Tips to Help You Present Your Resume

Preparing Your Resume To Leave The House

It is important to proofread your resume. You need to make sure that your potential employer knows exactly how serious you are about this job.

Being able to see neat, grammatically correct information shows the employer that you have attention to detail.

Certainly that is a trait that he or she is looking for in an employee.

It is in good form to print your resume on higher quality paper. It is not a good idea to submit to a potential employer a photocopied resume. No matter how well the resume format, it looks extremely unprofessional.

Photocopies are OK for close friends and family members who may be trying to help in the job search, but not for potential employers. Make sure when printing that you use white or off-white paper only. Do not use colored paper it is not at all professional.

It is best that your resume consist of only one page. Sometimes it is inevitable that your resume will be more than one page, especially if you are a published professional.

When this happens it is important that you not send your resume to a potential employer stapled or paper clipped. This again does not look professional and can hide some information depending on the layout of the resume. When the employer has to remove the staple the resume then becomes damaged and is not in its optimal form.

Preparing to mail your resume

There are some resume experts that say it is OK for you to place your resume in a folder, and include business cards, and references. I think that may be overkill unless you are applying for a high-end management position.

It is best to only provide references if they are asked for. You can come prepared with a list of questions in a professional looking legal pad portfolio and have an extra resume and reference list in the side pocket ready for the employer if he or she asks for them.

When mailing your resume to an employer do not use a cover sheet. Doing this causes your potential employer to shuffle through more papers. You goal of course is to get your information to him or her as quickly as possible so that they can see that you are the right person for the job. With an extra sheet of paper in there, they have another piece of paper on their desk that could distract them.

When actually mailing your resume off to a potential employer do not fold your resume more than once. If you tried to get the resume into an envelope and it didn't fit, the best thing for you to do would be to get another resume and refold. It does not look good to have several folds on one resume, very unprofessional.

Hand delivering your resume

If delivering your resume in person, make sure to dress for the occasion. As with interviews you should dress neatly and make sure that it's not too bright or patterned.

Dress in navy blue, or black. These colors are neutral and are very professional. Also make sure that your clothing are not wrinkled and are not overly sprayed with cologne or perfume. Some people are highly allergic to these types of scents and you do not want to make a bad first impression, they tend to stick.

Make sure that you drop off your resume at an appropriate time. If you are dropping off your resume at a restaurant, retail establishment, or any other business that runs on peak periods and lulls do not attempt to drop off your resume at peak times. This would show a lack of concern on your behalf and again give a bad first impression.

When dropping off your resume, you would ask to speak with the individual who placed the ad that brought you to deliver your resume. If you are cold calling to the business, you would ask for the manager, or the human resources manager and hand deliver the resume introducing yourself and what position you are interested in obtaining.

Points to keep In Mind:

Dress neatly if hand delivering

Respect company times

Do not excessively fold

Do not use folders, business cards, or references (unless requested)

Try to limit your resume to one page

Proofread resume

Use quality paper

Do not use colored paper or paper with borders

Do not use cover sheet unless requested