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Producing the Resume

MYTH 12:

You should try to get as much as possible on each page of your resume.

REALITY:

Each page of your resume should be appealing to the eye. It should make an immediate favorable impression, be inviting and easy to read, and look professional. You achieve these qualities by using a variety of layout, type style, highlighting, and emphasizing techniques. When formatting each section of your resume, be sure to make generous use of white space. Bullet and underline items for emphasis. If you try to cram a great deal on each page, your resume will look cluttered and uninviting to the reader. However, make sure you do not over赴se such emphasizing techniques.

MYTH 13:

You should have your resume typeset and professionally printed.

REALITY:

You may want to go to the expense of typesetting and printing, depending on your audience. However, it is not necessary for most positions. Just make sure it looks first-class and profes貞ional. In some cases a typeset resume may look too profes貞ional for the type of position you are applying for and thus may communicate that you had someone else do your resume. Most word processors using letter-quality printers produce good quality type, and many copy machines will give you original quality copies. If you use a word processor, make sure you use a letter quality or laser printer. Dot matrix printers and many near letter quality printers do not produce professional copy. They look mass produced.

MYTH 14:

The weight and color of the resume's paper and ink is unimportant to employers.

REALITY:

Weight, paper color, and ink do count, because they are the very first things the employer sees and feels when receiving your resume. They make an important initial impression. If your resume doesn't look and feel right during the first five seconds, the reader may not feel good about reading the contents of your resume. Make a good initial impression by selecting a good weight and color of paper. Your resume should have a substantive feel to the touch--use nothing less than 20-pound paper which also has some tex負ure. But don't go to extremes with a very heavy and roughly textured paper. Stay with conservative paper colors: white, off-white, ivory, light tan, or light grey. Your choice of ink colors should also be conservative--black, navy, or dark brown. If, on the other hand, you are applying for a less conventional position, especially one in graphic design, fine arts, film, interior design, or advertising, where creativity is encouraged on resumes, you may decide to go with more daring paper and ink colors. We still like resumes printed on good quality white paper with black ink.

MYTH 15: You should make at least 100 copies of your resume.

REALITY:

Make only as many as you need--which may be only one. Since it's not necessary to have your resume professionally printed and since many copy machines produce excellent quality copies, you have the flexibility to produce as many as you need. If you produce your resume on a word processor, you can customize each resume for each position for which you apply. Your production needs should be largely determined by your strategy for distributing your resume.

Writing Letters

MYTH 16:

It's okay to send your resume to an employer without an accompanying cover letter.

REALITY:

Only if you want the em計loyer to think his or her position and employment opportunity are not im計ortant. This myth is pro計agated by those who believe employers are too busy to read but not too busy to be pestered by cold telephone calls and networkers who invite themselves to interviews. Employers initially prefer succinct written communications. It enables them to screen candidates in and out for the next stage of the hiring process--a telephone screening interview. Sending a resume without a cover letter is like going to a job interview barefoot--your application is incomplete and your resume is not being properly communicated for action. Cover letters should always accom計any resumes that are sent through the mail. They help position your interests and qualifications in relation to the employer's needs as well as indicate what action will be taken next. Above all, they give employers signals of your personality, style, and likability--important elements in the hiring decision.

MYTH 17:       The purpose of a cover letter is to introduce your resume to an employer.