Targeted Résumés

Here is a brief excerpt from Chapter 9 which contains simple directions to format a resume that is targeted on your chosen job.

Prepare a résumé that will promote you to the selection panel

Although your résumé is not the vital document when applying for a government position, you usually need to provide one. It will be looked at for your contact details, work history, qualifications and additional training or professional development. The way you present your résumé is a reflection of your standard of work, so ensure yours makes a positive impression. Private enterprise places a lot of emphasis on the résumé, so it pays to have a modern-style, targeted résumé that promotes you to an employer or selection panel.

This chapter gives you everything you need to prepare your own résumé. There is no need to pay someone to prepare your résumé. A commercially prepared résumé can be expensive and is written in a certain style that is not yours. The language is not yours and the image created of you is not always accurate so it is better to write it yourself. The so-called experts in writing résumés know no more than you will after reading this chapter………..

Example

There is an example of a résumé targeted on a specific job that you can use to re-write your own. Very useful will be the lists of words and phrases you can adopt or amend for your own résumé.

Career objectives. There are 11 of them for you to read. Eg

• To hold a managerial position within the tourism industry where my extensive experience in tourism and my specialised skills in policy development and management will be used to provide a professional and effective tourism service to the people of Western Australia.

How to describe your competencies. The are 85 of them written out. Eg

• Committed to acting responsibly in situations involving confidential and sensitive information of staff or clients
• Interest in people and their problems and able to relate well by using well-developed interpersonal skills particularly in emotional and stressful situations
• Leadership skills, including the ability to enthuse and inspire others to establish team objectives and motivate individual team members to excel in their specific tasks

Your personal attributes described. There are 52 fully written out. Eg

• Capable of absorbing new information, learning quickly and acting with incisiveness in making decisions
• High degree of self-motivation and initiative which ensures that all tasks are completed in a professional manner without the need for direct supervision
• Clear idea of personal and work priorities with the ability to set objectives, plan strategies and tactics and envisage outcomes