№ 04 WRITING AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Autobiography is not the story of a life; it is the recreation or the discovery of one. In writing of one’s experience, you will discover yourself, and in the writing create the pattern you seem to have lived. Often, of course, autobiography is merely a collection of well-rehearsed anecdotes; but, intelligently written, it is the revelation, to the reader and the writer, of the writer’s conception of the life he or she has lived. Simply put, autobiography is a reckoning. This page will helps you shape a diverse and colorful assortment of personal vignettes and stories about your being into a graceful, coherent narrative that conveys the larger story of your life.
WHY WRITE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY?
– to leave a message to future generations
– to pass on your heritage
– to put closure to a period or episode
– to process experiences
– to preserve family history
– to share what and who you are
“Autobiographies have been written since A.D. 400 when an early Christian leader,
However, if you’re not a writer the task can seem overwhelming. Here are some suggestions.
· Start by making lists. Make lists of relatives, boyfriends/girlfriends, places you’ve lived over the years, pets you’ve owned, schools attended and other things like that. But the most important are the Life-Lists.
· Choose categories as you go along: elementary school days; military life; college; family vacation; illnesses. More will occur to you as you write.
· Under each category, write down a word or two to identify some event that you want to remember.
· Next, narrow each life-list to 10 core life events which will be the most significant or memorable events to demonstrate that category. Write about each of your core events. Start with a rough draft in which you simply concentrate on getting all the information down on paper.
· Then go back and polish for details, grammar, and tone. If you’re not confident in your writing ability, you may enlist someone else’s help to edit or go to the Writing Lab on campus for help. But remember, in an autobiography, it’s important to retain YOUR VOICE in the final narrative.
Your personality should come through. One style that can be used is Narrative, in which you give a pretty much linear account of events without much reference to underlying emotions or moods.
When writing an autobiography, focus on FOUR major things:
(1) who you are in life (how would you describe your personality),
(2) what life means to you,
(3) what major life events or critical issues have had an impact on your life,
(4) what your outlook on the future is.
The first thing you do when writing an autobiography is start off with a lot of facts about your life; for example,
when and where you were born,
where you live (city and state),
where you go to school and who you live with.
You have to give a lot of information so your reader can clearly understand what is going on. Once you have written this introduction, you are ready to start your first paragraph of the autobiography.
Who you are in life?
The best way to start an autobiography is to state your name. When you are writing this paragraph, you usually explain the type of person you are; describe what you think your personality is: use facts about yourself such as:
How were you as a child?
How did you fit or interact with your family ?
What did you like or dislike about high school?
Why did you decide to attend college?
What life means to you?
This is now your second paragraph. In this paragraph you should state how you see life–what does life mean to you. Are you happy or sad? Do you have a lot of friends or just a few? How do you make your work/schools days go by? Do you have a significant other, special friend, mate? Who has provided guidance for your in life? What life events or issues have impacted how you see life? What has been the most important influence on you? How have you overcoming specific problems or issues in your life?
What is your outlook on the future?
In this paragraph you should explain what you think the future will be like. Pick a year and explain how it will be but explain it through your eyes. Where will you be? How will you be living? What will you be doing or plan to do in the future?
Conclusion
The conclusion is the last paragraph of your autobiography and an important one, too. In the conclusion you usually try to re-word the introduction and add some type of closure to bring the whole autobiography together.
Examine Your Life
1. Step 1 Make a list of your ten best moments.
2. Step 2 Make a list of your five worst moments.
3. Step 3 Think about what moves you emotionally and write these things down.
4. Step 4 Examine your life for meaning and purpose.
5. Step 5 Look for connections between your best and worst moments. Outline any connections you find.
6. Step 6 Interview people who know you. Sometimes we need another perspective on our lives.
Try to tell your stories through your Life Maps.
Life Maps are useful pre-writing tools.
Think deeply into your experiences–what events in your life have made you who you are today.
Some points to be mentioned in AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Here is a short example of autobiography ideas and topics to include:
1. Full name
2. When you were born
3. Where you were born
4. Your parents names
5. Where you named after anyone?
6. How many brothers and sisters you have
7. Where in the birth order were you born?
8. Your hair and eye color
9. Right or left-handed?
10. Do you wear glasses? Yes or No
Then start added major milestones in your life on the line next to the appropriate year. These are things like…
1. Started first grade
2. Birth of siblings
3. Graduated high school
4. A family move
5. Graduated college
6. Periods of employment
7. Death of family members etc.
Some sample autobiography questions and memory prompts might include:
1. My earliest memories as a child are…
2. My happiest moments, as a child, were…
3. The oldest relative that I can remember was…
4. When I “grew up” I wanted to be a …
5. 10 early memories that I have of my paternal grandparents are…
6. I had stitches as a kid YES or NO
7. My favorite toy was…
8. My most memorable babysitter was…
9. My first bike was …
Remember to mention the following ideas when writing about your outlook on future
Answer the following sentences in two sentences or less:
· Where are you five years from now?
· Twenty years from now?
· Thirty-five years from now?
· Fifty years from now?
· If I could live anywhere and any way I wanted, I would…
· If I could be anything I wanted, I would…
· If I could do anything I wanted, whenever I wanted, I would…
§ “I should not talk so much about myself if there were any body else I knew as well.”
