I'm Unemployed. What Do I Put on My Resume?

What should you put on your resume if you're currently unemployed? We hear employers don't like to see employment gaps on a resume, so how do you hide the fact that you don't have a job right now? It depends on when your unemployment started. Continue reading...

Yahoo's 2010 Burning Question: "How to Write a Resume"

In Yahoo's 2010 Year in Review: Burning Questions, How to Write a Resume ranked #4.

Each of the 10 questions has a post with answers to those burning issues. The author of the post How to Write a Resume was kind enough to include this:

For those currently out of work, Susan Ireland, author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Perfect Resume," recommends "filling in your employment gap with any paid or unpaid work that's relevant to your job objective." Volunteering, taking classes, or regularly defragging the computers at your nephew's school all count. "If you can't come up with anything relevant," advises Ireland, "fill your employment gap with a 'job title' that indicates your good character, such as family management, caregiver, travel, or something wholesome you were doing."

Curious about what the 10 Burning Questions for 2010 were? Here you go:

#1 How to Tie a Tie
#2 How to Lose Weight
#3 How to Kiss
#4 How to Write a Resume
#5 What’s the World’s Only Immortal Animal?
#6 Which City Has the Best Tap Water?
#7 Which Natural Disaster Shortened Earth’s Days?
#8 What Is Love?
#9 What Causes Lightning?
#10 How to Boil an Egg

How to Handle Being Over-Qualified on Resume for a Career Change

Question
I was laid off in September from my job of seven years as a news editor, a path I am not interested in continuing. I have an Associate of Arts degree in graphic design, however I don't want to seek a job in that field as it's very competitive and prone to layoffs at this time.

I see this as an opportunity to start a path to a new career. How can I structure my resume for an internship or entry-level job in a new career field without looking over-qualified?

Answer
First, you need to decide what new career you want to pursue. Once you know that, you'll be ready to write your resume. For the sake of this answer, let's say you want to become a political lobbyist for an environmental group. For that objective, I suggest you create a combination resume.

In your job objective statement, do not use the term "entry-level;" simply say "A position." (For example: A position in environmental advocacy.) Doing this will help decrease the disparity between the elevated job title you held most recently and the new one you seek.

In your Summary of Qualifications section, emphasize the transferable skills you bring to the new position. For example:

• Eager to bring my writing and media relations skills to the political arena as an environmental advocate.
  

Under your most recent job title (News Editor) in the body of your combination resume, create two headings that support your job objective (for example: Communications and Environmental Issues). Under each of those headings, write achievement statements that are relevant to your job objective. These statements should not speak about management or leadership, as you don't expect to land a management job in your new career. Instead, refer to your experiences as being part of a team, or speak about projects you did independently. In other words, instead of:

• Managed a team of eight editors and four production staff to publish daily newspaper with circulation of 200,000.

Write something less management-like and more relevant to your new job, for example:

• As news team member, wrote pieces on wide range to topics including rain forests, glacier meltdowns, and carbon emissions.

Under Education, mention your AA degree, and any classwork that's particularly relevant to your job objective.

Good luck with your career shift!

Resume for Previous Career

Question
My husband was laid off in October from his job of 12 years as an inside sales representative. Prior to his sales job, he was a dental technician for 10 years. He has decided that he would really love to get back into that business. How should he incorporate that into his resume? Continue reading...

Update Your Resume Before the Layoff

Last Sunday The San Francisco Chronicle ran a piece, Preparing for the Pink Slip, by Richard Berman. Richard quoted me in the article "...it's always better to update your resume when you're working rather than after you've been laid off because you will be writing from a position of strength."

If you think a layoff is headed your way, update your resume now for the following reasons:

- Your mindset will be more positive, enabling you to see and write about your experience at the company in terms of achievements. Once you get the pink slip, your attitude toward the company and your time there might sour, making it hard for you to write strong statements about your good work. Often a person feels they were chosen for a layoff because of their individual performance, when usually it's due to things beyond the person's control, such as a slowed economy, poor executive decisions, or outsourcing.

- You'll have access to records that can help you quantify the achievements you put on your resume. For example, what percent increase in revenue you generated; exactly how many people you managed on that national project; or how many widgets you processed each day. I've worked with many job seekers who, after leaving their companies, couldn't remember details of accomplishments, which would have strengthened their resumes tremendously.

Before your last day on the job, be sure to ask for a letter of recommendation from your supervisor. Also ask if he or she would serve as a reference for you in the future. If the answer is "Yes," ask if you may have his personal contact information in case his employment situation also changes.

Job Hopper's Resume

Question
I recently quit a job after 3 months of employment because I felt it was unprofessional. I do not want to put this on my resume as it adds to the many short-term jobs already listed. None of the jobs pertinent to my job field (administrative assistant) lasted longer than 8 months. I have a few about 6 months long, one 8-month position, and the aforementioned 3-month stint. With the exception of the last job, it was not my fault that I was let go. I quit a part-time job, was laid off due to a slow market, fired after a car accident and again, quit the most recent job. I want my resume to stand out, Continue reading...

Gaps and Layoffs and Resumes, Oh My!

Question
I have been looking over The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Perfect Resume by Susan Ireland and think either the achievement or functional resume might be best for me.

I have job gaps. Some from going back to college, one from taking a year to get the ideal job (internet consultant during the internet bubble burst), Continue reading...