The purpose of LinkedIn is to provide a means of connecting with other people in the context of career opportunities…that’s why there are groups to join, Q&A sections, testimonials, and more.

LinkedIn can be a valuable tool even when a resume is already in place. In fact, these two concepts should be used in conjunction with each other to produce the best results. It is a misconception to think that they are mutually exclusive. One of the ways to view this is to consider the differences and purposes of LinkedIn and resumes.

First, LinkedIn provides a way to establish connections. Your LinkedIn profile is not expected to contain all your work responsibilities and past employment experience. In fact, the best profiles are the ones that contain only the highlights. Just like with other things over the internet, people tend to scan over profiles instead of examining them carefully. Your goal should be to make it easy for them to skim and still catch your best or most unique qualities.

It’s a general outline. On the other hand, a resume is more comprehensive and includes references that can be of interest to the company. Although resumes should be no longer than two pages, there is enough space to provide more than just a snapshot.

Also, LinkedIn is important even when there is an existing resume because they are useful in different environments. LinkedIn allows you an additional venue (the internet) in which you can showcase your career accomplishments. Access to it is greater compared to resumes, which should only be sent to a specific set of people-a targeted audience for specific circumstances, like a job opening. In essence, LinkedIn can appear to a larger audience compared to a resume, which should be customized to fit a specific company or position.

Your LinkedIn profile has it’s own purpose, just like your resume, your 30/60/90-day plans, or your brag book. Each document tells different parts of your story in a unique way, and each have an intended use they are best fit for.

When they are all honed and polished to a shine, they will combine to give you the best possible results as a candidate, and in your career.

Author: Peggy McKee

Related posts:

1. Digital Resume – Writing a Plain Text Resume
2. Resume formats – Choosing the correct format for your resume
3. Resume length – How long should your resume be?

Your resume is the greatest major asset in your career management inventory and job search. Its job is to provide the evidence that you are a candidate that should be seen.

There is no one right way to write a resume. The important point is to keep it relevant and interesting and avoid key pitfalls.

1. Not including an Objective. Although it may narrow your options, an Objective gives the reader an idea of what you want to do. When responding to an employment opportunity, you may mention it in your cover letter or email, but often employers won’t save this correspondence, so it is valuable to include it on your resume.

2. Not having any “real work” experience. Summers in the sun may have been nice, but employers want to see what you can do in a work environment. Whether an internship or volunteer experience, it helps employers see your ability to function in the professional world. Sometimes being creative in your descriptions can be helpful, for example, waitresses need to have exceptional customer service and people management skills, so include those words on your resume.

3. Listing a phone number you rarely answer. If you are never home, don’t give a home phone number. Rarely will employers or recruiters leave a message, unless your name is on the message tape. If you are a cell phone addict, use only that number and remember to answer it professionally. And speaking of the message, record one that includes your name and “please leave a message.” The old “Hey man you know what to do after the beep” isn’t appropriate now.

4. Not having a professional email address. It might have been fun to have the email address of “beerdrinker@yahoo.com” or “balletgirl@hotmail.com” in your younger years, but now it is time to find an email address that is more business appropriate. The best email address is to use your own name in some format of first name or initial and last name.

5. Not including school internships, etc. Long-term academic projects can be valuable experiences to include on your resume. For example, doing a month long research project during your schools “I-Term”. Assisting a professor with data analysis for his research project or being part of your university’s yearly fund raising endeavors are significant events to include on your resume.

6. Using fancy fonts and formatting. Your resume should be easy to read and follow for anyone. Script or fancy fonts don’t give a professional look. Too much formatting (italics, bold, caps, mixing fonts) will only distract (not add) to the ability to easily read your resume. Pick a universal font like Times New Roman, Times, or Palatino.

7. Not filling the entire page. Resumes should fill an entire page. A half-page resume doesn’t say much about you. Start planning your work experience early in college so you have something to write about. If your work experience is lean, make your margins bigger and font a little larger, but never larger than 12 point.

Author: Marilyn Vojta

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2. Digital Resume – Writing a Plain Text Resume
3. Resume Writing Do’s and Don’ts

Use a Combination Resume

A combination resume is much more effective than a chronological one because it lists your skills and accomplishments before the experience with actual dates. When writing a resume objective or profile section use memorable and effective words to help with the key-word search and hook the reader into your resume. After that include a “Highlights of Accomplishments” section which shows your outstanding accomplishments and results and quickly communicates why you are a good fit for the position. You can write it as a list of five or six sentences in bold type to make it stand out.

