Last week I wrote a blog that covered all the ways we can market our home business. Starting with this blog I am going to take a more in-depth look into each of these tools that we have available and help you find better ways to market your business.
We are starting with the resume, which is really the foundation to marketing. Having a resume is important because it contains all of your skills, qualifications, training and experience. But even more importantly, almost every potential employer requires that you have one.
Think of a resume as really the first impression that a company or potential boss will get of you. Before they even consider you, they look at your resume and make a determination almost immediately whether or not they will contact you for an interview.
The basics of a good resume will contain your contact information. This means your name, telephone number (home and cell), street address and email address. Whatever you do, don’t forget to include in your resume how you can be reached.
Another important part of a resume is your objective. What objective do you have that would cause the potential employer to benefit from hiring you? This explains what your employment goals are.
Keep in mind that the objective will be dependent on the particular job you are seeking, so this will require tweaking for each position you are interested in. For instance, you might state your objective as, “To obtain a writing position at ABC Company where I can maximize my…” You then go on to list some of your skills and abilities.
Another component to a resume is a summary of your qualifications. Ideally you want to describe yourself using a few words. This allows the employer the opportunity to get a snapshot picture of who you are. For instance, you wouldn’t want to list that you are fun but you might want to list that you are organized.
You also want to list your employment/work experience. However it’s best to list relevant work experience. Although I worked as a preschool teacher for three years, I don’t include that on the resume I submit in order to obtain work as a freelance writer. I list all of my work experience just in writing.
Don’t forget a list of your academic experiences, including degrees you have earned. If you had a high GPA in college, you could also list that. If you had any special professional training, you could list that as well.
Finally don’t forget to include a list of awards or special organizations you have belonged to. My 16-year-old son recently applied for a job at a fast-food restaurant and I told him to list belonging to the Civil Air Patrol, as that shows he belongs to an organization that is respected.
Maybe it’s time you brushed up your resume. Don’t forget to maintain it, however. You want it to be available at any time you need it. Update it when necessary.
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