Resumes for dummies

388 Pages·2011·13.408 MB·English

by  Joyce Lain Kennedy

Business/Careers
Making Everything Easier!™ 6th Edition
6th Edition
Get your career in gear
and write a winning resume Open the book and find: me s
u
Re s
to land that job interview (cid:129) The parts of a resume (and how R
to best format and design it)
Is your job search stalling out after you submit a resume but (cid:129) Ways to hook the reader with a e
before you’re offered an interview? Whether you’re entering summary or objective
the job market for the first time, looking for a new job after s
(cid:129) How to make education,
a layoff, or changing careers, Resumes For Dummies shows experience, skills, and
u
you the ropes and rules for a new era in recruiting and job competencies work for you
searching, and gives you expert tips on writing a resume
(cid:129) An innovative system for writing
m
that shines. targeted resumes
(cid:129) What you should research about
(cid:129) Resumes 101 — uncover the resume basics that’ll wow ‘em every
a job before writing a resume
time, and find out how to get yours into the right hands
e
to land that job interview
(cid:129) Tips for recent graduates
(cid:129) Put your best self forward — discover how to write a resume that s
(cid:129) How to handle changing careers,
highlights your good points and downplays the not-so-good
transitioning as a military
ones, like work-history gaps or job-hopping
veteran, or grabbing a job as
(cid:129) Make your resume shine online — get the latest innovations in a Baby Boomer
Internet-based tools and mobile services on the recruiting scene —
social media, smartphones, job-search apps, and e-readers
Learn to:
(cid:129) Customize yourself — find out how to quickly (and effectively)
customize a resume for a specific job target
(cid:129) Skyrocket interviews with the new instant
(cid:129) Enjoy a sample — take a gander at dozens of sample resumes Go to Dummies.com® customizing method
for every consideration — perfect for modeling your own
for videos, step-by-step examples,
winning resume
how-to articles, or to shop! (cid:129) Use right resume forms with different
digital docks
(cid:129) Control privacy and reputation issues
in online social job search
(cid:129) Avoid resume-killer mistakes you never
$16.99 US / $19.99 CN / £13.99 UK knew about
Joyce Lain Kennedy is the nationally syndicated career columnist of ISBN 978-0-470-87361-8
Careers Now, which appears twice weekly in newspapers and on Web
Joyce Lain Kennedy
sites across the U.S. She is the author of award-winning books, including
Nationally syndicated careers columnist and
Job Interviews For Dummies and Cover Letters For Dummies.
author of Job Interviews For Dummies and
Kennedy Cover Letters For Dummies
Get More and Do More at Dummies.com
®
Start with FREE Cheat Sheets
Cheat Sheets include
(cid:129) Checklists
(cid:129) Charts Apps
(cid:129) Common Instructions Mobile
(cid:129) And Other Good Stuff!
To access the Cheat Sheet created specifically for this book, go to
www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/resumes
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to using the latest version of Windows.
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(cid:129) Videos
(cid:129) Illustrated Articles
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Resumes
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
6
TH EDITION

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Resumes
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
6
TH EDITION
by Joyce Lain Kennedy

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Resumes For Dummies®, 6th Edition
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
111 River St.
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2011 by Joyce Lain Kennedy
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permit-
ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written
permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the
Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone].
Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley
& Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at http://
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Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the
Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, Making Everything
Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/
or its affi liates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated
with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO
REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF
THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITH-
OUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE
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OF FURTHER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES
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For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care
Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax [phone].
For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport.
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not be available in electronic books.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2010943053
ISBN: 978-0-470-87361-8
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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About the Author
Joyce Lain Kennedy is America’s fi rst nationally syndicated careers colum-
nist. Her twice-weekly column, CAREERS NOW, appears in newspapers and
Web sites across the land. In her four decades of advising readers — young,
senior, and in-between — Joyce has received millions of letters inquiring
about career moves and job search and has answered countless numbers of
them in print.
Joyce is the author of seven career books, including Joyce Lain Kennedy’s
Career Book (McGraw-Hill), and Electronic Job Search Revolution, Electronic
Resume Revolution, and Hook Up, Get Hired! The Internet Job Search
Revolution (the last three published by Wiley Publishing, Inc).
Resumes For Dummies is one of a trio of job market books published under
Wiley’s wildly popular For Dummies branded imprint. Job Interviews For
Dummies, 3rd Edition, won the coveted Benjamin Franklin Award for best
career book of the year, as it did for its fi rst edition. The other book in the
suite is Cover Letters For Dummies, 3rd Edition, which also received the
Benjamin Franklin Award for best career book of the year.
Writing from a San Diego suburb, the country’s best-known careers columnist
is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis. Contact Joyce at jlk@
sunfeatures.com.
About the Technical Reviewer

