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Why achievement statements are a smart use of your resume real estate
To figure out what skill headings to put on your functional resume, imagine that you are an employer who is writing an ad for the job mentioned in your Job Objective statement. What skills would you list as requirements?
Let's say you're the manager of a retail store, and you're looking for a Director of Customer Service. Your help-wanted ad might read: "Applicant must be skilled in supervision and customer service." Now step back into the shoes of the job seeker. Supervision and Customer Service would be the two skill headings you should use on your resume.
Terms of Employment
Professional Experience is the name of the midsection in the chronological template shown in this chapter (which contains your work history and achievement st atements). That section may also be called Professional, Accomplishments, Career Achievements, Achievements, Selected Accomplishments or Experience.
Job-Hunt Hint
Depending on what you list in the Work History section of your functional resume, consider naming this section one of the following:
- Work
- History
- Employment History
- Relevant History
- History
- Experience
- Career History
Bonus Check
Be sure that the print of your skill headings appears smaller than your major section headings. You can achieve this by doing one of the following
- Make the skill heading type one or two font sizes smaller than the major section headings.
- Use all uppercase letters in the major heading, and use uppercase and lowercase in the skill headings.
Let's role-play again: As a supervisor in a software-development firm looking for a technical supervisor, you might write, "Applicant must be proficient in computer programming and team leadership." As a job seeker, you understand that Programming and Leadership would be good skill headings to use on your resume for this job. A resume should be about a job-seeker's future, not his past.
Skills for Sale
Some functional resume writers have trouble coming up with skill headings. When selecting the skill headings for your functional resume, be sure to choose ones that define your future (your Job Objective), not your past (your Work History). If you feel stuck,take a look at the following list of skills. Notice that I've categorized this list according to four general occupational areas: business management, education, engineering/technology, and nonprofit management. Although you may want to focus on an area that's close to your job objective, I suggest you read through the entire list. Maybe a word in another category will inspire you to define your skill set in a way that is uniquely yours.
Career Casualty
Don't overwhelm your reader by having too many skill headings. Two (at most three) headings are usually plenty to make a good first impression.