Sabrina’s Money Matters

This is the first blog in a series for two new categories called, “Selling Yourself 101″ and “The 8 to 5 World” that we’ll begin exploring here at Sabrina’s Money Matters. Since we can’t all bridge the gap from working outside the home to working at home at any given moment, I’m going to start writing articles that will assist you in obtaining a job, keeping that job, and getting up the ladder in the workforce.

To start today we’re going to discuss your resume. This is often a daunting subject and a measurable source of stress if you don’t have a working idea of how a resume should flow.

Résumé’s don’t have to say just the right thing for the job description, it needs to say all the right things about YOU, telling someone what you want them to know about you before they meet you. In telling someone your abilities and displaying confidence, you can convince someone on paper that you can handle this job with ease. This is your introduction and how you make a potential employer want to get YOU in their office.

It should not be just a list. When you get ready for a date with a special person, you put time and effort into your appearance, you want to wow them and make them proud to have you on their arm. Getting a job is a commitment similar to finding a girl/boyfriend.

First, make a list of your strengths in work and in life because and also a list of qualifications, i.e. industry specific knowledge that demonstrates your knowledge of the position you hope to obtain. There are key words employers are looking for that are industry specific and you’ll know what they are based on the field you are employed in.

This information will be translated into your objective and qualifications. Your objective is where you sell yourself and your strengths (never mention weaknesses). The qualifications area is where you mention your applicable skills.

For a stylist’s job for instance, your objective could read, “Self starter with great team attitude and quick smile seeks salon with the need for Fantastic Hair Stylists that are punctual, reliable and easily retain clientele.” Your objective should tell who you are and what you have to offer. It’s the WOW factor. The qualifications to follow could explain your customer retention rate, etc.

If you’re looking for a position as an Administrative Assistant your objective could read, “Multi-Tasking, self starter seeks office in need of a reliable team oriented, quick learning Jane of all trades to perform administrative tasks and make them look easy.” Then in your qualifications you could list how many lines you’ve handled in the phone system, the programs you worked with, any typing skills you have, etc.

If you’re a punctual person and hardly miss a day of work, add that to the list of strengths (reliable), don’t hesitate to brag a little on yourself, if you don’t no one else will and you need to be able to convey confidence from the page they’ll be reading.

Next you’ll need to list your last 5 years of work history, that’s usually all an employer will want from you.

Two more lists and we’re off to the fun part!

Next, list your education if you’ve completed high school and no college courses, under the heading Education you’d just put a simple statement indicating you’ve received your high school diploma. If you’ve taken some college courses and haven’t obtained a degree, list the school(s) that you’ve attended and how many hours you’ve completed (and received credit for). If you carried a fairly high GPA, I would list that as well next to your listing of credit hours.

Finally, make a list of six references, three personal, three professional. Once you’ve done that mark the two best on each list and that way you have four references. There are two ways to give references, one is to just go ahead and list it on your resume, the other is to mention that references are “Available Upon Request”. I’ve never been one to take the latter route, simply because I would rather they just call instead of asking me first. However some people think that if they’re asked for that list, they’re more likely to be hired.

I’ve written lots of résumé’s over the years and this is just one version, remember you have to sell yourself and as you change over the years, so should your resume. As you get older you become more responsible, perhaps more willing to lead and supervise, this should be accounted for in your objectives, your goals are what an employer want to know, where you want to go from here.

Here’s a resume example, feel free to take it in its full form and tweak it to match your particular objective, qualifications, etc. The order in which the information falls on this example is pretty standard, you can always check other resources on the internet for more contemporary or formal layouts.

Everything there relates to the medical profession, but I’m sure you can see the time and care it took to put the resume together. This IS just an example. However, once you have a working model that you are happy with, all you’ll have to do is change or update information as your life changes and your career takes different courses.

If all else fails, read the tutorials available on the internet, like these. You can also check out SaveAndMake.com for listings of positions if working at home is the kind of thing you’re looking for, and also I’veTriedThat.com to get the info you need to avoid being taken in by work at home scams.