One (Resume) Size Doesn't Fit All

There are lots of different opinions on what a resume should look like: one page, more than one page, objective, no objective, fancy fonts, pack your life story into it, keep it simple, just to name a few.  What should you do when you're getting lots of different and sometimes conflicting advice? 

First of all, what's most important is that your resume reflects you.  A cookie cutter resume that looks just like everyone else's isn't going to serve you as well as a resume that is customized to reflect your relevant skills and your experience for the job to which you are applying.

Renowned career expert, columnist, and author Joyce Lain Kennedy sums it up better than I can:  to each his own.  In a column,  Joyce's shares the story of the "remarkably rotten resume of Juan S., a graduating senior at a local high school":

"Not only was his resume disjointed and useless, Juan had decorated it with his picture -- think mug shot on a wanted poster. Alongside Juan's  "bad" resume sample, I placed several "good" resume samples and, of course,  exhorted  readers to emulate the latter. Yep, Juan was the first person in his graduating class to be hired for a decent job."

Following the solid theory that one size doesn't fit all when it comes to resume writing, Joyce Kennedy's book Resumes for Dummies, has terrific resume writing advice, especially for those (and that's most of us, at one time or another) whose employment background isn't quite perfect.

There's information on resumes for different phases of your life and special circumstances, as well as advice on how to target your resume, which is something we all should be doing.

Related: Resume Tips | Resume Samples | Share a Resume Writing Tip 

Connect With Alison: Connect With Alison | LinkedIn Group | Facebook

_{Image Copyright Amanda Rohde}