The Elements of Resume Style: Essential Rules for Writing Resumes and Cover Letters That Work by Scott Bennett is a great resource for everyone to have. It is beneficial to all types of job seekers, from the experienced worker to the candidate looking for their first job. This guide is easy to read and follow; it even includes some step-by-step directions on formatting. Bennett includes a lot of information in this book but it is not overwhelming. He uses everyday language that readers of all backgrounds can understand.
Bennett begins the book by giving eight reasons why job seekers may receive no response or interview, reasons that have nothing to do with the job seeker or their resume. This book discusses a range of topics from using social media sites to writing a concise resume and cover letter to knowing how to prepare for the interview.
The Elements of Resume Style has many great features. Two of the best parts of this book focus on the vocabulary that resume writers should use and avoid. Bennett gives readers a list of vague claims to avoid and includes a chart that compares vague claims and specific action statements and explains why avoiding vague claims is the way to go.
Bennett is focused on making things easier for the person that will be reading the resume. Since he has experience with reading resumes and hiring, he knows that making the most of your resume and showing that you value the reader’s time is essential. Bennett (2014) shows job seekers how to do this by giving tips on using shorter heading titles, “work experience” rather than “professional experience” and writing brief statements rather than using bullet points because “neither a bullet nor any other symbol will propel a reader's eyes and interest on a resume as quickly as a thoughtful and succinct paragraph” (p. 29).
Some of the advice in the book goes against the common resume and cover letter information. Bennett encourages job seekers to send a short four-sentence cover letter because he believes it will help make the candidate stand out and will let the reader get through it faster. Most cover letter advice is to write four concise paragraphs addressing why you are interested in the job and company and a few examples of your qualifications, etc.
Bennett’s dislike of bullet points is also controversial, Alison Green, writer of the blog Ask a Manager, states, “hiring managers will only skim your resume initially, and big blocks of text are difficult to skim (not to mention, they often make employers' eyes glaze over).”
While The Elements of Resume Style offers a lot of great advice, tips and formatting help, readers should take some of his advice with a grain of salt.
Bennett, Scott. (2014). The elements of resume style: Essential rules for writing resumes and cover letters that work. New York, NY: Amacom
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The guidelines for writing a resume are numerous, seemingly in constant flux, and confusing. It is a certainty that anyone who has worked on a resume has wrestled with at least two pieces of conflicting information: 1) Make your resume as concise as possible. It should be two pages at most, but one is preferred; 2) Your resume is too bare bones, there is not enough to it. How does one marry concise and meat? Convey a breadth of experience without a breadth of space to do in it? For anyone searching for sources to help them craft their resumes, this is just a part of the challenge.
One resolution to the dilemma can be found in the source The Infographic Resume by Hannah Morgan. Most who think of infographics, if they think of them at all, do so in terms of marketing. Perhaps such a resume would be proper in marketing, but certainly not a format to give serious consideration to in other professions. This book’s intent is to dispel such a notion and provide and individual with the tools necessary to punch up their resume through the use of an infographic. The benefits are somewhat obvious. One can include more information and detail in regard to their experience while using fewer words. It is eye catching and will stand out from other resumes. It exhibits a comfort level with technology that is important in just about any profession these days. The value in learning this effective skill is appealing. But is it the right source for the searcher?
The answer, of course, depends. We’ll start by examining the source. Hannah Morgan, the author, also co-wrote Social Networking for Business Success: How to Turn Your Interests into Income with Miriam Salpeter. Additionally, she co-edited the book Disability, Spaces and Places of Policy Exclusion. While her other works are not directly related to job searches, they are still related and exhibit a degree of professional understanding. She is a self described speaker and author specializing in career advice, and maintains her own blog on the subject.
The book is published by McGraw Hill, one of the most prominent education publishers in the United States. The publisher alone speaks to the credibility of the source, due to their volume of educational texts published. And the author appears a credible source to speak on resume building. The timing is right, and if you perform a Google search on infographic resumes, you’ll receive close to 1.5 million hits. There is validity in the idea’s prevalence.