§ “The history of the world is not complete until your story is told!”
§ “There is properly no history, only biography” – Emerson
§ “There’s a world of wisdom in our personal stories. Your life is a legacy, a gift that only you can give. Why waste something so precious?”
§ “Do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and your children’s children.”
§ It is said that life has two stories: a person sets out on a journey, and a stranger comes knocking on the door.
AN EXAMPLE OF AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY
I was born on a warm, sunny day in June in
Who I am in life.
My name is Sally Friday. I started school when I was six-years-old. I went to kindergarten through fifth grade at Booker Elementary and while I was there, I won an award for perfect attendance. I also won an award for honor roll all four terms. Then I attended
What life means to me.
Life to me means friends and family who you can trust and who trusts you. I am pretty much on the happy side of life, but like all teens I do I have my “days of.” That means I do have some sad days or depressed days. I have a few frinds here that sort of look out for me and when I am having a bad day, I have someone here at school to talk to. I make my school days go by thinking of either the next hour or what I will do when I get home or on the weekend. I’m not seeing anyone now but when I did have a boyfriend, our favorite places to go were the movies and out to dinner. Sometimes we went to the beach. Only once we went to an amusement park: Universal Studios. We were together for twenty-nine days and then we broke-up; so no, I don’t think it was forever.
What’s my outlook on the future.
The year 2018 will make twenty years since I graduated from high school. I think I will probably be still living here in
Conclusion
As I said in the beginning, I was born here in
Written by Erika Baker
How to Write An Autobiographical Essay
1
CHOOSE A CONVINCING STORY AND FOCUS ON A THEME
When you choose the story to write about, think of unique experiences that make you who you are. If you’re thinking about writing about your short-term mission trip to
CAPTURE THE READER’S ATTENTION
The first step in actually writing the essay is to begin with a creative way of capturing the reader’s attention. Write in a style that you are most comfortable with. Some ways of writing your intro are by narrating a specific event from a first person point of view that reflects the theme of your essay or by describing a certain scenario from a third person point of view. Regardless of your approach, remember to end your intro with a sentence that leaves the reader excited to continue reading and learn more about you.
STRENGTHENING THE BODY
After a strong intro, the body of the essay continues to tell the story of your experiences. It takes the snapshot you present in the intro and supports it with necessary and specific detail. Don’t overwrite and include information that is irrelevant or wordy. Keep it simple and straightforward. The body of the essay should show the story, not tell, meaning you should show specifically your own personal growth and development through relevant examples. As you write, make sure to share how you felt so the reader can really see your character development. Keep organization and logical sequence in mind as well. Judges take notice of your conventions and organization. As you move toward your conclusion, the tone of your writing should become more positive and optimistic. It should lead right into your conclusion.
CONCLUSIONS THAT CIRCLE BACK
The beginning of your conclusion should put the cap on the story portion of your essay. It should emphasize a sense of hope in the context of your writing and demonstrate a positive change that continues into today. Following that, you want to restate that it was “through this specific (you want to state it explicitly) experience” that you learned the specific lessons. Make sure to state specifically the lessons and tie them into a big picture outlook. I have found it effective to use a powerful quote that relates to your theme and content. Use the writing tips from Writer’s Block to craft a conclusion that resonates with the reader. To complete the essay, tie back to the opening lines/event/experience in the intro to create a more cohesive and well-rounded essay. Your last sentence should reflect and state the most profound lesson you have learned throughout your experience and give the reader a sense of empowerment and awe. It should leave them thinking and pondering about their own lives, experiences, and struggles; yet, provide them with hope and optimism. A scholarship is an organization’s financial investment in you, so your essay should reflect why they would be investing their money wisely by awarding you the scholarship.
TIPS TO KEEP IN MIND
It is natural to want to use large vocabulary words to flex your intellectual muscles; but, when you’re writing a personal statement about your life, it’s best to stay simple and straightforward. Avoid using five words where three will do. If you have to use a thesaurus, chances are the reader’s not going to know exactly what the words mean so stick with simple vocab. Your personal statement is an autobiography that speaks about your life, your experiences, and your reflections, so remember to tell the truth. You don’t have to make up situations or add fluff to tell a poignant story. Remember, the essay is a marketing piece that tells judges why the scholarship organization should invest their money in you. Maintain a certain level of sophistication in your writing so that the judges recognize your skills. Don’t fall into a casual conversational tone, but keep in mind that your writing should reflect your voice. The reader should be able to see your personality in the essay through your style, tone, and voice. After you’ve written your autobiographical essay, remember to edit and revise your essay several times. Have your teachers, peers, and family read over it and give you feedback and suggestions for improvement.
An example of an autobiographical essay/personal narrative
[Written by a student in the Labour Studies program, used with permission]
My name is Carlo, and I was born in June,
We then moved to
When I was in grade six, I was ill in hospital for two months with a kidney infection, and it changed my whole life. I seriously took up playing guitar. I began to do photography, and joined the audiovisual club. I discovered I was artistic with an interest in graphic art, although I didn’t always agree with the kind of art assignments the teacher gave us. However, I had no idea what to do after high school graduation. Thinking electonics was the wave of the future, I enrolled in and graduated with a diploma from
Life was magical for a single guy in
Because of the children’s activities, I soon became involved in the community coaching children’s hockey and soccer, and being a scout leader. At work, I joined the Pulp Mill Recreation Club, eventually becoming president. There were a lot of things that needed changing. I decided I wanted our company to start a wellness program and researched to prove to them that healthy employees tremendously reduced absenteeism and health costs to the company. I wanted the company to reward those who kept themselves fit and began to lobby for this through our union.
