Back to Basics

Both offices of Momentum Resources have been crazy busy this month. Why? Many reasons.

Many women are looking to return to work now that the summer is over and the kiddos are back to school. We're also beginning to see early signs that the economy is thawing, as positions that have been funded or on hold for months are now getting filled. And of course the DC office is busy putting project managers and consultants to work for government contractors with new contracts as the Federal Fiscal Year is about to kick off.

But as I read through mountains of resumes every day, I'm struck by how many seemingly little things can derail an otherwise fantastic resume. Here are a few tips from the resume reader's perspective:

• Save your resume document name as "Jane Smith resume." That way the reader or hiring manager can simply Save your document, which is likely emailed, and find it quickly and easy next time. If you save your resume as "Resume" or "Jane's resume Fall 2009" it's going to get lost. Yes, the reader could "Save As" but she likely has 50+ resumes in her InBox and you don't want to get stuck in the black hole!
• Get a professional email address. Go to gmail, get a free email address that says something like "Jane.Smith@gmail.com." They'll give you options if yours is taken, but please don't conduct job search correspondence from mommyjane@.... or worse (believe me, we've seen worse)
• Put the meat up top, in bold. Have a security clearance? PMP? CPA? Put that up front, on top, in bold. Most readers won't get through the second half of your resume where many job search candidates like to hide "Training and Certification."