American State Jobs

Write your resume to be a positive summary that captures your talent,  ability, and accomplishments.   Include prior positions if they demonstrate experience for the position of interest.  Your resume is the most important sales pitch you can make for the job.  Use section headings like capabilities, qualifications, and achievements instead of  boring previous titles, duties, responsibilities or experience.
Resume Style
Resumes should not exceed two pages (one page is even better) for most jobs, though educators and some professionals may require longer resumes to show publications.  Your resume should be in a standard text that is easy to read such as Times New Roman 11 or 12 font.   Font sizes should not fluctuate frequently.   Only your name, section headings, and employers names should be in bold and perhaps slightly larger font.  Also, avoid italics and frequent underlining.  If employment histories are included, they should be placed in reverse chronological order.

Electronic Resumes
Employers often scan resumes electronically to find keywords that are specific to a job.  A single resume will not always be found by an employers scan.   You should revise your resume to the specific job you are interested in.  Insert keywords used in the employer’s job description or announcement, including job titles, minimum and preferred qualifications.

Words to Use

Select words that convey energy, enthusiasm, and achievement.  Active verbs and a brief and clear description of contributions and achievements will make your resume stand out.  Be sure about your use of any technical wording, especially those pertaining to computer skills or knowledge.

Step by Step Resume Writing

1. Contact information

Place your full name at the top center of the first page in a larger, bold font.  Contact information should include your address and phone number.  A cell phone works best, so that you can immediately take the call.  An e-mail address is also important.  If necessary, create a new e-mail address that sounds professional.  If your resume has more than one page place your name and the page number at the top of other pages.  Separate the heading from the next section so its easy to read.

2. Career or Occupational Objective

State your objectives, include the sector, profession, or occupation, and the level of responsibility (i.e., front line worker, supervisor, or managerial).  You can begin this section with a general title of your occupation written in bold font (i.e., “Computer Programmer Analyst”, “Psychiatrist”, “Health Educational Specialist”).   If you are changing your occupation, or if you are returning to the workforce, following an absence, clearly state that fact in the objectives section.

3. Skills/ Qualifications
Present your best  skills, abilities, and qualifications in a bulleted format, limited to about eight of most important factors for the job you are applying for.  List any specific knowledge and credentials (degrees, minors), technical abilities (for example, computer skills), any personal attributes (leadership,  interpersonal skills, problem solving, and any job specific items.   For example:  Staff Supervision – Effectively supervised groups of 5 professional employees in varied environments.  You can briefly expand on each  or just  bullet the items.

4. Work History
In reverse-chronological order, list each employer (accounting for the most recent 10 to 15 years) including the employer’s name, a description of the enterprise, the city and state where you had the job, calendar years of employment (you don’t need to include months), the most senior job title achieved, primary duties and achievements or significant results. Place the achievements and results in a bulleted list, but use no more than four.

Consolidate other previous experience into short paragraph labeled “Previous Positions” and include your occupation  and any highly regarded employers.

5. Education, Training and Affiliations
Enter  your formal education, including the name of your school and your course of study.  You don’t need to put a graduation date unless it has been recent.  If you did not obtain a degree from the institution describe it as either attended or completed coursework.  Formal education may be checked by the employer for some positions.  Any inaccuracy will discredit you and result in you not getting the job.

List any meaningful training in a bulleted list.  This includes recognized programs directly related to your occupational objective.  For example, if you completed a bookkeeping course from an accredited institution, such as a community college, or if you took a computer network certification class.  Don’t use this space for less than multiple day seminars.

List certifications, licenses, and trade  affiliations in a bulleted list.  List memberships in any associations relevant to this job.  Leave out personal or family information.  Include  recreational activities only if they are relevant to the position you are applying for.  As an example, a youth Baseball Manager for if you are seeking a supervisory role, or if you have a hobby like hiking, which would relate to a forest ranger position.  Do not include references.  Do not include anything which could be interpreted as weird such as photos or art.

6. Review Your Resume

Review your resume for spelling, grammar, and format.  It might be helpful to have someone else take a look at it or to put it away for a day or a few hours and return to review it with a fresh eye.

7. Submit Your Resume
You may submit your resume electronically by following the employers instructions in the job announcement or on their web site.  It may be necessary to copy and paste it to match their format.  Just copy the text from the word processor document and paste it into the notepad feature on your computer.  Save the document as a .txt, or text file.

8. Cover Letters
Cover letters are often too long.  Your cover letter should not be longer than one-half of one typed page.  It provides a sample of your best writing skills and should not summarize your work history.  If you were referred to the employer, be certain to mention the name of the person referring you.  Most employers will be favorably impressed to know you were inquiring about the organization and that it enjoys a positive reputation.

Remember, a bad cover letter is one that is too long, too desperate, or too boastful.

Your cover letter should briefly but firmly state your interest in the employer and the position.  Highlight two or three items from your background that may catch the recruiter’s eye.  Keep it brief and to the point.  Show enthusiasm for the job while maintaining with a businesslike tone.  Indicate confidence in your abilities and in your belief that you are an ideal candidate for the position.

When submitting online, make sure the resume and cover letter are one file.  Copy and paste your resume to your cover letter.

Before submitting any material spell check them and proofread both the resume and cover letter several times.  Ask a friend or colleague who is a good writer to review them.  Even one or two errors or formatting issues can will send your information to the bottom of the pile.

No luck needed.  If you put in the time and effort, you will give yourself a good chance of landing an interview.