James M. Lemke has earned a reputation as a leader in talent strategies and
processes. He is director of organizational development for Opportunity
International. Previously, Jim spent 15 years as a human resources consul-
tant. His client list included: Real Networks, Southern California Metropolitan
Water District, Northrop Grumman, Southwest Airlines, Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, United Arab Emirates University, and the White House. Jim
has held executive positions with Wachovia Bank, TRW, UCLA, Walt Disney
Imagineering, and Raytheon. He resides in Buckeye, Arizona. Contact Jim at
[email protected].
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Author’s Acknowledgments
Traci Brink Cumbay, project editor, who enormously improved this book. I
appreciate Traci’s strong editorial skills, analytic mind, and frank calls
for more clarity when I wasn’t getting the mush out of my mouth, er . . .
computer. Traci’s an authentic author’s delight.
James M. Lemke, technical editor and reviewer of this book, who cheerfully
served his 12th hitch in the role. In addition to his expertise in employment
technology, Jim also knows all that’s worth knowing about company human
resource operations. And what a sense of humor!
Yevgeniy “Yev” Churinov, college student and technical associate, who
never met a computer he couldn’t fi x. His work on this guide was heroic in
both writing and technical challenges. Yev is a talent for whom I have great
expectations and even greater respect.
Gail Ross, literary agent-attorney and longtime friend, who continues to help
me make the right publishing moves. I appreciate you.
Lindsay LeFevere, acquisitions editor for this book, who makes the glue stick
and the pages turn in the publishing experience. Lindsay’s way out in front in
performance and awareness.
Kathryn Kramer Troutman, federal resume authority, who made an enor-
mous contribution to this work with her amazingly quick technique to cus-
tomize resumes. Good going, Kathryn.
Don Orlando, retired Air Force colonel, career coach, and resume writer,

teaches job search skills to transitioning military veterans. I can’t say enough
good things about the value Don brought to the transition advice section of
these pages.
Susan P. Joyce, the CEO of a popular job and career Web site, whom I award
a year of gold stars for her immensely helpful coaching on a host of impor-
tant issues addressed here.
Louise Kursmark, herself the author of acclaimed resume books, who sug-
gested my inclusion of a strategic selection of sample documents that make
it easy to distinguish the relationship between social networking online pro-
fi les, resumes, and bios.
And bowers of fl owers to Scott Swimley and Mark Sugalski, stalwart side-
kicks who assisted in the creation of The Lemke Guide, a chart that demysti-
fi es resume platforms in a digital age.
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Publisher’s Acknowledgments
We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.
com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-
2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax [phone].
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Composition Services
Development
Project Coordinator: Sheree Montgomery
Project Editor: Traci Cumbay
Layout and Graphics: Joyce Haughey,
Acquisitions Editor: Lindsay Sandman Lefevere Julie Trippetti
Copy Editor: Traci Cumbay Proofreaders: Melissa Cossell, Penny L. Stuart
Assistant Editor: David Lutton Indexer: Estalita Slivoskey
Technical Editor: James M. Lemke
Editorial Supervisor and Reprint Editor:
Carmen Krikorian
Editorial Assistant: Jennette ElNaggar
Art Coordinator: Alicia B. South
Cover Photo: ©istock.com/Andrew Johnson
Cartoons: Rich Tennant
(www.the5thwave.com)
Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies
Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies
Kristin Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies
Ensley Eikenburg, Associate Publisher, Travel
Kelly Regan, Editorial Director , Travel
Publishing for Technology Dummies
Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User
Composition Services
Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services
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