approach potential employers, and follow up with them; and
Interview effectively.

This Guide will also help you focus on your attitude, the single most important factor in determining how prospective employers react to you during your interviews!

CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING TO USE EACH SECTION OF THIS SEVEN-SECTION GUIDE

IMPORTANT! Use each section IN ORDER, so you can achieve maximum benefit from this Guide.

Step One: What kind of job do you want?

Step Two: Psychological Preparation.

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Step Three: Preparing Your Own Resume

Step Four: Check It Out/Organize It/Print It!

Step Five: Targeting...Networking...and Follow-up

Step Six: Interviewing

Step Seven: SEE BELOW. (Resume sample follows Step Seven).

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Step Seven:

It's All Up To You.

This lesson is about over. Like anyone else running their own business, your success or failure at this enterprise of job-hunting is solely and completely up to you -- not up to anything you read or up to those who interview you, but up to you. Every step you take, every minute you spend productively going after those things that matter to your success will bring your objectives that much closer to reality.

DID WE HELP YOU? IF SO, please consider donating a few bucks to us to help keep this FREE site available to you and others on the Internet. Send to: Resumes, c/o JMB Communications, P. O. Box 1812, Plymouth, MA 02362-1812 USA. Please make checks payable to JMB Communications. You'll have our gratitude!

FINAL NOTE.......All of us here at JMB Communications and Plymouth Bay Publishing Company wish you success in your search. We'd very much like to hear of your experiences. Although time doesn't allow us to answer every letter personally, we appreciate hearing from you. Please contact us at: Plymouth Bay Publishing Company, Department W, P. O. Box 1812, Plymouth, Ma. 02362-1812.

NOTE: See Appendix, near the bottom of this page, for a sample resume format.

GOOD LUCK!

P. S. Many good books on job hunting are available at your local library, which is also an excellent source of information about companies to target, and companies with which you schedule interviews. You can not over-learn job hunting. Take advantage of this key resource!

Appendix

SAMPLE RESUME FORMAT

NOTE: Name and address should be SINGLE SPACED but your name should be more pronounced than the address...

This resume is from an inexperienced person. Although the resume is fictitious, it was modified from an actual resume; the person got the job because the resume was focused on the employer's objectives, not hers.

For more sample resumes for different job types, check out http://www.sampleresumes.com/index.html. Do NOT copy and use someone else's resume; if it isn't "you," qualified interviewers will know it and you'll get nowhere. But these samples may give you specific job-related ideas that can help you. And the site has other useful info, as well. Here's our sample resume:

Tracy Michaels

4825 Plyouth Rock West

Plymouth, California 00000

(888) 8X8-8X8X

CAREER OBJECTIVE: Use my training and experience in Fashion Merchandising to help my employer achieve key objectives.

QUALIFICATIONS: Significant experience in fashion sales and product merchandising. Work exceptionally well both with business associates and customers. Assertive, energetic, imaginative, and reliable.

EXPERIENCE:

Clarke Pharmacy, Long Beach, MA, September 1991 - Present:

Rapidly promoted from cashier to shift supervisor. Direct employees in their day-to-day duties and responsibilities. Set up store displays for product merchandising. Responsible for daily store opening or closing. Have become totally familiar with many aspects of retail management.

Hank's, Plyouth, CA, February 1989 - January 1990:

General sales with off-price apparel retailer, with cash office responsibilities. Floor key holder. Became thoroughly familiar with merchandising promotions and procedures and set up of fashion, jewelry, and other displays. Thoroughly familiar with all aspects of store operation.

Banks College, Long Beach, MA, September 1990 - March 1991:

Campus Tour Guide. Escorted potential students and their parents around campus to show facilities and ambiance and social interplay among faculty, staff, and students.

Bob's Little Boy Family Restaurants, Long Beach, MA, February 1988 - Present:

Summer and semester break work hostessing and waitressing in an establishment catering to international tourists.

EDUCATION: Associate of Arts degree in Fashion Merchandising anticipated May 1994 from Banks College, Long Beach, Massachusetts.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 3.0 Grade point average at Banks College. Lisa Lipschutz D.E.C.A. scholarship at Plyouth High School, Plyouth, CA. D.E.C.A. President, Plyouth High School. Conceived, proposed, developed, and presented a major fashion show at Plyouth High School, February 1989.

ORGANIZATIONS: Distributive Education Clubs of America president two years, 1989-1990.

PERSONAL: Will relocate. Enjoy traveling and working with people.

REFERENCES: Available upon request.

WANT JMB TO EDIT YOUR RESUME? WRITE TO US: resume@jmbcommunications.com

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Updated April 21, 2006

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