The Elements of Resume Style: Essential Rules for Writing Resumes and Cover Letters That Work
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About this ebook
There are so many vital questions when it comes to building a résumé today, but only one way to be assured you’re getting the right answers--by asking a hiring expert.
Building your résumé should be one of the easier parts to the job interview process, but it’s actually becoming one of the most stressful aspects. What kind of résumé will spark the employer’s interest? Which kind most often get passed over? How far back are we supposed to go? How can we best explain those time gaps in between jobs? Are the rules different for online résumés?
Scott Bennett has hired hundreds of people in a variety of industries, and he knows firsthand the insights that will catch an employer’s eye, as well as what dangers to avoid if you want to survive the first cut. Learn how to craft clear, compelling, targeted résumés and cover letters that actually work!
In The Elements of Résumé Style, you will be provided:
- More than 1,400 action words, statements, and position descriptions that help sell your skills and experience
- Hundreds of words, phrases, and vague claims to avoid
- Advice for handling employment gaps, job-hopping, and requests for salary history and requirements
- Sample résumés, response letter, inquiry letter, informational interview request letter, references,
- Surprising tips for acing the interview
In today’s competitive environment, competition is intense no matter the field or position. The often overlooked first hurdle to jump over is no doubt the résumé. The time-tested tools in The Elements of Résumé Style will make sure yours stands out--helping to get you the job you deserve!
Scott Bennett
SCOTT BENNETT has reviewed more than 100,000 r'sum's, conducted thousands of interviews, and hired hundreds of employees in organizations both large and small.
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The Elements of Resume Style - Scott Bennett
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THE ELEMENTS OF RÉSUMÉ STYLE
"Given the dire economic straits we as a nation are in and the significant competition for jobs, The Elements of Résumé Style has been over the years an invaluable resource for job seekers at the New Haven Free Public Library in helping them to create a résumé that will really get noticed by employers. I would recommend every public library in the United States purchase a copy for their collection."
—SETH GODFREY, Business, Jobs & Non-Profit Services Librarian, New Haven Free Public Library
At Kinko’s, we print more resumes than any other firm in the world. We see the good, the bad, and the ugly in resumes. I highly recommend Scott Bennett’s book for anyone wishing to create the winning resume.
—GARY M. KUSIN, President, CEO, and Director, Kinko’s Inc.
Reading this compact volume is like getting inside the mind of a hiring manager. It should be required reading for every job applicant.
—PAT PRECIN, Managing Director, Pathways to Housing
Absolutely outstanding. A marvelous piece of work. This book delivers what it says it will and then some. No job seeker or career changer should be without it.
—JOHN J. KENNEDY, ED.D., career development consultant
Scott has managed the near-impossible—covering the subject from AA to ZZ. For the serious résumé writer, the sections ‘Request for Salary Requirements’ and ‘Marketing to Yourself’ alone are worth fifty times the cost of this tightly written manual.
—HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS, direct response writer/consultant/lecturer, and author of dozens of classic books on copy writing and advertising
Scott Bennett presents the art and science of résumé and cover letter writing in a clear, comprehensive package that will serve as a useful tool for employment seekers. I recommend his guide to all seekers and outplacement professionals.
—BARRY NEWMARK, Director of Human Resources, Brooklyn Bureau of Community Service
It’s rare to find professional wisdom and practical sense in the same book. Scott Bennett delivers both. As someone with years of experience in helping both students jump-start their careers and executives choose the right applicant, I know his words can make a genuine difference at whatever step of the career ladder to which you’re hoping to move.
—DR. STEVE BURGHARDT, Professor, Organization & Planning, Hunter College School of Social Work, and Vice President, Research & Organizational Development, Leadership Transformation Group, LLC
"The Elements of Résumé Style provides a clear, well-marked path to construction of effective résumés and cover letters. It is a quick and easy read; the language and style make it inviting, and it is chock full of information essential to every level of job seeker. Usually these books are rough going and boring, but this one is supportive and fun. Young people in our Independent Living/Life Skills Program will be encouraged to use this wonderful resource as they enter the world of work."
—CAROL M. ALTOMARE, CSW, Director, Independent Living/Life Skills Program, Jewish Child Care Association
The author presents the information in such a clear, concise, well-organized way. I felt like an experienced friend was helping me through tricky territory in a very candid, yet patient and kind way.
—NINA JAFFE, copyeditor, Vermont
Bennett’s writing is succinct; it’s a pleasure to read. His book is a delightful mix of useful, pointed, and timely content. Great help overcoming internal demons as well as external barriers. Bravo!
—BARBARA WOOD, PH.D., VP for Pathmaker Services, Greyston Foundation
"The Elements of Résumé Style is a useful addition to the literature on the art of résumé writing. It contains very detailed, specific wording recommendations not found in other books on this subject. I highly recommend it."