I soon became elected as union safety captain, then later became a shop steward. I began to run for executive positions rising through the ranks from financial secretary to environmental vice president, chief shop steward, first vice president, and finally becoming president, a position I held for two years.
In my trade, I constantly must upgrade my skills, so I took advantage of many learning opportunities to do so through the company. This helped our union come into the 21st century, because I insisted we buy computers and subscribe to e-mail, connecting our members to other locals throughout the province. I also edited the unioewsletter, keeping the members informed of all aspects of the local’s business. I used desktop publishing to produce our newsletter before anyone in Head Office knew what it was. Using my background in art and photography, I brought our publication from a crude photocopied rag to a sophisticated communication tool. For my efforts, I won two Canadian Association of Labour Media Awards, one for the best cartoon in
I lost an opportunity to be union president for a third year because of an unpopular decision our local executive made in connection with implementing a contract that upheld the recognition of seniority rights. Reflecting back, I would not do anything differently. We took the task at hand, looked at the contract, discussed among the executive, asked for the opinions of our area rep, the Western Region Vice President, and our lawyer. Then we made our decision and stood by it, even though it meant I lost the presidency by nine votes. Now, two and a half years later, we are being proven right through the labour board.
Because of this event, I found myself with extra time on my hands. This opportunity made it possible for me to concentrate on pursuing university studies and my social work for unions. I enrolled at AU in the Labour Studies program. I continue with the newsletter, putting forth social and political issues that organized labour is facing today. I support the unions in the community and am involved in organizing them as they have never been organized before. I am even more committed to fighting for social justice than I have been all along, and am keen to move along this route in the future.
CONCLUSION
- An autobiography is the story of an individual’s own life. It is your chance to tell your story. Whether you are writing one page or 500 pages, the basic principles are the same. You need to gather the facts, organize them into an outline, and write your story.
- Start by writing down everything you know about yourself and your history. You may not use it all in your autobiography, but by assembling as much information as you can, you increase the potential for a rich and detailed story.
2. Begin by writing down your own memories.
3. Reminisce through old photos and yearbooks, taking notes as you remember people and events.
4. Talk to your friends and loved ones. They may remember different things, or have a different perspective on events than you do.
5. Go to the library and look up magazines and newspapers from various time periods in your life. What were the major world events that occurred during your life? What were you doing when they happened?
Step 2: Organize Your Information
o After you’ve assembled all your data, you’ll need to sort through it and organize it before you begin to write.
1. Layout a chronological timeline, including dates, events, and who was involved at each point.
2. Look at the timeline, and identify any gaps. Is there any source you can use to get more information about periods that seem to have big gaps?
3. Group the events into subcategories.
1. A simple way to group this is by time period.
2. You can also group events by theme.
o As with all good writing, you need an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.
1. Although the body will probably start at the beginning, the introduction does not need to start with your birth. Select a memorable event, and write about it.
2. If you’re not sure where to start, select an event, and write a memoir of that event. A memoir focuses on just one aspect of your life, and could serve as a chapter in your autobiography.
3. You can conclude with either a look to the future, or a summary of your past.
4. Add anecdotes, quotes, and tie-ins to external events to add interest.
Writing a letter
A letter is a message written by a person to convey a message to another. Letters represent mutual friendship and a type of humanly communication, especially on a regular letter exchange between two people.
Letters had been existent through humanity since ancient history. Letters existed during the time of ancient
The 19th century is the height of writing letters in paper because of increased businesses and social interaction among people.
Due to the advent of technology however, wherein telephones, mobile phones and computers were produced, letters have become a less important routine for communication. The development of fax, telegraph, Internet, telephones, and other high tech communication gadgets posed a huge impact on the sending and writing of letters.
The art of exchanging letters became less common in modern industrialized countries and were replaced by e-mail. In addition, the invention of the cassette tape had encouraged people to send tape letters during the time when CDs were not yet available.
The term letter is often used in e-mail messages that follow the basic format of a rudimentary letter. Instead of papers, these messages are read on the monitor or screen of the computer.
Types of Letters
One type is the Letter of Inquiry. It is a general term used for different kinds of business letters. For instance, applicants send this kind of letter along with their curriculum vitae to employers of the companies where they would like to work. On the other hand, companies send this type of letter in their business partners whenever they need the necessary information about the products or raw materials that they have to order. This letter is usually written short and direct to the point. It only contains a short introduction with a phone number, address, and e-mail address of the sender. It also contains a simple and short introduction.
A Poison Pen Letter is a note that generally contains anything unpleasant, malicious, abusive accusations or statements about a third party or the recipient. This is typically sent anonymously. These are written with the intention to offend the recipient. It can be traced back to the days of Beethoven. He would constantly write poison pen letters to express is anger and as a release of his temper.
During the advent and popularity of e-mails, poison pen letters have now been considered as rare and probably an obsolete form of writing. This is also synonymous with hate mails or hate letters.
