Verb person and tense

Resumes can be written using either the first or the third person verb tense. Use whichever you choose consistently. Verb tenses are varied and based on accurate reporting; If the accomplishment is completed it should be past tense. If the task is still underway, it should be present tense. If the skill is something which has been used and will continue to be used, use present tense ("conduct presentations on member recruitment to professional and trade associations"). A way of "smoothing out" transitions is to use the past continuous ("have conducted over 20 presentations...").

No lengthy blocks of writing.

A good rule is to have no more than 6 lines of writing in any one writing "block" or paragraph (summary, skill section, accomplishment statement, job description, etc.). If any more than this is necessary, start a new section or a new paragraph.

Ordering of experience and education sections.Experience sections should come first, before education, in most every case. This is because you have more qualifications developed from your experience than from your education. The exceptions would be 1) if you have just received or are completing a degree in a new professional field, if this new degree study proves stronger qualifications than does your work experience, 2) lawyers, who have the peculiar professional tradition of listing their law degrees first, 3) an undergraduate student, or 4) someone who has just completed a particularly impressive degree from a particularly impressive school, even if they are staying in the same field, for example, a MBA from Harvard.

Telephone numbers.

Be sure the telephone number on the resume will, without exception, be answered by a person or an answering machine Monday through Friday 8-5pm. You do not want to lose the prize interview merely because there was no answer to your phone, and the caller gave up. Include the area code of the telephone number. If you don't have an answering machine, get one. Include e-mail and fax numbers, if you have them.

A FEW MORE TIPS

Try not to include anything on the resume which could turn the employer off, anything which is controversial (political, etc.) or could be taken in a negative light.

Put most important information on the first line of a writing "block" or paragraph - the first line is read most.

Use bold caps for the name on page one. Put your name at the top of page two, on a two-page resume. Put section headings, skill headings, titles or companies (if impressive), degrees, and school name (if impressive), in boldface.

Spell out numbers under and including 10; use numerical form for numbers over and including 11 (as a general rule). Spell out abbreviations unless they are unquestioningly obvious.

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