Still, the individual will need to evaluate whether or not the source is right for them. Resume writing is still an individualized process. It would be wise to familiarize themselves with other writings by Hannah Morgan, her blog for instance, to determine whether or not her advice is right for them. An infograph is certainly not the only way to create a resume.
Source
· Morgan, H. (2014). The Infographic Resume. McGraw-Hill Education.
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A resume is a document that is designed to introduce you to potential employers with the goal of being hired based on your skills, accomplishments, and experience. The Guide to Basic Resume Writing is a guide to help the reader plan, develop, and execute a professional, strong, and effective resume. The Job and Career Information Services Committee of the PLA was formed by and for public librarians, experts in locating the most up-to-date information about preparing and executing the perfect resume.
The Guide will show you how to:
- Highlight your educational and work experience
- Use direct language to showcase communication skills
- Use action words to liven up the resume
- Create an electronic resume
- Create different resume formats with examples and templates
- How to avoid resume mistakes that can prevent you from being hired
- How to write a cover letter with examples and templates
The many templates and resume examples included in this guide range from the first time job-seeker to a career changer and older worker. This is a very simple easy-to-use guide that is designed to help the reader design a resume that gets noticed. It offers expert advice, answers to frequent questions, and is revised and updated ,
The guide to basic resume writing (2nd ed.). (2004). Chicago: VGM Career Books.
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Purdue OWL Job Search Writing (POJSW), a division of the Purdue Online Writing Lab, provides detailed explanations and step-by-step instructions for writing topics associated with the job search process:
- application preparation
- job search letters
- resumes and vitas
- video resumes (recently added)
In addition, POJSW provides grammar and writing tips, job skill checklists, examples of employment documents (cover letters and resume) and other helpful advice to assist job seekers in landing that coveted job. Applicants creating resumes are offered tips on explaining both limited and extensive work experience, tailoring resumes for specific positions, resume design, choosing the correct format, and other resume-related topics.
The newest component, video resume creation, was introduced this summer. In June 2014, Purdue OWL launched the video resume "vidcast" on its YouTube channel. This vidcast (one of over 30 Purdue OWL instructional videos) introduces and instructs users in the creation, content requirements and distribution of video resumes. These specialized resumes use the integration of images, video and text to effectively demonstrate those attributes that are difficult for job applicants to transmit in print: personality and creativity.
Dr. Muriel Harris, former director and founder of the Purdue Writing Lab, partnered with graduate student David Taylor to create the Purdue Online Writing Lab. Their goal was to bring free writing assistance to those who were physically unable to go to the Writing Lab. Over the years, the site has been improved and updated by Purdue OWL staff, Purdue University Associate Professors and professional writing staff who are experts in providing online writing instruction to Purdue students and worldwide users.
Source:
Purdue job search writing (2014). Retrieved October 19, 2014 from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/6/
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The Career Transitions Center of West Michigan is a service comprised of volunteers that provides workshops, informative articles, and one-to-one coaching for area residents looking to hone their professional skills and define a career plan. The workshop sites include area libraries. Some examples of workshops available to attend are:
Job & Career Accelerator
The hiring professionals who volunteer lead the participants in discovering powerful, free tools for creating résumés, writing effective cover letters and informing career aspirations. Attendants will create an online customized résumé, learn to target online searching for open positions, access tutorials for computer skills, write cover letters and manage your successful job search.
Behavioral Interviewing and Effective Negotiating Strategies
In this class, current or potential professionals can learn the essential techniques to a successful interview and negotiate terms of employment.
The website offers articles that give valuable advice for interview preparation, such as identifying strengths, weaknesses, and work styles.
Strengths: The volunteers who work with Career Transitions Center are all hiring professionals, so the coaching they offer in the workshops and individual sessions has real-life value for the job seeker.
Weaknesses: The workshops are the most popular of the services the center offers, but one must attend the workshop to benefit. Materials covering the workshop agendas are not offered through the website.
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