Use Just the Years

It’s not necessary to provide months on your resume so you can list just the years. And if the gap is small it will help caver it. Is it a lie? No. You are going to present exact dates of employment in an application later on. But the aim of a professional resume is to get an interview where you will be able to explain the reasons for the gap in employment and show why you are the right candidate for the job.

Use a Cover Letter

When compensating for a gap in your employment a cover letter is exactly what you need. You can explain the gap to the potential employer: if it is some life event you can simply tell about it (e.g. caring for elderly parents). If not you should show what you weren’t just unemployed but did some job skills training courses, learned something work related or contributed something positive to a society, did any volunteer activities, show that your gap was a valuable and helpful time for you which developed your skills and made you an ideal candidate.

Omit One or More Jobs

If you have a lengthy work history there is no need to include all of your experiences on the resume. It’s reasonable to put jobs that extend beyond 15 years in a previous experience section and point out just company name and title.

No matter what the reasons for your employment gaps are, use all the tools to present yourself in the best possible way and remember to remain optimistic and show that you are ready and willing to return to work.

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A good resume blog will showcase your future goals, projects you have finished, application of skills, and your embrace of technology. Your resume blog should include any information that will help an employer get a better sense of your character.

This can be portrayed through the use of personal projects or larger scale projects with a company. If you have graphs, charts or pictures relating to the projects, this is your chance to get imaginative.

If you are a graphic designer or someone in a field related to visual communications, you should be taking advantage of every medium out there. Put pictures and graphics on your resume along with text that can convey your style and skills. You may think the addition of pictures makes a resume look childlike and unprofessional. This is far from the case. Even an unorthodox resume layout can garner more attention.

Buy a couple of advertisements on popular social networking sites like Facebook. Create a good sales pitch and tagline to your resume advertisement. Make sure it’s targeted to the job employers you are seeking. Put your best skills on the ad without sounding too generic. For example if you are a programmer, put something like “John Smith, C++/PHP programmer willing to code for you.” Put the position you seek in the title and make sure your name is in the advertisement. Then direct the ad to your resume blog. Any prospective employers will be able to read more about your skills and projects.

Make a video. If you are willing to talk on video, you can sign up with popular video streaming sites like YouTube and express your desire to work. These are only a few of the new resume techniques people are using.

Author: Lucas Clarke

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Now the “waiting” game begins. After sending your resume you think that all you have to do now is wait for the employer to contact you.

This is a big mistake; you have to choose the right way and the right moment for the next steps. Most employers recommend you wait for a week after sending your resume.

Send a short email

Email represents a perfect way to contact the company, because you can remind them that you applied for the job and you can resend your resume without fear you’ll appear too insistent.

A week after sending your resume, write an email to the employer. Here are some ideas that should be included:

- Write your full name and job title that you applied for in the Subject of the email
- In a professional manner repeat your interest and qualifications for this job
- Attach the resume to this email, so you don’t force the employer to search through old emails to find it.
- Include your full name in the filename of the resume

Contact the employer by phone

If you decided that instead of sending an email it is better to contact them by phone, repeat what you want before talking to them.

Be brief and to the point. Introduce yourself and remind to the employer that you recently sent a resume, also mention the job you are interested in. You can ask if they received your resume and if they recruit more candidates.

Try to maintain a short conversation and don’t call more than once because you will start to annoy them. After sending your resume and a few weeks pass don’t try to resend the resume again because they keep the resumes and they can think you forgot you applied for the job. Send your resume only if you apply to another job, otherwise send an email or contact them by phone.

Author: Brad Grayson

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Is there something wrong with your resume? Chances are your existing resume is acceptable, although not the best that it could be. Here are some quick tips on things you should do to strengthen your presentation, and some things to avoid.

Resume Do’s – Substance

• Include a Summary Statement rather than a resume objective. This should be a short narrative of 3-5 sentences describing your key strengths and experience.

Resume Do’s – Style

• Vary the font used in your resume to create some contrast between sections. Some bold and italics work well provided they are not overdone.
• Make sure your font is readable. Arial or Times New Roman are preferred.
• Avoid tables in your formatting. They do not always open correctly.
• Leave plenty of white space to ensure that your document is easy on the eyes. Small margins and cluttered text will not be well received by the person screening your resume.