—ROBERT W. BLY, copywriter/consultant/seminar leader, and author of more than 50 books on marketing, direct mail, writing, and business communication
THE ELEMENTS
of
RÉSUMÉ STYLE
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Bennett, Scott, 1962–
The elements of resume style : essential rules for writing resumes and cover letters that work / Scott Bennett. -- Second edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8144-3393-5
ISBN-10: 0-8144-3393-6
1. Resumes (Employment) 2. Cover letters. I. Title.
HF5383.B423 2014 650.14’2--dc23 2014016984
© 2014 Scott Bennett.
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of AMACOM, a division of American Management Association, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.
Printing number 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is dedicated to Jackie, Bonnie, and Wayne,
who share my love of words and word-free moments,
and to every active career seeker.
Contents
Preface to the Second Edition
INTRODUCTION: WRITERS MAKE CHOICES
Why Sometimes You Can Do Everything Right and Still Get No Invitation to an Interview • Pay Attention to Items Within Your Control • Less Is More • Twelve Things You Can Do Without
1. COMMON CONCERNS
Are You Sure of Where You Want to Work? • Are You Sure of What You Want to Do? • Move Beyond Your Dreamkillers • Résumé Length • Chronological or Functional Résumé? • Employment Gaps • Include Interim Jobs? • Self-Employment • Job Hopping • What About Social Media?
2. PRESENTATION: THE READER SEES MORE THAN WORDS
Paper • Ink • Margins • Spacing • Font • Boldface • Italics • All Caps • Underlining • Save As…
3. EVEN THE SIMPLEST ITEMS SEND MESSAGES TO THE READER
Your Name • Your Address • Your Phone Number • Your Fax Number • Your E-Mail Address • Your E-Mail Signature
4. SELL YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE–ALWAYS WITH THE READER IN MIND
Goal Section? • Goal vs. Objective • Executive Summary Section? • Give Readers a Reason to Believe • Education or Work Experience Section First? • Work Experience
vs. Professional Experience
• Position Descriptions/Blurbs • Sentences/Action Statements • Verbs/Action Words • Volunteer Experience Section • Education Section • Inventions, Published Works, Seminars Section • Software Skills Section • Language Skills Section • Memberships Section • References Statement? • Personal Information Section? • Artwork, Photos, Decorative Borders, and Line Art
5. DELIVER YOUR MESSAGE THE RIGHT WAY TO THE RIGHT PLACES
Sending Your Résumé • Job/Career Fairs and Reverse Job/Career Fairs • Responding to Blind Ads • Thinking Outside the Cubicle
6. COVER LETTERS
Cover Letters in General • Sample Response Letter • The Unsung Hero of the Job Search: The Inquiry Letter • Sample Inquiry Letter • Informational Interview Request Letter • Sample Informational Interview Request Letter
7. THE FINAL THREE PRE-INTERVIEW ITEMS: SALARY REQUIREMENTS, SALARY HISTORY, REFERENCES
Request for Salary Requirements • Request for Salary History • Elements of Compensation for Salary History • References
8. MARKETING TO YOURSELF
9. BONUS INTERVIEW CHAPTER BY POPULAR DEMAND: SCOTT, MY RÉSUMÉ WORKED! NOW WHAT?!
Physical Prep • Mental Prep • Read Up and Then Meet Up • Are You Ready for Your Close-Up? • After the Interview
CONCLUSION: YOU’RE THE CARPENTER
APPENDICES
A. More Examples of Effective Position Descriptions/Blurbs
B. A Special Note to Homemakers
C. A Special Note to Veterans
D. A Special Note to Ex-Offenders
E. A Special Note to People in Recovery
Index
About the Author
Free Sample Chapter from Acing the Interview by Tony Beshara
Preface to Second Edition
Paraphrasing oft-amended remarks by American author and humorist Mark Twain: Reports of the résumé’s death are wildly exaggerated. More than a few present-day career writers have claimed 1) the résumé is your obituary, and 2) social media presence is who you are. Both of these claims are absurd, and here’s why.
Yes, a poorly crafted résumé can resemble an obituary, and yet this was equally true way before social media, before the Internet, before personal computing, before the typewriter, and even before typesetting.
Social media—as prolific and sometimes ingenious as it is—follows venerable traditions like oral storytelling, calligraphy, handwriting, and the printing press; the typewriter, mini-computing, the word processor, PC, notebook/laptop, and tablet or smart phone; hand delivery, Pony Express, USPS (snail mail
), fax (telecopy, facsimile), and FedEx; e-mail, e-mail attachments, word processing software (.doc, .docx), Adobe Reader (.pdf), HTML, text messages, photo formats, video formats, audio formats, QR codes, the cloud, and so much more. The foregoing comprises a teeny-tiny subset of the impressive and unending array of delivery systems past, present, and future. Take care to not confuse content with delivery system. Similarly, the phrase war on terror
sounds a lot like war on cannons
or war on water balloons
—terror and cannons and water balloons are delivery systems, not enemies. Focus on your content at least as much as the delivery system(s), because content is what sells.
• Your error-free, clear, focused, and targeted cover letters and résumé are not your obituary.
• Your error-free, clear, focused, and targeted cover letters and résumé are not a list of what you did, that is, not a list of duties/tasks plucked from job descriptions.
• Your error-free, clear, focused, and targeted cover letters and résumé are not who you