Cranky Recruiter: Resume Template

Okay, everyone always wants advice on how to write a resume. After recently seeing some awful ones, I'm putting a template out here for everyone to look at. This is a general, all-purpose resume outline that I think is fairly standard.

Name (the name you are known as--if you use an appropriate nickname, put it down.)
Street Address City, State, Zip code.
Phone Numbers--put the numbers you can be reached at. Cell, Home. Put your work number down only if you can get calls there without risking your current position.Email--again, only use personal emails unless it is perfectly acceptable with your current employer to use your work email when looking for a different job.

Professional Summary: List your experience, skills and relevant information for the types of positions you are seeking. If you are a recent graduate, this area may list some work you did in school, or skills such as lab work, computer software, etc. For an experienced professional, this area should highlight the experience and knowledge you bring to a future employer.

Work Experience: In Chronological Order, listing your most recent position first:
Company, Location, Position Title and Dates of Employment. If you have worked for the same company but in many different positions, put a top line listing of the company and entire tenure, then break it down after that into position and tenure.
Job Responsibilities in that position. List what you had to do at that company, what your responsibilities were, and any special projects that you were involved in. If you are looking to enter into the wine industry, I encourage you to describe what the company did, and what you did within the company. An example of this would be if you worked at a paper company. If you were a sales person, list the company, location, position title and dates of employment. Then put a small description of the company, such as, Dunder Miflin is a paper and office supply company based out of New York City that works with large corporations and small business owners to provide office products and solutions. As Sales Manager, I was responsible for overseeing the office staff as well as work with key accounts to attract and retain business. This allows a hiring manager to understand what you did there, and then think of ways you could help at their company. If you were doing specific tasks or using specific technologies, list them.

Education:Degree Received, Name of School, Location
You can put the graduation year, and I encourage you to if you recently graduated. If it has been several years, you may want to keep it off the resume. You do not need to list high school or every community college you attended. List where you received your degree from.

Professional Development/Certifications:
This is a good area to list any management courses taken, technological workshops attended or certifications received that are relavent to the position you are submitting your resume for.

References: List 3-5 if you want, but most every hiring manager understands that you will provide references if asked. By leaving it off, you have a bit more page to use for putting career information on.

How Long: 1-2 pages is best. I often see people with 20-30 years of experience that have distilled it down to one page. The 4-page recent-graduate resume is cumbersome and often irrelevant. Sometimes less is more.

Some things you can list, but only if you have a burning desire to or it is relevant to the position:
hobbies, community involvement, relevant coursework. I would encourage you to keep off birthdates, marital status and number of children and/or pets.

It is your resume, so read my advice, and then write what you want. It should be a reflection of your personality and experience, and that can come across in a well-written resume.

Good Luck.