Your resume is your first impression on a prospective employer.

Though you may be articulate, intelligent, and charming in per-

son, a poor resume may prevent you from ever having the oppor-

tunity to demonstrate your interpersonal skills, because a poor

resume may prevent you from ever being called for an interview.

While few people have ever been hired solely on the basis of their

resume, a well-written, well-organized resume can go a long way

toward helping you land an interview. Your resume's main pur-

pose is to get you that interview. The rest is up to you and the em-

ployer. If you both feel that you are right for the job and the job is

right for you, chances are you will be hired.

A resume must catch the reader's attention yet still be easy to

read and to the point. Resume styles have changed over the years.

Today, brief and focused resumes are preferred. No longer do em-

ployers have the patience, or the time, to review two or three pages

of solid type. A resume should be only one page long, if possible,

and never more than two pages. Time is a precious commodity in

today's business world and the resume that is concise and straight-

forward will usually be the one that gets noticed.

Let's not make the mistake, though, of assuming that writing

a brief resume means that you can take less care in preparing it. A

%U~e~[ul resume takes 6me and thought, and if you are willing to

make the effort, the rewards are well worth it. Think of your re-

sume as a sales tool with the product being you. You want to sell

yourself to a prospective employer. This book is designed to help

you prepare a resume that will help you further your career--to

land that next job, or first job, or to return to the work force after

years of absence. So, read on. Make the effort and reap the re-

wards that a strong resume can bring to your career. Let's get to

'iw

it!

vii