A Business Letter is formally written and used among two parties having business relations. This can also be writing as a form of correspondence between organizations and their clients, customers as well as external parties. The style of a business letter depends on the relationship of the concerned parties. It enforces a stricter and respectful tone and language.
A Personal Letter is the most common type, and also the most prevalent. These are written communication exchanges between friends, family members or any two people with close ties. It uses a more informal tone. It can be written just to say hello, to woo an important person, or express other personal matters.
Cover letters
More than a mere formality, a cover letter can spark interest in your special skills and give extra information. Cover letters help explain anomolies that may stand out in a resume, such as a move or career change, salary requirements, or your special link to the company.
Keep the letter to a few brief paragraphs. Avoid generalizations, even when you send out a mass mailing. Be clear about where you are, what you have to offer, what you want, and when you want it.
Mention only positive things. For example, instead of stating: “Even though I only have two years experience in the industry,…” leave out the negative clause and write: “I doubled my experience in the industry by spending two years in a highly competitive company.”
Be formal, yet friendly and open. Use statistics, highlighted statements, or bullets. Because recruiters often skim, make sure vital information can be easily spotted.
Personalize
Address the cover letter to a specific person if you can. Use the head of human resources as a contact if you cannot pinpoint the manager for the particular job you want. If you know someone at the company, or if you have some recognizable and attractive qualification the recruiter would jump at, put it in the first sentence.
Vary your approach
There are a number of reasons why you might be contacting an employer during a job search and it is important to highlight the strengths of each approach in your cover letter.
- When responding to a job posting, refer to where and when you saw the advertisement. Tailor your letter to the job as described by showing how your skills and experience perfectly match its requirements.
- If you send a resume blindly, you have the opportunity to show off your ambition as a proactive rather than reactive job seeker. This drive could be something potential employers applaud. Point it out.
- Your best shot at being hired comes from someone referring you to the job or by using a mutual contact’s name. Include in your job search people your friends have mentioned, people you have met or heard about at a social gathering, and professional contacts from your current job. Mention the contact’s name in the first sentence and refer to any previous meetings or conversations.
Say why you fit
Explain what intrigues you about the position and the company. If there are aspects of the job that would enhance your career, state them.
Use the cover letter to show how and why you are a perfect match. Highlight a couple of skills from your resume. Get specific. If you are answering an ad, respond directly to the points raised in the job description.
Keep an eye on the industry and the companies you are looking at to spot trends or developments. Mention a company’s recent media exposure or incorporate relevant industry news into your cover letter. Be creative.
Start the communication ball rolling
Sometimes a cover letter is just a heads-up that you will be calling. Add a paragraph at the end saying when you plan to follow up and how you can be contacted.
Fundamentals of Writing a Resume
Introduction
The purpose of this article is to impart the fundamentals of writing a good resume. There are books written on the subject with millions of examples etc. we will not get into that level of detail. We will instead try to focus in on the key aspects of a resume that get it noticed and get it to stand out from a stack of resumes. I have been a hiring manager for over 10 years and I have also spent time looking for work and have read some of those books mentioned above – so what you read here is practical advice that will help you.
A resume has one and only one purpose – to get you an interview – a resume does not get you a job – it gets you an interview.
Rule number one
Your resume should (almost) never be more than 2 pages long – irrespective of how colorful a career/life you have had – you need to pick and choose the most valid contributions you made and the most exciting bits about your career and only include those in your resume. Think of a resume as a movie trailer – a very short teaser that makes you want to cough up $10 for a movie ticket and pay exorbitant sums of money for popcorn. Fortunately for you (and the person reading it as the case maybe) a resume only has to have actions (and results) – no romance and drama required.
Distilling a life and a career down to two pages is a very difficult task – but a task that focuses us and allows us to realize the really important contributions we have made and the things that we are most proud of – it helps us as individuals to recognize that which is our core skill – this realization is way more important that the task of creating a resume.
The more enlightened you are about your core skill set and the more you have set your self apart in this one thing that you do more excellently the shorter your resume can be. I have seen resumes of very senior people that have been barely one page long. Think about what a resume for someone like Madonna might look like – or Richard Branson.
The top left corner of any page is the first place we as readers in the western world are used to turning our eyes – this makes it the most valuable real-estate of your resume. The most important information on your resume needs to go in this location.
The most important information on your resume is your name and your phone number. One can argue that the email address or mailing address is the most important way to contact you etc – this can I guess change based on culture, type of job etc – but generally what ever the most direct method of contacting you should be left most followed by the other information.
Your name should be in larger print than the rest of the print on the page – now how much larger this is beyond the scope of this article – it should look good – it should emphasize your name but it should not be a statement about your inadequacies.
Remember the metaphor of the movie-trailer the resume is an advertisement that is intended to entice a person to learn more about you. To invite you for a interview. It has to have as wide an appeal as possible because you do not know who will make this decision on allowing you to the next stage in the employment process. You do not know if it’s a man a woman or even someone confused about their sexual identity, really it doesn’t matter – because you are going to market this to everyman.
So no pink paper – no blue paper – just use white. Today a lot of resumes are transmitted electronically and are received and printed on the cheapest recycled garbage that passes for paper in offices in any case so – now more than ever the content of the resume is what is important. However if you are handing in a hard copy – and you should always carry hard copies to an interview – make sure it is printed on good paper – something with a little more weight to it than the run of the mill copy paper. Your corner office supply mega-mall has aisles of choices – keep it good quality and simple.
