Fear, hope, disappointment, and elation await those students who will face the job market after they graduate this spring. These same feelings apply to those who are in the market for a new job or career, especially if the previous career covered a time-span older than the onset of the Internet. While online resources now provide valuable job-hunting tools, the fact that they're accessible to everyone means that anyone can use them and the competition becomes fierce. And, there's nothing like overwhelming competition within a mediocre employment market to make us want to purchase a lottery ticket.

One way to avoid wasting our money on a one-in-a-million shot is to avoid the lottery ticket and instead spend time on a total revamp of our stance against our competitors. Resumes, C.V.'s, and other tools are vital necessities for this goal, yet few of us know how to create them or how to use them correctly. The first step in this process is to understand the difference between a resume and a C.V.

Resume: This is a truncated version of the C.V., and this brief document is the one that most U.S. employers expect unless they ask for more. The resume is ever-changing dependent upon the job or career sought and changes made in your life since the last time you wrote your resume. One tool a resume writer can use is located at JobWeb, where the description of a resume, samples, and other topics like cover letters are covered. Another place to scan resume possibilities is located at Microsoft Office Online Templates.

This latter site requires that you use various Microsoft products to view their free downloads. Additionally, it's easy to get sucked into the delusion that you need a "writer's resume" template when you're a writer and a "truck driver's" template when you're a truck driver. If you can use these templates, look first at the design and layout to pick one that feels right, then head to the job-specific resume for information that might be pertinent to your field. Then merge the job-specific information into the design that fits your style. Remember that these templates are samples, and while they're great tools to remember what to include (like your address and phone number), they will not help you remember your awards, skills, or accomplishments. Here is where writing a C.V. helps to pull this information ?

C.V. or Curriculum Vitae (Vee-tie): Sometimes it helps to write your Curriculum Vitae before the resume is written, because a C.V. is a summary of everything you've accomplished in life. Although few U.S. employers want to see one of these many-page summaries unless they ask for one specifically, building a C.V. helps to build a career around a theme (I'll get to that in a moment). A C.V. is usually required for a higher-level teaching position, jobs that are funded by grants, overseas positions, and other employment where the hirer wants to know the hopefully-hired on a deeper level than what a resume can offer before the interview.

The best resources on how to build a C.V. are usually located at college sites. They include Purdue University's Resume Center, JobStar, and University at California Riverside's site for C.V.'s. A word of warning: Don't let the C.V. format intimidate you. The point to this task is to understand what you've accomplished and what you know, not to bemoan your lack of publications, awards, or language skills. For instance, if you've written the copy for your previous company's annual report, then you've been published. If you wrote a company newsletter, you're an author. If you coached your son's swim team or your daughter's dance class, then you have team management skills. In fact, you're probably more qualified than most folks, because you managed a team of kids!

If you find that your accomplishments are scattered or that you've held more jobs than there are years in your working career, you still have hope. First, note at least one task you accomplished at each job. You may have found a way to deliver those pizzas faster than the competitor, or you might have organized the files so that your coworkers (and you) were more proficient. In these two cases, a theme becomes clear: You looked for ways to streamline business operations. This skill saves the employer time and money.

If you have too many jobs, find a relevant answer to this problem, such as 1) kids; 2) school; 3) marriage; or 4) illness. All these reasons and more are legitimate causes to portray a spotty employment record. The point is to emphasize your strengths and to find a theme that you can sell rather than focus on what you didn't accomplish.

Mid-life career changes are usual, especially since the general population is living longer. Therefore, more and more folks are dropping out to continue their education and/or to look for more meaningful careers. In this case, it's imperative to find a theme that ties past experiences to new achievements, so it appears you had a life-long goal all along (even if you didn't!).

While your future employer may not want a C.V., it still helps to construct one because a resume is just a shorter version of the former document. If you write a five-page C.V., try to shorten it to one page (not including references). This dilution will help you find your strengths and a theme, and - hopefully - the final version is one that you can sell to a new employer with gusto.

Until Next Week,
Linda Goin