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*

[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.