I am no graphic artist – so if you are looking for nuances on what psychological impact Helvetica has over Times Roman or Georgia you are reading the wrong author. How ever I can tell you that you should use a simple font that will easily print on any computer – ie: something that ships with Word – fonts like Time Roman and Georgia will do just fine. Use a minimum of 11 point anything smaller and the “everyman” who might be over 40 might not be able to read it.
Use bold to highlight industry terms, or key products, but use them sparingly. Remember the point of bolding something is to make it pop-out – if everything around it is pop-out as well – there is no point. The use of color – I am not sure about – most offices still use black and white laser printers so at the risk of being a conformist corporate drone my recommendation would be to use black letters on white paper.
If you are handing out your resume vie email send it out in PDF format as well as Word. The PDF file allows the reader to see the resume as you intended it – while the Word file allows the recipient to manipulate it – including cutting and pasting into an internal database etc. Also make sure you check all meta-data in these files – ie: info such as Author (remember you thought it was funny when you installed Word and it asked for your name to enter Mickey Mouse? – well now the author of your resume is Mickey Mouse!), number of edits all this and more is stored in your document as meta data – another advantage PDF has over Word or other such apps.
Margins – in my opinion it is risky to go with anything less than a half an inch border all around – this is for technical reasons more so than aesthetic. Most printers cannot print to the very edge of the page. Also on practical terms you do not want the person to have to touch the print on the page – with some inkjet printers this could smudge the print. Best to try and leave a
Using standard sized pages are also important – unless you are interviewing for a very artistic creative type of job – lets print the resume on regular letter or A4 or whatever the norm is in your geographic location. When sending a resume to another country do the person the courtesy of reformatting your resume to fit their stand size – else they will get printer out of paper errors etc.
Ok so far we have covered the easy bits – the things you can easily control and change at your whim. Now comes the past the things you have done – the things that are difficult to change – even with some poetic license.
The cardinal rule when talking about your achievements – Talk about your achievements. In other words – do not lie, do not speak about your team/group’s or your neighbors achievements. Focus on you and your contribution. Even more importantly what did your contribution result in?
What did you make happen? What would not have happened if you were not there? What made you worth the space you took up? What impact did you have in the places that you have worked? Then write a little about how you did it – just enough to convince the reader that you are not just making all this up.
Did you produce reports on a daily basis for 20 years? Well that may have been fun (in some parallel universe ;)) but why did you do this? What was the purpose? What would not have happened if you did not do this? Who would have been upset if they came in every morning and your report was not on their desk or in their in-box? What did these reports enable?
Did the CEO or some senior big shot find your reports the must read with his morning coffee? Were they used to make some marvelous strategic decision that netted your previous company and its rich overlords many millions? Well this is what we need to mention in your resume. How your effort/contribution/ingenuity/pure brilliance resulted in something – hopefully something that would never have happened without you.
As a side note if you find yourself looking back and not finding anything that you impacted – the most likely reason is what you consider impact-full is not congruent with what you were able to impact – ie: your are looking for waves where there are only ripples. Look closer. Also take a note to question what you really want to do in the future – do you want to be making ripples for the rest of your life? – would you make waves in a different pond? – ie: would a change of context help you be the you that you wish to be?
There are many ways to organize a resume but there are two main formats – linear (as in time) and functional. Primarily this refers to how we organize the information we want to lay out in front of a prospective hiring manager. Do we wish to organize it by where we worked and what we did when? Or do we wish to organize it based on our core skill sets. For example you may have worked in Company A, B and C and you may have done some project management, office management and reporting. In a linear arrangement you would organize the information by company with the latest company first with the things that you did for that company under each company. In a functional resume you would have a heading called Project Management and list under it all the project management experiences you had and you may or may not mention the company where you had this experience. You would include a section lower down in your resume with the list of companies you worked for to show employment history.
A functional resume is invaluable specially if you are looking to switch careers or switch from one industry to another or one type of work to another – it allows a hiring manager to look beyond a particular job title or function to your core skill sets.
I believe in today’s market you need both of these resumes and probably many versions of each – customized to highlight some portion of your experience to target particular job’s that you may be applying to.
Final Words
A resume is not you – it is at best a faint reflection of you. There are many dimensions to a person and their contributions to the world. A resume is a slice in time of one dimension of who you have been. It allows someone else – a stranger to you to decide in a fraction of time to give you the opportunity to convince them to allow you to work with them. It is written with a singular purpose – to get you an interview.
“An unexamined life is not worth living.” — Socrates
However if in writing a resume you have the good fortune to realize some things about yourself that you wish to change – this is fine. However change is not something that needs to happen for you to finish your resume – its not a reason to postpone the creation of your resume or delay your job hunt – change, self assessment and more change are just a part of an enlightened life.
Resume Writing Tips
Lets get one thing out in the open – writing a resume is intimidating for everyone, so don’t worry, you’re not alone. What makes resume writing difficult is identifying what to include, what not to, what to highlight, what to de-emphasize, etc. HR professionals and hiring managers receive hundreds (if not thousands) of resumes for any given position; therefore, the bottom line is that they will spend about 10-30 seconds on yours. Organizing information incorrectly could cost you a shot at an interview, unfortunately it’s a very common mistake made by job seekers. We’ve designed this site to flow – therefore, if you just arrived in the tips section, you should start by reviewing our cover letter writing tips.