Resume Don’ts

• Your resume is not your job description. Don’t be tempted to use your current job description in writing your resume. Think accomplishments rather than what your daily responsibilities are.
• Resume objectives are limiting. Avoid them.
• Don’t write your resume in the first person. “I” should not appear in your document.
• Make sure your contact information is professional. Your email address and voice mail message should be employer worthy. Your 2 year old on your voice mail is not professional. Likewise, “putterbill at anydomain.com” is not appropriate.
• Avoid expressing dates in months/year. This format highlights any gaps in your record. Since your resume is used to screen you out, not in, you want to avoid this level of detail. You will have an opportunity to address any gaps in your employment record when you’re interviewed, assuming you’re asked!
• Don’t list every organization you’ve ever belonged to. Avoid listing political and religious organizations. You don’t want to be screened out because an interviewer is biased.
• Don’t include a picture.An employer is not permitted to ask you any questions related to race, religion, age, ethnicity, etc. Including a photo can be problematic for the employer. It might be easier for the employer to have a policy that eliminates all resumes that contain a photo.
• Don’t include personal information – marital status, children, height, weight. Again, these are things an employer should not know.
• Don’t list your references on your resume. There are better ways to handle this important part of the hiring process.
  Take stock of your resume and make changes as needed. You can’t get the job if you can’t get the interview! Use these tips to put your best foot forward, and more importantly, avoid costly mistakes. Your resume only gets a 15-20 second review before the screener decides if you are a potential fit with their requirements. Make the best of it!

Author: Cindy McGeever

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First of all, forget about your resume.

A resume cant get you a job. A resume wont get you a job. Research proved that for 1,400 resumes sent out, there is only ONE job offer! The percentage is very low so instead of worrying too much about the structure, the layout and the type of fonts you will use to create a fantastic resume, do the following:

Find what you really want to do in life.

By saying that, I dont only imply a job title. Yes, you would like to be a marketing executive, an editor, an IT consultant or a flying attendant; however, its the nature of the job you will have to think of, in the first place. Do you like nine-to-five roles, well structured and in an office? Do you prefer to work in the outdoors? Do you mind getting up at dawn to work and taking afternoons off? Would you mind being on a plane or ship, or do you think that is a fun way to get a pay check? If you feel that you do not have the answer to these questions, think twice.

Make lists with things you enjoy in life: your interests, your hobbies, your passions. Then ask your friends or family. What do they think about you? Very often, we do not have a very clear idea of what we like in life, as we are very much into it. Our closest people, though, can help us by identifying areas, hang-ups or paths we ignore or are unable to see. Just give it a go, play around, ask people and move on. By the end of your research, you will know, for example, that you are the person who enjoys working on his own, prefers the unstructured life style, and works well at night. Then, a career in writing or painting might not sound like a bad idea.

Identify the industries you are attracted to.

This is a funny task. Very often, we think we like everything. We like the movies, books, planes, hotels, schools and restaurants. Yes, we do. This does not imply that we would like to work for these industries. Enjoying a nice meal at your local restaurant, does not necessarily make you a successful cook. Your love for children does not make you a happy and wise teacher, either.

Finding the industry of your choice is a long term process, and it will require constant research and clarity on your part. I remember I had a huge crush on the film industry five years ago. I worked for a film festival that didnt last more than two months. I kept applying for jobs in the film industry, unsuccessfully. The problem was that I did not exactly know what type of job I wanted to do. Was it script writing, producing, PR, acting or what? Then I started to take classes on film writing. It was when I finished the third class of script writing that I understood that going to the movies was a fun hobby, but that this was not my industry. After that, I gave up sending resumes and I concentrated on my real needs and desires. I finally found a job for a different industry that I enjoyed.

Have a real project.

For two weeks, buy all the newspapers and magazines you can find in your local area and/or nationally. Then clip job ads you feel attracted to. Keep them in a folder on a daily basis. Each morning, find out the main elements of the job ad. Was it an intellectual job, a creative role, an analytical position or something that involved adventure and taking risks? Do you prefer management roles or travel, editing or calculating, speaking or thinking? If you do that consistently for two weeks, you will have a very clear idea of the roles/jobs you like. I experimented myself, and I found out that when looking for nine-to-five roles, I liked all management positions because they offered flexibility, travel, high profile contacts and decision making. My client, Helen, who is an editor in a publishing house loves her job although she admits that it can be repetitive sometimes. I could not imagine Helen managing, as she is the type of person who thrives on independent, analytical and writing jobs. On the other hand, my friend John, who is a lecturer at the local college, enjoys research and teaching.

