By Patricia Erickson for Work-at-Home.org
So you want to land that work at home dream job. You and a thousand others!
What’s your strategy for competing and winning in a sea of competing resumes? well written resume is critical in making a great first impression. It's also an excellent opportunity for you to create a vital connection with the hiring official. If you want to succeed, the resume has got to be great and if you want to work from home, your resume should possess certain characteristics.
This is head-to-head competition with a large pool of high tech, sophisticated and talented applicants. Luckily, you're one of those individuals too. Simply put, you're going to stay afloat by creating a clean, crisp, professional, and concise document. It must present well. Start with a high quality plain paper and use white, off-white or an ivory color in a cotton, fiber or super smooth stock. Colored and textured papers don't work well when scanning or copying. If the original resume stays in HR and the copy goes to the hiring manager, it's best to ensure a clean looking copy.
Select from four basic formats when creating your resume. Your selection of either the chronological, functional, combination or targeted designs will depend upon personal preferences and special situations. You'll need to do a bit of research to see which format works best for you.
Choose a professional looking font too. If you like a serif font, (the little lines at the ends of characters), great selections are Times New Roman, Courier New, or Garamond. For a sans-serif font you might want to consider Arial, Lucida Sans or Trebuchet. Try to keep font size between 10 and 12 in Times New Roman, though larger fonts for your name and other headings. Limit fonts to one or two per resume since it starts to look busy with more.
The pressure is on! Since you've got about 30 seconds to connect with the hiring manager, you really need to do your homework before drafting the perfect resume. Find out all that you can about the job. For example, what qualifications are necessary? What about responsibilities? Does the ad mention attributes? What are your strengths in these areas? Keep those strengths in mind because they will be key in composing a great document.
Special Considerations for resumes for Work at Home Jobs
There are several unwritten attributes that are also important to consider - especially when writing a work at home resume. Critical components in working at home are self-sufficiency, reliability, self-motivation, and the ability to make decisions on your own. If you pay close attention to detail, are great at time management, or meeting deadlines and exceeding organizational expectations, be sure to mention those characteristics in your resume too. Worked at home for other companies? Be sure to mention that experience and the positive impact your work had on those companies!!
Assets for work at home jobs that are not usually in the typical resume.
When you work at home there are different assets you’re expected to have. If you have them be sure to highlight them! These assets can include have specific office equipment, workspace, and experience working independently. Sometimes even having your own insurance policy can be an asset.
Sell, sell, sell. Here's the opportunity to promote yourself, your talents, accomplishments, and assets with each line you write. Select powerful verbs and adverbs to describe your skills, abilities and experience. Send a clear message about the scope of the position, and provide an in-depth description of your major accomplishments at each job. Keep in mind that measurable or quantifiable accomplishments are much more tangible and have greater impact.
- Did you increase sales? If so, by how much?
- Have you developed and implemented any new programs? New processes that
- streamlined operational workflow?
- How about creation of innovative new products? New software applications?
- What about team leadership? Were you able to drive a team toward
- organizational goals? Demonstrate and sell the results!
That said, steer clear of exaggeration, over-sensationalizing and falsehoods. It's the worst kind of risk to take. Before you fill your resume with fluff, be sure to ask yourself if the career consequences are worth it.
Your goal is a rewarding career, a great job and working at home! With your skills, abilities and accomplishments packaged in a resume designed to sell, you'll make a great impression and connection with the hiring manager! Your resume will stand out and quench the recruiter's thirst for the right work at home candidate.
Go out and get the work at home job of your dreams!
Patricia Erickson is a Certified Professional Resume Writer for A Vita Group, a company that designs professional resumes.
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