Below I have outlined our tips for composing your resume. Before moving on, we will note that we grew up being a skeptic of paying to have my resume written. However, we’ve changed our beliefs – reason being – Prices for resume writing services these days are fairly reasonable ($90 – $200). These are professionals that do this for a living, and study how to position a person’s skills for a particular industry. Therefore, for a few hundred dollars you will be given the edge to get a position that pays a few thousand more per year. Therefore, it’s a cost of the job hunt process worth paying. In closing, while the free resume writing tips below will assist you in the preparation of your resume, I would recommend using a resume writing service from the beginning, or using one of the companies that provides a free resume critique after you have completed a final draft of your resume..
- Enough said, onto the resume writing tips….
- Before putting your pen to paper (or fingers to the keys), begin by determining your objective (do this prior to writing the resume). You should clearly state what sort of a job you want, and know what kinds of skills and experiences are needed to do well in that job. Even if you decide to change your job objective later, it is very important that you decide on a temporary objective for now. After your objective is determined, you can structure the content of your resume around that objective. As noted above, you have a very small window of time to get the interest of a hiring manager, therefore being general and scattered will insure that your resume is filed in the “circular file” – i.e. – the trash can. Therefore, it is essential that you take the time before you start your resume to form a clear and targeted objective.
- Now that you have your objective, you’re on your way. Now lets begin the resume writing process. Keep in mind, the single and most important goal of a resume is to obtain an interview. It’s a marketing tool to get you in the company and in front of your potential boss – that’s it. Once in, you will need to do the sales pitch, and close the deal. With that said, you do not want to go into detail about every accomplishment in your resume. Strive to be clear and concise, as the sole purpose is to have a potential employer contact you for an interview. Bottom line – you should put yourself in the shoes of the resume reader – when looking at the job qualifications needed for the position; what would you be looking for in a candidate – Obviously, that is what you should include in your resume.
In the body of your resume, use bullet points with short sentences rather than lengthy paragraphs. As noted above, resumes are read quickly (usually 10-30 seconds). Therefore, having key phrases standing alone and bulleted will help the reader see the important information at a glance – while at the same time absorbing the most important information. Again, don’t worry about the specifics; you will go into the details during the interview.
Use action words – words like prepared, managed, developed, monitored, and presented will cause your resume to stand out. - In addition to standing out to a reader – you are also insuring that if your resume is scanned, the computer will pick up on the words. You read correctly, some companies now scan in your resume, and have computers pick the resumes to be looked at. The computers are looking for one thing – they’re looking for keywords that have been picked by the hiring manager. These are action key words that relate to the position; therefore not including them could mean your resume is disregarded as a “non-match”. I’ve devoted a section to resume format, and will deal with how to format your resume for computer scanners. We’ve compiled a list of action words to include here.
- You should always use %’s, $’s and #’s. Percentages, dollar totals, and numbers stand out in the body of a resume. I’ve included an example below of a job duty described with them (correct), and without (incorrect). As is obvious with the below examples, being specific does not mean being lengthy.
- Example
Incorrect: Sold advertising to 15 companies
points first where they are more apt to be read. Doing this will hook the reader, and the rest of your resume will reel them in. - Match the needs of the hiring company – Review job postings online and in the newspapers for positions that interest you. Each listing will almost always have a brief blurb about the company and the position available. Read the job description closely, and use the key words listed in these ads, and match them to the bullet points in your resume. Chances are that you have some of these as key points already, however if you have missed any, be sure to add them to your resume. It sounds obvious, but its worth mentioning that using a custom resume instead of a generic one will greatly increase your chances of an interview, as you will be a better match in the eyes of the reader – how can you not be? – you’ve tailored your resume to the position.
- Above all in your resume and interview – you must be positive. Therefore, avoid including negative and irrelevant points. If you feel your graduation date will subject you to age discrimination, leave it off your resume. If you do some duties in your current job that don’t support your job search objective, do not include them. Focus on the duties that do support your objective, and leave off irrelevant personal information like your race, weight, and height.
Have you taken an advertising class? Let me give you one tidbit from my studies that will improve the appearance of your resume. White space is the open area of an ad, and white space is important to your resume. Open up the newspaper, and take note of which ads first catch your eye. Are they the ads that are jammed full of text and pictures, or are they ads that have a large amount of unused space (“white space”). This is done to grab your attention, as you are always attracted to open areas. For this reason, don’t worry if you are having a hard time filling the page with text; increase your line spacing to compensate – this will increase the white space – and really, that’s a good thing.
- How long should my resume be? What size font should I use? – The font size should be no smaller than 10 point, and the length of your resume should be 1-2 pages. Yes, you read correctly; you can use more than one page. But remember, keep it concise. It’s ok to use 2 pages for your resume, however it’s not necessary.
- Ask a friend, and get an outside opinion on your resume before sending it off. You should always have a 3rd party or resume critique service review your resume. You are so close to your situation, it can be difficult for you to note all your high points and clearly convey all your accomplishments. Having someone besides you review your resume will allow you to note how others will view your marketing materials – would your resume impress them? If not, why? Don’t settle for – “it’s good”. You must encourage the 3rd party to give you feedback and ask questions. These questions from the reader can help you to discover items you inadvertently left off your resume. Take their comments into consideration, and revise your resume to include these items. In addition to adding in missed items, their questions can also point to items on your resume that are confusing to the reader. This valuable input will allow you to clarify your resume based on this input.