Last but not least: the most important element for successful job hunting is to find out who you are, not just what you want to do. Are you a leader, a writer, a speaker, a motivator? An explorer, a risk-taker, an analyst, an artist or a priest? As an identity, you are unique. Just recognize your uniqueness and authenticity, and move on. Finding the job you want is the first step. Then you have to do this job for forty hours a week for a whole life. It is important that you deserve to express your being while doing it?

There are many other tips and strategies that will help us all to find what we want to do for a living. These four strategies form, in my opinion, the foundation to success for a first, second or fifth job. Maybe you will find a new job that will fit your personality better, because you found out who you are. Happy Hunting!

Author: Thei Zervaki

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The mature job seeker often prefers the anonymity of mailed resumes, e-mailed inquiries, internet applications, and telephone contacts.

Interviews, however, are the goal of everyone who wants to work. There is so much pre-selection and screening before an interview is granted that simply getting that far in the process provides at least some expectation of an offer being made. 

It is when interviews are not forthcoming that real concern is needed. Ask yourself if you may be inadvertently triggering screening filters by the documentation you submit.

Review the following three “red flags” and identify if your own presentation could be outdated and needlessly sabotaging your employment campaign.

1. Old Educational Data.

You may have obtained a degree or completed a vocational course many years ago. While you obviously cannot change the year of your graduation, you can concentrate on detailing other training received more recently. Any classes, workshops, or seminars attended over the past couple of years, even something in progress, stamps you as an individual who is continuing to learn and grow, someone aware of recent developments and open to new ideas and up-to-date approaches.

2. Job Titles.

The title of a job is designed to explain, in brief, your typical duties. Over the years, such titles change even when tasks and responsibilities remain similar. Review the titles on your resume that may reflect what your position was called at the time but no longer meshes with the current business environment. “Secretary,” for example, is now rare. Similar job duties, flexed for innovations in technology, are now referred to as “Administrative Assistant,” “Office Manager,” “Office Analyst,” or “Personal Assistant.” Review your local classifieds and concentrate on the titles that seem to involve job tasks you have performed in the past. Then review your resume and applications and update job titles accordingly.

3. Jargon.

You probably have a resume which lists the duties and responsibilities of each of your prior positions. Re-read those descriptions, concentrating on the actual words you have used, especially the verbs (actions). Do those descriptions date you? Some obvious phrases are the old “variety duties” which is now generally called “multi-tasking,” and “assisted with” now translates as “customer service.” “Typing speed,” so ubiquitous thirty years ago is now invariably “keyboarding skills.” There are many other less obvious areas.

A way to address them is to go to the newspaper or internet and review a number of job descriptions in your field. Any words or phrases that are unfamiliar to you need to be researched as they may describe a task you have previously performed under a different description. If you cannot find the information you seek, check with a library, an employment agency, or someone in the field. If the new phrase fits you, substitute it in your resume and all future applications. If it is important enough to be included in a job description, it deserves your attention and neglecting the required investigation may doom your job search efforts.

Your goal is to have a potential employer read your resume and be familiar with the terms you use. It is your responsibility to be adaptive, flexible, and avoid being screened out due to inappropriate vocabulary. Don’t expect an employer to take the time to figure out whether you really have the skills being sought. Remember that resumes are used to screen OUT – to reduce the “possible interview” pile to a manageable size.

When your resume and written applications have been meticulously age-proofed, practice the same terminology verbally, with a friend, to be ready for a thoroughly up-to-date self-presentation when that inevitably soon-to-be-scheduled interview arrives.

Author: Virginia Bola, PsyD

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This can happen for a number of different reasons such as raising a family, taking care of a family member who is ill, not being able to find the “ideal” job, recovering from an illness, travelling, or simply taking a break after graduating from college.

If there are gaps in your work history, for whatever reason, there are essentially two ways you can deal with them.

Firstly, you can draw the reader’s attention to them by presenting your reasons in the most positive way you can. For example, Career Break – state this and show the relevant positive experiences that you gained during your time off.

Alternatively, you can change the format of your CV from the more traditional chronological style to the functional CV. The functional CV focuses more on your skills in different areas rather then a timeline of your employment history. Also, it allows the opportunity for you to include any experience you gained while you were out of the workforce under a separate heading such as “Additional Experience”.

