Page 33 - Complete Idiot's Guide to The Perfect Resume

03 0028633946 CH02 12/21/99 12:25 PM Page 15

Chapter 2

A Resume for

All Reasons

In This Chapter
➤ Defining your next career move with a good resume

➤ Getting job interviews with your resume
➤ Using your resume to bring you bigger bucks
➤ Working your network with networking cards

Why do you need a resume? There are lots of reasons, and some of the ones in this chapter
may surprise you. For instance, a strong resume can significantly increase your leverage in
salary negotiations. Your resume can accelerate your career in several other important ways
as well. Once you have a handle on the “why” behind a good resume, you’ll be ready to cre-
ate a resume for all reasons.

Your Personal Road Map

The reason you need a resume is that you’re probably looking for a job or planning to
change positions in the near future. You might be looking for
➤ Your first job out of school.
➤ A move up the career ladder.
➤ A promotion within your company.
➤ A career change.
➤ A job to save you from an imminent or recent layoff.

The very process of writing your resume helps you put your job search in perspective. To sell
yourself to an employer, your resume should be focused on a job objective (more about that
in Chapter 6, “Step One: Heading Your Way”). That means you have to figure out where
you’re headed on your career path or at least figure out what your next step is.