Resume package

Now that you understand what a resume is, it s also important to understand what it s not. Your resume is just one of the tools used to land a new job. This document often provides you with your initial introduction to a potential employer (if you submit a resume in response to an ad, for example). When combined with a well-written cover letter, your resume package can help a potential employer make an educated judgment about whether or not it s worth the time to invite you for an interview to learn more about your skills, experience, and qualifications. 

Warning Don t try to fold a resume that s printed on a heavy paper stock (over 28-pound basis weight) in order to insert it into a business-size envelope. If you re using a heavier paper stock for a resume package, send it in a large (9 by 12-inch) envelope. 

Make sure your resume package forms a presentation that you re pleased with and can he proud to show and distribute to potential employers. Remember, the appearance of your resume package says a lot about you and will most likely play a major role in creating a positive (or negative) first impression with an employer. 

Don t overspend. Papers that contain a watermark can add a touch of formality to your resume package, but these papers typically cost more and don t add a huge amount of impact to your resume s appearance. Using paper with a watermark is a matter of personal taste. 

For readable resumes, after you ve created the content, and you know which resume format you will be following, choose a font that is easily read and pleasing to the eye. Once you select your font, stick with it. Use only that one font on your resume. Mixing and matching fonts makes your resume package look cluttered and unprofessional. Some of the most popular fonts for resumes include ... 

Exhibit 5-1 shows a few examples of standard styles you can choose from when creating your resume package. 

As mentioned, black ink on white paper is the most common traditional printed resume. You can stray from this rule by using a dark blue (navy) or burgundy ink color. If you choose to incorporate an ink color other than black, and you do it tastefully, you could wind up with a resume package that grabs the reader s attention in an extremely positive way. 

YOUR RESUME IS just one of the tools you will use to ultimately land a new job. This chapter deals with assembling the perfect resume package, which consists of ... 

The key to creating a professional resume package is synergy when it comes to appearance and content All the parts of the package should work together to create a greater overall effect. You should use the same paper, fonts, and typestyles when creating these documents. 

As previously menhoned, the envelope, stationery, ink color, typestyle, and font should all match, and each piece in your resume package should work together to promote you—the applicant. Every aspect of your overall package can affect the decision to invite you in for an interview or not. 

A resume package consists of your resume, cover letter, envelope, and any additional documents you eventually supply to a potential employer, such as a list of references or a thank-you note, in hopes of landing an interview. This chapter emphasizes that using matching papers, envelopes, ink colors, typestyles, and fonts for each document in your resume package is essential for many reasons. 

Your resume package will most likely arrive on a potential employer s desk along with many other pieces of mail, and possibly dozens of other resumes from people applying for the same position. Someone will sort that mail, and your resume package will, hopefully, reach its intended destination—the HR person or executive within a company who is expecting to receive it. 

If you want your resume package to stand out, it needs to look professional, as if you ve put considerable thought and attention... 

Once your resume package is complete and you ve found job opportunities to pursue, the next step is to pinpoint specifically to whom... 

A friend, former business associate, or network contact who currently works for (or is associated with) the company for which you want to work. If this person isn t responsible for the company s actually hiring, your cover letter should ask him or her to forward your resume package on your behalf to the appropriate person, along with their recommendation. 

This section of your cover letter should contain a request for the reader to take action and invite you for an interview. Remember, the person to whom you are writing is probably busy, so follow up with a telephone call and mention you will do so in your letter. Don t simply send out your resume package and then sit by the telephone waiting for a response. 

Never write "Personal" or "Confidential" on the envelope containing your resume package. 

Allow ample time for your resume package to arrive and be processed before making a follow-up phone call. 

To complement your resume and distinguish you from other applicants, have personal business cards printed with your contact information. These personal business cards should be included whenever you send a resume package and also with your thank-you notes. 

It s important that the style of your personal business cards matches your resume in terms of paper color, font/typestyle, and ink color. The following is a sample layout for a personal business card that can be used as part of an overall resume package. 

Another valuable piece of your overall resume package, which will be submitted to an employer during a job interview or upon request after submitting your resume and cover letter, is your list of personal and professional references. Most companies will simply ask you to fill in this information on the company s standard job application, or the hiring manager or someone in the HR department may contact... 

Creating a resume package, as you ve probably surmised, is a time-consuming task. Once this aspect of your job-search process is completed and you ve selected how you want your overall resume package to look, the next step involves finding the best job openings and then actually applying for those jobs. 

WinWay Resume Deluxe 11.0 features easy-to-use mail merge capabilities, so the information within your contact manager can be easily incorporated into your cover letter, and other parts of your resume package. Using the e-mail features, sending electronic versions of your resume is a snap, since the Contact Management module allows you to store e-mail addresses as well as fax numbers and mailing addresses. 

Creating and Suhmitting Your Resume Package from Cover Letters to Thank-You Notes... 

Although it is generally agreed that a thank-you note should be short, opinions differ as to whether it should be handwritten or typed. It is safe to say, however, that if a company is conservative, the best bet would be to write your thanks by hand on a small, plain, good-quality note card (5" x 3/ "). On the other hand, you can type your thanks on good-quality, standard size (8/ " x 11") stationery. Some job candidates use the same paper and style of heading they used for their resumes and cover letters. (In this instance, the thank-you note is considered the final addition to the resume package they ve already submitted.) The format is less important than the time frame, however. A thank-you note should be mailed no later than a day after an interview. 

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