How to Write a Good Resume

I am no export, but even doing the amount of hiring here still at UTMI brings in a fair number of
resumes. I see a lot of errors that causes me to dismiss people.
If you read nothing else read and follow this one simple rule

Consider your resume an example of the quality of work you will produce on a
company's behalf.
Common errors
Dont
Paste a resume into an email. This causes your resume to lose all of the formatting that make it look
professional, clean and concise as well as easier to read.
Do
Attach your documents as an attachment. (Note: even doing this sometimes loses some formatting
between differ version of software etc.)
Dont
Indicate that you included something such as a list of references if you dont actually include it.
Do
Include exactly what you say youre going to include i.e. resume, cover letter, and/or reference list.
Dont
Have aa larg nubmer fo speling erors or ! poor punctuation??
and syntax errors
Do
Read your resume from the standpoint of accuracy and correctness. Let someone else read it for you.
Reread it several times. Let it sit for a day and reread it. Be consistent with indentations, formatting
etc. The worst thing you can say is that you have attention to detail and then have several errors in your
resume. Never use the explanation point (!). Pay attention to the detail. USE SPELLCHECK first. Use
the thesaurus to help you find the right choice of words. Remember, a preposition is a bad thing to end
a sentence with. (It is incorrect syntax to end a sentence with a preposition.) Double check common
misspelled words that are still correctly spelled such as there and their, hear and here, would and
wood for example. I would suggest that you turn on automatic spelling and grammatical errors from
the tools/options/Spelling & Grammar menu. One excellent trick to check for spelling errors read
your resume back words looking ONLY at the words. Your brain will better focus on each word.
Dont
Use some unusual font such as script.

It just makes it harder to

read.
Do
Use standard fonts such New Times Roman, or Arial or Tahoma. Note Arial and Tahoma and this
font (New Times Roman) in the previous sentence are all the same font size (12). Be consistent in your
font dont change it. Sparingly use bold and underline to help make the resume more readable
mainly to help separate areas of thought. Sometimes you can change the font slightly to make a short
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resume look fuller and a longer one shorter. Just dont get carried away. You can also adjust margins to
create a similar effect. Actually I like to type out what I want to say, only rough drafting the formatting.
Then I go back and fill in all the necessary details of the formatting. Also, if you use bullet points use
standard style rather than hearts or flowers etc. No or or
Yes or or . Your
resume should be readable AND professional looking.

Dont
Make a conflicting statement such as your objective is different from the position available. Ive had
people send in resumes stating that their objective is to work in the film industry when they were
applying for the front desk position at the school.
Do
Make sure your cover letter, objective etc. matches the company that you are applying for. Arrange
your resume in some type of format such as chronological or relevant work experience. If you are a
recent graduate, you really dont have a lot of experience. Place your educational points first. Dont be
afraid to say you are a new graduate looking for an entry level position. However, you may want to
include in your prior work history any employment history that was basically customer service
related. Comment on the customer service portion of the job and leave out any other information if it
doesnt enhance your customer service experience. Comment on the number of clinical hours and your
grade in that course. If you have prior experience, list that first rather than your education.
Dont
Try to include everything save some stuff for the interview. But be prepared to address these items in
the interview make a list of key points, but dont take the list with you and refer to it, unless you have
it in a presentable format and can leave it with the interviewer i.e. list of references.
Do
Make your resume short and concise probably no more than two (2) pages at most. You can shorten
it by stating that references are available. Take the references along on an interview.
Dont
Include some personalized email address such as No1DallasCowboyFan324@hotmail.com. Ive
seen some email addresses that are so rude or crude (unprofessional), that I do not look any further.
Do
Best if you use a business email address. In addition, I would avoid an email address that you might
consider fine such as JohnPaulJones1978@hotmail.com . The reason is that this relays too much
information that might be the start of identity theft especially if the 1978 is your birth year or
graduate year. Some companies look at stuff like this that shows an uninformed or naive person and
therefore might not present a good first impression.
Dont
Try to explain everything in your cover letter.
Do
Make your cover letter short and sweet and to the point. Generally one and no more than two
paragraphs should suffice. They may look at this only and never look at your resume if you dont
impress them right away. Research the company you are considering working for look at their web
page. This might be all that is necessary to say After researching your business, it seems like we have
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a lot of interests in common. Please review the attached resume. Keep me in mind if you think that my
skills and experience would be a good match with your company. But be prepared to discuss those
common items such as you focus more on pain relief rather than comfort massages.
Dont
Send in a resume until you have researched the company/person you want to work for.
Do
Use the internet to conduct research. Ask friends, neighbors etc. if they have had any dealing with this
company. Include in your cover letter, a small tidbit of information that shows you know something
about the company and that you did some research. Any extra time doing research will pay you back
greatly.
Okay, Now You Have an Interview
Dont
Never show up late, but also dont show too early.
Do
Show up about 5 minutes, no more than 10 minutes early. If the place is a large building, show up in
plenty of time to find exactly where youre going. Dont get lost on your way. You should also locate
the place of business a few days before your interview. Arrive near the location (maybe just the parking
lot well in advance of your appointment. Just dont walk into the office more than 5-10 minutes early.
If you are late you will not be hired no excuses.
Dont .
Give them a wet fish handshake.
Do
Give them a firm handshake. People are going to expect a firm handshake from an LMT.
Dont
Interrupt the interviewer. Dont raise your voice. Dont argue.
Do
Listen to the questions being asked. It is alright to take a short pause to formulate an appropriate
response to a tough question. Just dont take too long. If fact, you should write out a few questions
ahead of time that they might ask long before your interview so that you can answer in a timely
concise fashion. Answer the question dont get off track. Try not to answer all questions with a
simple yes or no. or start off your question with a simply yes or no and then a concise reason why.
You may have to give some more details, but try to just answer the question that was asked. Probably,
the toughest question might be why did you leave your last job? this is especially tough if you got
fired. You had better be ready to give a good answer.
Dont
Never run down or criticize your last employer.
Do State that we had some differences and you decided it was better to part company, but I learned
some things from that experience. (Be prepared to say what you learned)

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Dont
Dress too casual.
Do
Dress professional. For an interview, you may not want to wear scrubs. You might want to bring scrubs
with you, just in case they want you to conduct a practical.
Dont
Expect them to immediately accept your tattoos and piercing.
Do
Cover your tattoos and remove piecing for the interview. Discuss their policy only after they commit
to being interested (ie at a second interview or a practical).
Dont
Pass up the offer of doing a practical.
Do
Offer to conduct a practical. Show them your talent. But dont forget that the dialog is just as important
most importantly, listen to your client. To get a job get your hands on someone.

Okay, one the first page I made a typical mistake. Can you find it? It is very subtle and one that is often
overlooked.

The answer is in the header of the document not the title. I did not capitolize the word error. This
word should be capitalized. Look at page three, in the header the word an is not capitalized. That is
okay short prepositions are not to be capitalized. I also misspelled EXPERT and typed EXPORT at
the top of page one. Spell check would not have caught this. Now is this very paragraph is a spelling
error. If you read this in digital form it is obvious (with auto spell check turned on), but in printed
format it is not. The word capitalize is mispelled. Also the word mispelled is misspelled.
Attention to detail.

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