Your Resume Must Reflect You

Creating a resume that accurately reflects you, both personally and professionally, can be a challenge. When you are looking for a job and feeling the financial pressure to bring in an income, it is easy to give in to the urge to show potential employers what they want to see instead of showing them who you are.

Professional side of you

Of course, your resume should highlight your professional qualifications, so make sure that it does this in the most effective way possible. Depending on your work history, skills and attributes, put your resume into one of the three key resume formats:

• Chronological
• Functional
• Combination

If you have a steady work history in the same field you are pursuing, then a traditional chronological resume may be a good choice to demonstrate your professional qualifications. If, however, you have gaps in your work history, want to change career paths, or otherwise would not look your best with a chronological resume, opt instead for a functional or combination resume. Either of these choices will help you emphasize professional qualifications using strong accomplishment statements that illustrate key skills and attributes.

Personal side of you

Showing the personal side of you in a resume can be a bit trickier. You do not want to include long stories about your personal life or otherwise stray too far from the professional purpose of a resume, but there are ways to let your personal side shine through without compromising the overall effectiveness of your resume.

A functional or combination resume format is the best choice for letting your personal characteristics show through. For example, you can include accomplishment statements that illustrate professional skills and attributes, but that also share something of your personal side. Here is a sample of what this might look like:

In each of these examples, personal characteristics, such as volunteerism and community involvement, are highlighted right alongside key professional characteristics, such as financial management and writing skills. Think about how you, too, might communicate your own personal characteristics as part of a strong accomplishment statement.

A word about tailoring your resume

Most resume experts recommend tailoring your resume to match the job position you are pursuing. This means emphasizing skills and attributes you possess that meet the needs of the potential employer as expressed in the job posting. This does not mean, however, removing statements that reflect on your personal characteristics just to increase your chances of generating an interview.

While this tactic may work in the short term by getting you in for the interview and possibly even help get you the job, in the long run you may find yourself unhappy and not well suited to a particular company. If your personal characteristics do not mesh well with the company philosophy and culture you will likely have difficulty at some point in the future. It is far better to consider professional and personal needs during your job search process because this way you are more likely to find a job that matches well with you as a whole person.

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