- OK, you’re ready to start applying for positions – When submitting your resume, you should apply for some jobs that appear to be above your qualifications, apply to positions that are a match, and apply to positions which may be beneath you. Why? Perhaps the position beneath will turn out to be more than it appeared once you interview for them. Or perhaps once you have your foot in the door you can learn of other opportunities. If nothing else, interviewing more and more will increase your interviewing skills. Like anything else, repetition will decrease your nervousness, and increase your skills at attacking the tough questions. Write a resume that generates results.
This award-winning guide to resume writing will teach you to write a resume equal to one done by a top-notch professional writer. It offers examples, format choices, help writing the objective, the summary and other sections, as well as samples of excellent resume writing. It is the most trusted resume-writing guide on the planet, used by more than a million people each year.
Writing a great resume does not necessarily mean you should follow the rules you hear through the grapevine. It does not have to be one page or follow a specific resume format. Every resume is a one-of-a-kind marketing communication. It should be appropriate to your situation and do exactly what you want it to do. Instead of a bunch of rules and tips, we are going to cut to the chase in this brief guide and offer you the most basic principles of writing a highly effective resume.
Who are we to be telling you how to write your resume? As part of our career consulting practice, we have coached and advised Fortune
Our specialty at Rockport Institute is working with clients who want to choose or change to a new career, one they will love; work that makes full use of their talents, fits their personality, their values, and is also practical. Our staff has been commended for excellence by two U.S. presidents. Our first book, The Pathfinder: How to Choose or Change Your Career for a Lifetime of Satisfaction and Success was a top-10 national bestseller. That is our one and only specialty. Please don’t ask us to write your resume. We offer this resume writing guide to you because most of the resume guides and books out there are too basic to help you write a really powerful, effective resume.
This guide is especially for people looking for a job in the United States. In the U.S., the rules of job hunting are much more relaxed than they are in Europe and Asia. You can do a lot more active personal marketing in your resume here. You may have to tone down our advice a few notches and use a more traditional, conservative format accepted in your field if you live elsewhere or are in law, academia or a technical engineering, computer or scientific field. But even when your presentation must fit a narrow set of rules, you can still use the principles we will present to make your presentation more effective than your competition’s.
THE GOOD NEWS AND THE BAD
The good news is that, with a little extra effort, you can create a resume that makes you stand out as a superior candidate for a job you are seeking. Not one resume in a hundred follows the principles that stir the interest of prospective employers. So, even if you face fierce competition, with a well written resume you should be invited to interview more often than many people more qualified than you.
The bad news is that your present resume is probably much more inadequate than you now realize. You will have to learn how to think and write in a style that will be completely new to you.
To understand what I mean, let’s take a look at the purpose of your resume. Why do you have a resume in the first place? What is it supposed to do for you?
Here’s an imaginary scenario. You apply for a job that seems absolutely perfect for you. You send your resume with a cover letter to the prospective employer. Plenty of other people think the job sounds great too and apply for the job. A few days later, the employer is staring at a pile of several hundred resumes. Several hundred? you ask. Isn’t that an inflated number? Not really. A job offer often attracts between 100 and 1000 resumes these days, so you are facing a great deal of competition.
Back to the fantasy and the prospective employer staring at the huge stack of resumes: This person isn’t any more excited about going through this pile of dry, boring documents than you would be. But they have to do it, so they dig in. After a few minutes, they are getting sleepy. They are not really focusing any more. Then, they run across your resume. As soon as they start reading it, they perk up. The more they read, the more interested, awake and turned on they become.
Most resumes in the pile have only gotten a quick glance. But yours gets read, from beginning to end. Then, it gets put on top of the tiny pile of resumes that make the first cut. These are the people who will be asked in to interview. In this mini resume writing guide, what we hope to do is to give you the basic tools to take this out of the realm of fantasy and into your everyday life.
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THE NUMBER ONE PURPOSE OF A RESUME
The resume is a tool with one specific purpose: to win an interview. If it does what the fantasy resume did, it works. If it doesn’t, it isn’t an effective resume. A resume is an advertisement, nothing more, nothing less.
A great resume doesn’t just tell them what you have done but makes the same assertion that all good ads do: If you buy this product, you will get these specific, direct benefits. It presents you in the best light. It convinces the employer that you have what it takes to be successful in this new position or career.
It is so pleasing to the eye that the reader is enticed to pick it up and read it. It “whets the appetite,” stimulates interest in meeting you and learning more about you. It inspires the prospective employer to pick up the phone and ask you to come in for an interview.
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OTHER POSSIBLE REASONS TO HAVE A RESUME
- To pass the employer’s screening process (requisite educational level, number years’ experience, etc.), to give basic facts which might favorably influence the employer (companies worked for, political affiliations, racial minority, etc.). To provide contact information: an up-to-date address and a telephone number (a telephone number which will always be answered during business hours).
- To establish you as a professional person with high standards and excellent writing skills, based on the fact that the resume is so well done (clear, well-organized, well-written, well-designed, of the highest professional grades of printing and paper). For persons in the art, advertising, marketing, or writing professions, the resume can serve as a sample of their skills.
