Resume Experience Writing
What’s your resume experience writing have to do with your credit report? Nothing… and everything.
The very principal of stating your experience in your resume writing and on a job application is one of the same reasons there are credit reports. Past behavior is a good indication of future behavior.
There are many different components in any resume: experience, education, skills, objective, and even hobbies. Each of these components can play a big part in elevating your resume over the hundreds of other resumes prospective employers are evaluating. When it comes to predicting how you will perform for a new employer, however, none is as important as experience.
Prospective employers look at your resume experience to glean information about your work history. That history may reveal things about your prior performance. For instance, if you were regularly promoted within a company, the reviewer can assume that your old employers were relatively pleased with your performance.
Likewise, your work history can prove to be an indicator of your steadiness as an employee. A long work history dotted with jobs held longer than two years shows that you are committed to your employer. On the other hand, a work history with several unrelated, short-term jobs may hint at a flighty personality.
You have little control over exactly what is written in your credit report. Here is some good news: you have full control over what is in your resume!
The key to using your resume experience to your advantage is to present your history in a positive way. No matter what type of experience is in your past, there are certain ways to maximize the highlights of your career and to minimize the low points. These three tips will help you make the most of any history.
• Quantify your experience. Be very specific about the types of work you’ve done in the past. If you worked in a retail setting, don’t simply state that you worked as a cashier. Instead, you should relay details about how many customers you helped in a day or the amount of sales you were responsible for in a given time frame. This type of information will separate your experience is a fast-paced business from another applicant’s lackluster experience in a smaller, slower business.
• Share how your experience positively affected your employer. Prospective employers want to know that you are able to get results with your work. If you instituted a new filing system that allowed the home improvement contractor you worked for to bid for jobs in a more accurate manner, be sure to mention that. How many more jobs was the contractor awarded because he was able to bid more accurately?
• Make your resume experience relevant to the job you’re applying for. Although you may be proud of the fact that you learned to type more than 90 words per minute at your last job as a telemarketer, the restaurant you’re hoping to work for many be less interested in that skill. The human resources person at that restaurant will be more impressed by the customer service skills you developed as you spoke to hundreds of different customers. Know what type of experience you will need in your prospective job and show ways that your old work experience fulfills that need.
Your resume experience writing is like a ticket to write your own credit report for your work history.
Don’t pass up this opportunity to look your best.
Phil Baker
Copyright 2009 Resume Dictionary
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