Writing a resume, is actually trying to sell yourself. It is your calling card, just like a business card, but with more information. It is that "first impression" that you are going for, so there are a few rules you should follow, when writing your resume, or risk having your resume thrown aside.

With this in mind, you are going to want to keep your resume to the point, and not filled with additional useless information to make it look bigger.

Bigger is not better when it comes to a resume. When listing your employment, only list pertinent information on your job duties, that would pertain to the job you are applying for. Make sure you have the date range, the company name, and your title for each company you have worked for.

As for volunteer work and hobbies. As a partner in a small family business, I may not have time to review what your hobbies are, or your volunteer work, unless they pertain to the job we are looking to fill. I have seen this section, push a resume to more than one page.

Don't get me wrong, you may do wonders for your community and are a top golfer, but I have a job I need to fill, and I only want to read ONE page of a resume, and it needs to be about your job experience and your education, and references that we can check before we call you for an interview. I can find out more about your interests in an interview.

When writing a resume, keep this in mind, because you don't want to take the "sell yourself" part too far. Just stick to the facts, keep it clear and do not fill it with distractions.

If we have a bundle of resumes to go through, I may only have a few minutes to get the idea of what you can do for us, so get that all important information and facts I am going to need to see on one page. Especially when it comes to recent employments. I do not need to know about your part time job many years ago in school. Just your recent positions and/or your present position that would pertain to our company.

So, when writing your resume, just stick to the facts and you are more likely to get that interview. Just an opinion from a small family business point of view!
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