American Resumes

 

In the US, the term resume is used instead of CV. In short, the resume is an American-style CV, which details the most recent job first and highlights the main aspects of your career. It is less structured, in a narrative style and more brief than a CV. It is also more subjective.

Depending on length of work experience, most employers in the USA prefer one to two page resume in reverse-chronological order - starting with what you have done most recently. In addition, keyword resumes are also popular.

The aim of your american resume should be to persuade job recruiters to invite you for a job interview. Therefore, your resume is a marketing tool, which should be adapted to the market in which you intend to use it.

Start your american resume with your name, address and e-mail address. Often resumes are kept on file for long periods, so any contact details you give have to remain accurate in the long term. A daytime phone number, with the international access code, are most important ones.

The main feature of american resumes is the objective and/or goal of your career. Clear, precise and operational “Career Objective” should use short and punchy sentences filled with action verbs and power words. It contains information about the function, the level of responsibility and the type of enterprise you would like to work for.

Follow the career objective with a “Work Experience”. Bear in mind, that looking for a job in the USA, is much like selling a product. You are selling yourself, so again use power words and action verbs that describe your achievements and accomplishments i.e. experienced, managed, developed, coordinated etc.

For maximum impact, bullet point these at the start of a sentence. That enhances your qualifications and experience in sharp, focused, upscale and aggressive manner. In addition, make your resume more effective by providing examples that fit the job, to illustrate your achievements.

In “Education”, list with dates the academic locations, areas of study and diplomas/degrees. Mention additional courses and training, and special skills such as computer programs and languages in which you are proficient. Describe your foreign language fluency skills with reference to the spoken and written levels.

Carefully consider what to leave out of your resume and exclude anything that might give prospective employers a chance to discriminate against you. For example your age, sex, marital status, whether you hold a current driving license, etc. and never include a photo.

American resumes are often scanned by employers, so make your resume scannable by avoiding for example lines or italic fonts etc.

The Internet is the main source for vacancies in the USA so, to finalize your american job search, if your cover letter and resume are ready, you may email them through our job search engine to job recruiters and executive headhunters.


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Other American Resumes Info

Now to finalize your american job search, if your american cover letter and american resume are ready, you may email them through our job search engine to job recruiters and executive headhunters.

On a american job interview page you will find useful tips on a job interview and a job interview dress code in the USA.

Good luck with your american resumes.

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