by Becky Cole

Recently, I was approached by two people to look at their resumes. Both had excellent work histories, but didn’t seem to have any luck in getting an invitation to come for an interview from all they had sent out. One person was a legal immigrant and the other just came from Alabama. The common challenge they both had was they had no work history in Minnesota, and they both were looking for non-management and non-professional jobs.

For both of them, I suggested they use a functional resume, instead of a chronological resume. That means you need to think of your work history as a whole, rather than each individual job. Use the last 10 – 15 years of your work history, and put the information in this order:

Skills – Decide what skills were important to doing the work you had done. What equipment did you use? What processes did you follow? What documentation did you have to keep? Were you required to have any special certifications?

Contributions/Accomplishments – Decide what contributions you made during your employment. Did you improve any processes? Did you receive any awards? Did any customers compliment your work? Did you supervise any other employees? Did you train other employees?

Education/Training – Decide if you have any training beyond high school. Did you go to college? Did you attend training that is relevant to the job for which you are applying?

If you attended a college or other post-secondary school that is not located in the United States, list it, but offer a short explanation. Is it a college? Is it graduate school?

Relevant Work History – List only relevant work history. For example, if you are applying for a warehouse position, list only your warehouse employers. List it like this:

2000 – 2003
My Company Name
City, State
Job Title

1998 – 2000
My Company Name
City, State
Job Title

Additional Work History – put additional employers only as much as you can keep all of your information to one page.

References – Add the statement "References can be provided upon request"

Their resumes had two additional challenges on them, as well. One was with their references. Neither had local references. Local employers are not going to call long distance for references, when it is not an executive position. It is important for both of them to make local contacts they can use for references. This can be done through volunteer work or a networking group. Doing this also shows you have a commitment to staying in the area.

One minor exception to this would be if your previous employer has a toll-free number. Then and only then would be it acceptable to utilize that company for a reference.

The other issue was with their own phone numbers. They both had their own cell phones – which was a good thing. The problem was they were not local phone numbers. Just as employers are not going to call long distance for references, they are not going to call long distance to call you about a job, regardless of the fact that you have a local address.

The bottom line in all of this is that the easier it is for the employer to hire you, the greater are your chances of being hired.

Becky Cole can be reached at: bcole@employmentnewsmn.com