A resume is a brief, one to two page written summary that communicates to the reader your unique combination of skills, experience, and abilities. It is an advertisement of the job seeker and the employer. The way it is used by the job seeker is to make a good enough impression on the employer to secure an interview, to highlight their unique and relevant skills, and their relevant experience, and for networking, phone contacts, cold calls, and job fairs. The way it is used by the employer is to screen out most job seekers, to identify candidates to interview who possess the skills their organization desires, and as an agenda for the job interview. A resume is your personal marketing tool, the foundation of your job search process, one or two page document that summarizes your personal information, objective, skills, work history, education, and references for the purpose of finding a job. What to include on a resume is the name, address, telephone number, a clear and relevant job objective, all significant work experience, education and training, pertinent information about your skills, your most relevant strengths, details of past accomplishments, military experience, organizational/professional memberships, and volunteer activities.
What not to include in a resume is irrelevant personal information which includes hobbies, marital status, children, age, social security number, race, disability, height, weight, and etc, references; if any employer wants these, they will ask for them, any negative information including words, phrases or attitudes, and any handwritten or white-out corrections. Why is it used? Resumes are used to introduce employers to you as a potential candidate for a job, to help you prepare for interviews, to help you write cover letters, and to help your references speak on your behalf. There are many types of formats of resumes. There are many different types such as chronological, functional, combination, and targeted.