The Perfect Pinoy Resume (Part II)

Just in case you're not able to read the first part of this resume-making saga, you can click this link.

Well, what have we accomplished? Your picture (which should not be your Facebook profile picture), contact details (contact details, not a telephone directory), and your career objective (which should be directed perfectly to your company and the position you're applying for.)

Let's now proceed to the next portion of this job-hunting step.

Step 6. Your educational background. The company should and surely would like to know which school you've graduated from, so, meaning, school reputation is somewhat a factor in considering your application. But do not be mistaken, as this is not the only reason why your educational background is an interesting data on your resume. Assuming that the boss you are applying for is a graduate of the same school you have graduated from, won't that give you an edge on your application? Plus, there are also companies locally and abroad which prioritizes students from schools that they have ties with.

Yes, education indeed affects your future.
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You can write your educational background chronologically, starting from the latest school you have graduated from, down to the primary school. There is some advice that a primary school is not a must, but at least, considering the reason above, it might be handy to put the school. Don't forget the period in which you have attended school there, like (2003 - 2007), the complete name of the school, and the address.

Step 7. Your trainings and/or work experience. Work experience is a good thing, especially when applying for a job. This is a measurement of how credible you are when it comes to work, and how expert you are in the position you are applying for. If you're a newbie in the "working" world, don't fret. We have something in store for the employers. :)

Having a work experience is critical. There are some companies that require years of work experience for them to consider someone as an applicant. There are also companies that can hire inexperienced and those who have less experiences than others.

The problem is, not all the job experience you have acquired is pleasing to the employers. You may have worked as a computer technician for 5 years, but if you are applying for a job as, let's say, a fastfood service crew, then it's considered as an unrelated job experience, and should not be mentioned. Another problem is when one is fond of job-hopping. A work experience of one year in a company can be considered a good thing, but jobs of three months duration only proves that (1) you have difficulty working, (2) you are not an efficient worker, hence the termination, or (3), you always have an itch to transfer in-between jobs. Remember that these create a very bad impression to an employer, so they should not be mentioned at all.

Step 8. Achievements. Yeah, achievements. In this thing, undergraduates have the chance to lift themselves up the pool of workers. If there's a chance to brag about something and show off, then the resume is the best thing to do it, but don't overdo it. Latin honors, undergraduate awards, community awards and others are great additions when it comes to your resume. Latin honors include summa cum laude, magna cum laude, or cum laude, undergraduate awards like Best Thesis award, and community awards like Youth of the Year, Jose Rizal Top 10 Students Awards (something like those, not exactly those awards) are resume-inclusion worthy. Moreover, scholarship grants and academic awards are acceptable too! Awards like beauty pageant wins and something like that are allowable in case you're applying for jobs requiring a good face.

Achievements! Yay!
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No matter how many your achievements are, overdoing it is just as worse than nothing at all. Awards like Rank 5 in grade school do not bear a point, or might even turn the employer off. Best in Spelling or any "Best in" awards are also not that impressive.

Step 9. Affiliations. Affiliations are also pointers to consider in applying for a job. Being affiliated to associations and groups may increase your employability, for being affiliated with such can mean you are being updated with latest news and current events regarding your profession, thus allowing professional growth. Moreover, like the ones I mentioned in the educational background, considering that your affiliation is in a church organization, and your employer is a member and/or an honorary member of the organization, it may increase the chances of you being employed.

Step 10. Trainings. Second to work experience, training is also important when it comes to making your resume. Attending to trainings can ensure increased knowledge, skills, or even attitude towards your profession. Having more training can ensure your employer that you have the capabilities to do a job, in our case, for example, you cannot insert an intravenous tubing or administer medicines if you don't have a Intravenous Therapy Training License. With these trainings, your employer can have the best in you, and you getting the job you're looking for. It's a win-win situation, anyway.

Step 11. Last but not the least, your Character Reference. These people can tell your employer how good you are when it comes to work, when it comes to your personality, and how you deal with co-workers. At least, choose someone whom you trust and whom you think can put a word on you. However, there are some restrictions when it comes to choosing a character reference.

A good boss. Hehehehe
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1. Thou shalt not choose someone with a surname same as yours. Relatives are not allowed as your character reference. Actually, even those with the same surname, even though you're not related. This is due to the fact that relatives would really want you to be hired, and can put a good word for you.

2. Thou shalt not put someone below or the same level with you on your references. Those co-workers whom you supervise, or those who are at the same level with you cannot be used as your references. It is a must that someone more senior than you, or your even your boss. These people has seen how you work, how you deal with people, and how you work in a group and individually. You can also mention previous professors who know how good your work is, who knows your attitude, and of course, one whom you've shared some time with.

3. Thou shall mention someone who knows you're mentioning them. Sure, you can mention your boss as your character reference. However, if he's caught singlehandedly and is unable to prepare for the questioning, then you're in a very difficult situation. There's no harm in telling them. Actually, it can benefit you the most. By telling them, they can prepare their mini-speech for your prospective employer, giving them your good points and diverting those bad points into good. For example, with you being stressful at work, your boss can mention that you are stressful at work because you're really pushing yourself out-of-the-box. Handy, isn't it?

4. Thou shall put contact details of your references. This is somewhat common sense. How can the employer contact the person without contact details? Try getting a phone number and an email address. If possible, the agency he/she's been working on, and his title.

5. Thou shall put someone who knows you. Simple. :D

The steps above are the ones that complete the body of your resume, meaning, the content of your document. However, there are still things to remember when doing your resume, and these things will be explained in the next installment of this saga. (Haha.) From this point, you can start doing your own resume, and completing it, and then do the tweaking once you've read the next part, which will be here. Stay tuned!