So you need to do a resume

As a hiring manager, I found the average individual feels a resume is not very important until a specific position level.  While it is true a resume may not be needed for an entry level part-time position, it says something to not put the effort into the process.

Keep in mind that our day an age requires almost all application processing online now.  So you sell yourself short to not present a resume to the hiring manager that is just looking at your profile and test results.  Your resume is a window into WHY you should be hired based on your credentials.

My personal exceptions for 'No Resume'

• No prior work experience - However, I feel even a student can give their experience in school, volunteer work, sports, etc.
• Seasonal/Temporary Work - another grey area but typically you just interview to fill

On the flip side, as with anything, I have a hard time accepting my own advice for what to do when looking for a job.  I do have a resume, multiple resumes, in fact.  However, I deal with second guessing myself and my decisions.  I wonder if I over-sold my experience and passion, I wonder if it came across how I meant it to be..  The list goes on.

I always have friends, family, peers, prior colleagues give a quick review of a resume before I decide to use it.  Alterations are made simply to meet more in line with what each position I apply for requires.

As an example,

I wouldn't leave on my resume that I spent time creating an action plan to reduce customer wait times in a store if I was applying for a desk job.

It still may have relevance, but for the brief 2-3 minutes that my resume might have. I want what will make them want to sit and talk to me upfront and easy to read.

I have recently read some decent article on some free resume templates.  One over on Primer Mag and the other at The Muse.  The Primer article offers advice for some best practices on how to setup your resume.  

Something that I have had questions on before was how to handle promotions in the same company on a resume.  The obvious is to list all the positions you have had with what you did in those positions.  I consider a more relevant way to approach it is to list all the positions in order from newest to oldest with their date ranges.  Then to give your summary of what you accomplished while at the company.  This approach is more for a linear promotion chain though.  If you had a promotion from retail to a call center then to marketing, you may want to break down those positions to show what you contributed/learned.