Page 142 - Complete Idiot's Guide to The Perfect Resume

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Part 2 ➤ Six Steps to a Perfect Resume

The Happy Job Hopper

Temporary employment or short-term assignments can make your
Work History look complicated and sometimes create gaps in employ-
ment. If that’s the case for you, don’t worry. You have two solutions to
choose from:

Career Casualty ➤ List the name of the employment agency you worked for, fol-
lowed by a subset of impressive clients, as in the following
If your list of job titles at one
example:
company is so long you think it
might overwhelm the employer, Graphic Designer Creative Power Employment Agency, 1998–pres.
you can list only the ones that
Clients included: Xerox Corp.
support your Job Objective. In
that case, preface your list with IBM
something such as “Relevant
First Bank
Positions,” and don’t list dates
for each job. The following
example shows this strategy: ➤ Justify the span of time with a professional title preceded or fol-
lowed by a term like contractor, freelance, or consultant, whichever
1995–present TransAmerica
is appropriate for your field. The following examples show this
State Insurance,
strategy:
Wilmington
Relevant Positions: Marketing Freelance Graphic Designer, 1998–pres.
Manager
Clients included: Xerox Corp.
Business Analyst
IBM
Marketing
Specialist First Bank

Marketing Consultant, 1997–present

McMillan Financial Services

Lewiston National Bank

Prosperity Trust
Terms of Employment
By bundling your short-term assignments under a professional title in
The following titles are meant to
your Work History, you’ll no longer look like a job hopper.
convey temporary worker, as
opposed to unemployed.
Contractor is a title used in Go for It
many fields such as construction,
Nowthat you’re armed with solutions to some tricky problems, you’re
administration, and business
ready to fill out the following worksheet for your Work History.
management. Freelance is used
in creative fields such as graphic
design and interior decorating.
Consultant is used in fields such
as business management and
technology development.

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