- To have something to give to potential employers, your job-hunting contacts and professional references, to provide background information, to give out in “informational interviews” with the request for a critique (a concrete creative way to cultivate the support of this new person), to send a contact as an excuse for follow-up contact, and to keep in your briefcase to give to people you meet casually – as another form of “business card.”
- To use as a covering piece or addendum to another form of job application, as part of a grant or contract proposal, as an accompaniment to graduate school or other application.
- To put in an employer’s personnel files.
- To help you clarify your direction, qualifications, and strengths, boost your confidence, or to start the process of commiting to a job or career change.
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It is a mistake to think of your resume as a history of your past, as a personal statement or as some sort of self expression. Sure, most of the content of any resume is focused on your job history. But write from the intention to create interest, to persuade the employer to call you. If you write with that goal, your final product will be very different than if you write to inform or catalog your job history.
Most people write a resume because everyone knows that you have to have one to get a job. They write their resume grudgingly, to fulfill this obligation. Writing the resume is only slightly above filling out income tax forms in the hierarchy of worldly delights. If you realize that a great resume can be your ticket to getting exactly the job you want, you may be able to muster some genuine enthusiasm for creating a real masterpiece, rather than the feeble products most people turn out.
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WHAT IF I’M NOT SURE OF MY JOB TARGET?
If you are hunting for a job but are not sure you are on a career path that is perfect for you, you are probably going to wind up doing something that doesn’t fit you very well, that you are not going to find fulfilling, and that you will most likely leave within five years. Doesn’t sound like much of a life to me. How about you? Are you willing to keep putting up with pinning your fate on the random turnings of the wheel?
Nursing Resume Tips
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Considering the special skills and expertise that are required to be successful in the field of Nursing, it is vital that your nursing resume reflects the depth of your knowledge and experience. As a specialised professional nurse, it is imperative that you provide a resume that clearly defines the type of individual you are, and details your skills and experience. Whilst your work experience section will define the level of knowledge and skill you possess, it is essential that you create an impression of your personality and your ability to empathise with patients, families and colleagues. |
Qualifications Summary
Present your value proposition in your nursing resume – a narrative statement of the main reason why you should be called for an interview.
Dedicated and Registered Nurse with 12 years of track record providing quality, patient-centered care at home, hospital, nursing home, hospice and private office settings. Solidly credentialed and diversely experienced – comprehensive background in pediatric, oncology, ong-term care and ICU/ERnursing. Knowledge of Medicare home health regulations and JCAHO standards.
Education
List education, training and licensure as well as academic honors, scholarships and extracurricular activities. New graduates should place the Education section before theExperience section.
Experience
Describe your job duties as well as achievements, showing how you went beyond your responsibilities to help your employer or department. Mention how you improved workflow, enhanced patient satisfaction, saved money or time, generated revenue, managed inventory levels, trained employees and built positive relationships.
Take the following examples :
1. Remain calm and professional during times of critical need.
2. Readily develop rapport with patients, staff and physicians.
3. Proven record of reliability and responsibility.
Nursing is as much about who you are as what you can do. Your resume must reflect your ability to perform your job at the highest level, and with an understanding that is important to patients and their families.
Sample Nursing Resume
This sample nursing resume will give you a quickstart on building an effective and optimized resume for your job application. Visitors can feel free to customize and edit our sample nursing resume as per their requirement for job application. We hope that our sample nursing resume will go a long way in portraying your abilities and skillsets efficiently.
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Richard Anderson, OBJECTIVE : Seeking a challenging position in a busy hospital where my extensive medical professional and practical experience will be fully utilized. CAREER PROFILE :
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE :
St. Andrews Hospital, Cambridge, MA
Brookline Retirement Home, Brookline, MA
EDUCATION : PERSONAL DETAILS : In my free time I volunteer at the local community centre where I spend time with the older group. I help them to enjoy activities such as painting, crochet, weaving and knitting. We also provide entertainment in the form of bingo, charades, and other games. |
Sample Nursing Resume
This sample nursing resume will give you a quickstart on building an effective and optimized resume for your job application. Visitors can feel free to customize and edit our sample nursing resume as per their requirement for job application. We hope that our sample nursing resume will go a long way in portraying your abilities and skillsets efficiently.
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Kate Ronin SUMMARY STATEMENT: EDUCATION: CLINICALS: 3/2003-5/2003
SKILLS AND CERTIFICATIONS:
EXPERIENCE: Certified Nursing Assistant: Walker-Methodist Care, Minneapolis, MN. 11/2002-Present
Resident Advisor: College of St. Catherine, Minneapolis, MN; 12/2002- Present
Sales Clerk: TJ Max, Bloomington, MN; 9/1999-9/2002
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Sample Nursing Resume
This sample nursing resume will give you a quickstart on building an effective and optimized resume for your job application. Visitors can feel free to customize and edit our samplenursing resume as per their requirement for job application. We hope that our sample nursing resume will go a long way in portraying your abilities and skillsets efficiently.
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Kate Koffman Objective Position as a Nurse of Health Care Provider Employment History St. Mark’s Hospital, Philadelphia, PA Licenses R.N. – American Medical Association. Education B.S., Nursing, 1994 Professional Affiliations
References Available upon request |
