What is a "resume"?

What is a "resume"?

Debra Davenport (Executive Professional Mentor, Licensed Career Counselor & Employment Agent) gives expert video advice on: What are the most common resume mistakes?; How do I structure my resume if I've had several jobs? and more...

Your resume is your brochure. It is your marketing piece. A good resume is going to cover a lot of different things that you might not think should be on your resume. For example, foreign language skills, computer skills, civic experience and volunteer experience or continuing education but not just your professional background. A good resume will highlight the quantifiable things you have done in each of your jobs, and by 'quantifiable' I mean how much money were you able to save the company, how much money were you able to make the company. That can be translated all the way down to, 'I streamlined our office filing system which increased productivity in my department by 33 percent.' Okay, that's a great, great bullet point to have on your resume. And so if you think about your resume as a sales tool, it has to sell you, it has to market you, it has to be strategic, and it really has to tell your story. Don't be afraid about spilling over two pages if you need to in order to provide your complete background to a potential employer.