The Functional CV

For example, let’s say you’ve been out of the workforce for several years and are now looking for a job. Your CV should start out with a brief “Summary of Qualifications” which is a paragraph containing an overview of skills and areas of experience.

Under the next section entitled “Areas of Strength” either lists key words appropriate to your professional experience or break it down into several distinct areas of experience with bulleted items. Maybe your “Areas of Strength” include Sales and Marketing or Teaching and Office Administration. You can make each one a separate category and list three or four items under each heading to indicate your experience and skills in each area.

The next section, “Professional Experience” lists related jobs, titles, and responsibilities. But do not omit the dates! By leaving out dates of employment on a CV, you will raise more questions.

And finally under the section Additional Experience, you can put any skills learned while you were on your break – include any classes or technical training or part-time or volunteer work while you were recovering from a car accident or caring for an elderly parent. This draws attention away from the gap itself and attracts more attention to your experience and capabilities.

If you took time off to raise a family, for example, you used various skills, such as managing a budget and time management, that would be excellent skills to be used in your new job. If you took time off to travel, pull pieces of information from your travelling experience that would be valuable skills in your next job.

Especially when visiting foreign lands, you may pick up on some basic foreign language skills or learn about the culture, traditions, and customs. This would prove to be a valuable asset to companies that engage in international business. And if nothing else, it may show that you are a well-rounded person.

Be creative

You should think of filling gaps in your employment history creatively by thinking of useful tasks done during this period. Sometimes you might not be paid but might have received experience relevant to your job. Community projects, special projects, freelance consulting engagements, continuing education etc., could all be used in the experience section in place of paid employment.

Whichever way you choose, it’s important to emphasise that you should acknowledge that these gaps exist and be prepared to address them in your CV and at the interview, since potential employers may view any such gap as a red flag.

Debbie O’Halloran – Career Columnist,

www.irishjobs.ie

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How to write a resume?

You have skills that employers want. But those skills won’t get you a job if no one knows you have them. Good resumes, applications, and cover letters broadcast your abilities.

They tell employers how your qualifications match a job’s responsibilities. If these paper preliminaries are constructed well, you have a better chance of landing interviews; and, eventually, a job.

Modern technology has added a new twist to preparing resumes and cover letters. The availability of personal computers and laser printers has raised employers’ expectations of the quality of resumes and cover letters applicants produce.

Electronic mail, Internet postings, and software that “reads” resumes help some employers sort and track hundreds of resumes. Technology has also given resume writers greater flexibility; page limits and formatting standards are no longer as rigid as they were several years ago.

When writing your resume, you still have to consider what is reasonable and appropriate for the job you want. Advertisements for a single job opening can generate dozens, even hundreds, of responses.

Our article on how to write a resume describes what information they should contain and how to highlight your skills for the job you want.

Resumes: Marketing your skills

A resume is a brief summary of your experience, education, and skills. It is a marketing piece, usually one or two pages long, designed to make an employer want to interview you.

Good resumes match the jobseeker’s abilities to the job’s requirements. The best resumes highlight an applicant’s strengths and accomplishments.

There are four main steps to creating a resume:

Compiling information about yourself and the occupations that interest you, choosing a resume format, adding style, and proofreading the final document.

You may also want to prepare your resume for computer scanning, e-mailing, and Internet posting, especially if you are pursuing a computer-intensive field.

Gathering and organizing the facts

Start working on your resume by collecting and reviewing information about yourself: Previous positions, job duties, volunteer work, skills, accomplishments, education, and activities. These are the raw materials of your resume. This is also a good time to review your career goals and to think about which past jobs you have liked, and why.

After compiling this information, research the occupations that interest you. Determine what duties they entail, what credentials they require, and what skills they use. Your resume will use your autobiographical information to show that you meet an occupation’s requirements.

You will probably need to write a different resume for each occupation that interests you. Each resume will emphasize what is relevant to one occupation. Remember: Even if you do not have many specialized and technical skills, most occupations also require abilities like reliability, teamwork, and communication. These are particularly important for entry-level workers.

The next step is to organize the personal information you have assembled. Most resume writers use the following components.

Contact information

This includes your name; permanent and/or college campus addresses, if they are different; phone number; and e-mail address, if you have one.

