Resume Outline - Add Structure & Flow To Your Resume

Building your resume, based on a resume outline will give it structure and flow... it provide an outline of all the things you should include in your resume. nnA resume is one of the most important documents you will ever create nnFirst you have to decide on a particular format for your resume. The two main formats in use today are chronological and functional format. Which one is best to use will depend greatly on your situation. nnTo build your resume you can use free resume forms located on the web. This can provide you with directions if you are having trouble building your resume. A sample resume outline would include the following sections: nnThe Heading nnYour resume should start with the heading. You can list your basic details so the employer can contact you. You can include your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address. nnNAME nADDRESS nPHONE NUMBER nEMAIL ADDRESS nnJob Objective nnThis is an optional section of your resume outline. Here you can tell readers what the objective of your resume is and what you are looking for. nnExample: nnEntry-level accounting position with medium to large public accounting firm. nnThe "Body" is the largest section of your resume outline nThis is where you can enter details about your education, work experience and additional information. The body contains: nnEducation nnHere you can list your educational background. nEducational Background Format: College, Degree, Major, Honors, Relevant Courses nSample Education Section: Drexel University nBA Educational Leadership, May 2000 nnIf you have a college education, do not list your high school information. You can also list any honors for academic excellence in this section of your resume outline. nnIf you are a graduating senior or looking for an internship, you can add a relevant courses section to your resume outline. nnEmployment History nnThis is an important part of the resume. Here you can list your previous employment history. If you are using a chronological resume format, you should list the most recent job positions first on your resume outline. nnExample: nnDrug Emporium, Wayne, PA nCashier, June to September, 2001 nSupervised customer check out nHandled the cash register nManaged and stocked merchandise nnYou can also list relevant volunteer activities or work experience programs if you do not have much job experience. nnAchievements nnIf you have any special achievements you would like to announce, you can use this section. Maybe you made a suggestion that saved your previous boss a ton of money. You can list it in this section of your resume outline. nnSpecial Skills nnThe remaining sections of the resume can include additional skills such as fluency in a foreign language. nnReferences nnYou should leave this section out altogether. References are not required at this stage and stating that 'References are available upon request' is assumed anyway... so you just end up wasting valuable space! nnAdditional Optional Sections nnYou can add additional sections to your resume outline such as volunteer work, community involvement or honors. nnYou also have to decide on the layout of your resume. Choose a common font and medium range font-size, such as 12. Decide how you want to highlight the headings of the different sections. You can use bold, italics or underline to highlight section headings. Some people use bold and a larger font size to highlight their name on the resume. nnThe last part of your resume will probably receive little focus, so if you have a marketable skill or outstanding honor you should try to incorporate them in earlier sections of your resume. nnYou can find a lot of resources on the web that can provide you with free outlines and sample resume layouts. Usually an outline will differ if the resume is for a recent college graduate or a long time professional. Choose a resume outline that is specific to your career field and you can build your resume around that outline.n