Lots to do to start.....
There are a number of steps you need to complete before you start actually documenting your resume. If you do this, it will simplify the task:
- Prepare a list of your previous employers.
- The jobs/positions you held and the dates in each position
- NOTE: Beginning and Ending Years are sufficient for the marketing document - but, you will likely need the specific months if you have to submit an electronic application through a company’s web site. So, you should capture that information too.
- Prepare a brief, high-level description of your responsibilities for each position.
- This should be no more than a couple sentences for each position.
- Prepare a brief description of the employer.
- This will be helpful especially if your employer is not well known - but, it also helps if you worked for a large, well-known company with many divisions.
- A good example of this is "General Electric Company" otherwise known as "GE." Many people are familiar with the company name - but, they don't necessarily know what the company does or may only know of one part of the company like the Appliance division. They may not know that the company is one of the largest credit card companies in the United States or that they make jet engines.
- Prepare an inventory of your skills - summarized in bullet points.
- Determine what functional title can be used to describe your ideal position in 3-5 words.
- By that we mean, for example, "Credit Risk Management Executive" or "Senior Marketing Executive."
- We don't mean generic officer level titles like, for example, "Vice President." That does not describe the position for which you are qualified.
It is a good idea to make these lists in whatever software you expect to write your actual resume. It will be simpler to transfer them directly into the resume.
