Resume help!

[Ngala]

Hi

I am currently writing a resume up for myself. The last time I did a resume was 4 years ago and I dont have a copy of it and dont have a clue what I put in it!!

I have a few examples to work from. On one example, they have given a career objective, but the other doesnt have this. Does a career objective need to be on the resume?

I am currently still employed, just on maternity leave. How do I put this on my resume? Shall I put that I am still presently working for my employer or that I have been on maternity leave since July 07??

[Nadine216]

Hi

Are you still on maternity leave with the consent of your employer or have you stopped working??

If you are still on maternity leave, I would just say so in bracket somewhere on my cv. If you have STOPPED working, no need to say you are on maternity leave.

I don't think you need a career objective. I personally like a cv that is plain, simple with only the basics (personal details, schooling, degrees, work experiance and references - no more than 3 pages). So if you put down previous work experiance, for me, that would be sufficient.

Hope you get a job soon!!

[Ngala]

Hi Nadine!

Yes I am still on maternity leave with the consent of my employer.. Hmm I guess I will try and put that in somewhere!

Is doing something like this OK?

July 04 - July 07
(July 07 - Present: Maternity Leave)

Oh I dunno!!

[Ngala]

Should I put down on the resume somewhere that I have a young family or is that not needed or could that ruin my chances of being considered for the role? or I guess the employer will get that from me being on maternity leave anyways...

[Nadine216]

That looks right

I'll just reconstruct it like this
July 04 - July 07 (Present: Maternity Leave)

No need to put on that you have a kid. If it states on your cv that you are on maternity leave ... 2+2=??
Having a young family is not supose to hinder your chances of getting a job.

BTW - she looks like an absolute angel!!

[Nadine216]

O yes, wanted to add. Make sure that your layout is perfect. Like punctuation/capitals are constant during the cv, that your spacing/bolds/underlines is constant and that your tabs are aligned.
example: if you have numbers as bullets and you put a . after the number, make sure you do it after EVERY number. If you put your headers in bold, do ALL the headers in bold, kwim??
That is usually the first thing I notice ... it's a pet peeve. DH hates me checking his stuff, because I will flip over a double space after a point, when the whole document is typed with single spaces. Gwad I am a boring person *cookoo-cookoo*

[Mel A]

Hi Ngala,
I generally think, what would they need to know for? if it is to help you get the job then great, if it is just because you think you should tell them, then it isn't relevant to the resume.

In the recruitment phase, They don't need to know and by law are not allowed to ask for; date of birth, marital status, sexual orientation, family situation anything that they can base descrimination on.

Think of a resume as a way to get the interview, it needs to entice (max 3 pages) them to call you for an interview, that happens when you match the recruitment criteria.

Once in the interview, you can dazzle with your personality, and share any details you feel are relevant.

I wouldn't put the maternity leave on as it isn't relevant, and you are still an employee of your current employer.

Q. Lets say its july 09, you returned to your current job and have been back for 1 year, would you write that you had taken maternity leave?
July 04 - July 07
July 07 - July 08 - Maternity Leave
July -08 - july 09

Or would you just write
July 04 - july 09

If you wouldn't put the mat leave in then, it isn't relevant now. If you think you can do the job, then that is all that matters.

And I sooooooo agree with Nadine, formating is esential, there is nothing worse than having to read a resume of someone who hasn't put in the effort to look back though their own resume.

[Lisa]

I wouldn't put the maternity leave on as it isn't relevant, and you are still an employee of your current employer.


If you wouldn't put the mat leave in then, it isn't relevant now. If you think you can do the job, then that is all that matters.

I totally agree with Mel A's above statements.
Oh and PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE always go over your resume for grammar and spelling checks... I once had a young guy hand his resume in to me and there were spelling mistakes all over it... and he was applying for a computer based, customer service position... his resume went straight into the bin.
Fingers crossed you get your dream job

[myboysmumma]

I would list your current position as normal, and where you would put for example

199x-present
Astronaut
NASA
Fulltime (on mat leave since xx/xx/xx)

Duties etc

I would not bother with a career objective unless a specific job requires you to list one.

[rufalina]

Oh I don't know. I like a career objective, or at least an opening statement...
It is good to read a quick overview of what someone is after.

In the recruitment phase, They don't need to know and by law are not allowed to ask for; date of birth, marital status, sexual orientation, family situation anything that they can base discrimination on.

That is so right, so I think you don't need to mention mat leave either. If I was recruiting and someone mentioned that they were seeking new employment while on mat leave I might think that was a bit "rude" or disloyal of them. But that is just me... And I know each person has special circumstances, for example old job not catering to your new working hour requirements. So if you are going to mention mat leave, maybe give the reason you are seeking alternate employment in your opening statement.

Good luck with your job hunting.

[myboysmumma]

The reason I think mentioning mat leave is important is for reference purposes - otherwise your referee may disclose this without your knowledge.

I just think it should come from you.

[Astrid]

The reason I think mentioning mat leave is important is for reference purposes - otherwise your referee may disclose this without your knowledge.

I just think it should come from you.

I would wait for an interview before disclosing such information, I also wait until the interview or just after to provide referee details. I only want referees to be contacted if there is a genuine interest in employing me. To me their contact details are confidential and should be handed out carefully.

I also like career adjectives being listed or at least a brief summary about yourself at the start of the resume. I have one on mine, is just summarises things like years of experience eg 8 years Finance experience, strong skill sets (can work alone, or good team player etc), major achievements etc. It saves the reader trying to work that out from your work history. I have received a lot of compliments on my resume, especially from recruitment agencies.