Place your full legal name at the top of your resume and your contact information underneath it. This information should be easy to see; reviewers who can’t find your phone number can’t call you for an interview.

Also, make sure the outgoing message on your answering machine sounds professional. If you list an e-mail address, remember to check your inbox regularly.

Objective statement

Placed immediately below your contact information, the objective statement tells the reviewer what kind of position you want, for example, “Seeking a position as an administrative assistant.”

Some objectives include more detail, such as “Seeking an administrative position using my organizational, word processing, and customer service skills.” Objective statements are optional and are most often used by recent graduates and career changers.

Writing objectives can be tricky. A vague statement, such as “Seeking a position that uses my skills and experience,” is meaningless. And an overly specific objective can backfire, eliminating you from jobs you want that are slightly different from your objective. If you decide to include an objective statement, make sure it fits the job you are applying for. Tailoring is expected. A statement should show that you know the type of work the company does and the type of position it needs to fill.

Qualifications summary

The qualifications summary, which evolved from the objective, is an overview designed to quickly answer the employer’s question “Why should I hire you?”

It lists a few of your best qualifications and belongs below your contact information or objective statement.

A qualifications summary, like an objective, is optional. It can be particularly effective for applicants with extensive or varied experience because it prevents the important facts from being lost among the details.

Most resume writers choose either an objective or a summary, but some use both.

Education

List all of the relevant training, certifications, and education on your resume. Start with the most recent and work backward.

For each school you have attended, list the school’s name and location; diploma, certificate, or degree earned, along with year of completion; field of study; and honours received. If you have not yet completed one of your degrees, use the word expected before your graduation date. If you do not know when you will graduate, add in progress after the name of the unfinished degree.

The education section is especially important for recent graduates. Include your overall grade point average, average within major, or class standing, if it helps your case.

The general guideline is to include averages of 3.0 and above, but the minimum useful average is still widely debated. Graduates should also consider listing relevant courses under a separate heading. Listing four to eight courses related to a particular occupation shows a connection between education and work. College graduates need not list their high school credentials.

Experience

Resumes should include your job history: The name and location of the organizations you have worked for, years you worked there, title of your job, a few of the duties you performed, and results you achieved. Also, describe relevant volunteer activities, internships, and school projects, especially if you have little paid experience.

When describing your job duties, emphasize results instead of responsibilities and performance rather than qualities. It is not enough, for example, to claim you are organized; you must use your experience to prove it.

Job descriptions often specify the scope of a position’s duties—such as the number of phone lines answered, forms processed, or people supervised. If you worked on a project with other people, tell the reviewer your accomplishments came from a team effort. Also, mention any promotions or increases in responsibility you received.

Use specific accomplishments to give your experience impact. Note any improvements you made, any time or money you saved, and any problems you solved—for example, were you praised for handling difficult customers? Were you always on time or available for overtime? Did you save time by reorganizing a filing system? Did you start a new program?

Mention quantifiable results you accomplished, such as a 10-percent increase in sales, a 90-percent accuracy rate, a 25-percent increase in student participation, or an A grade.

Activities and associations

Activities can be an excellent source of additional experience. Activities might include participation in organizations, associations, student government, clubs, or community activities, especially those related to the position you are applying for or that demonstrate hard work and leadership skills.

Special skills

If you have specific computer, foreign language, typing, or other technical skills, consider highlighting them by giving them their own category even if they don’t relate directly to the occupation you’re pursuing.

Awards and honours

Include formal recognition you have received. Do not omit professional or academic awards. These are often listed with an applicant’s experience or education, but some list them at the end of their resume.

References

Usually, resumes do not include names of references, but some reviewers suggest breaking this rule if the names are recognizable in the occupation or industry.

Most resume writers end with the statement “References available upon request.”

Others assume reference availability is understood and use that space for more important information. Regardless of whether you mention it on the resume, you will need to create a separate reference sheet to provide when requested and to carry with you to interviews.

A reference sheet lists the name, title, office address, and phone number of three to five people who know your abilities.

Before offering them as references, of course, make sure these people have agreed to recommend you. At the top of the sheet, type your name and contact information, repeating the format you used in your resume.

Other personal information

Your resume should include any other information that is important to your occupation, such as a completed portfolio or a willingness to travel.

Your resume is your own, and you should customize it to fit your needs. However, some information does not belong on a resume. Do not disclose your health, disability, marital status, age, or ethnicity.

This information is illegal for most employers to request.

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