The purpose of sending your resume to a company is to get noticed and be invited to participate in a phone interview or an in-person meeting. It鈥檚 not to land the job outright (though sometimes that does happen). It鈥檚 to be given the opportunity to explore the position and the company further to see if it might be a place where you鈥檇 love to spend 40+ hours of your life each week. If you鈥檝e been employed at a number of different places for short periods of time, or if you have gaps between jobs, how you choose to present that information will make all the difference in whether you get considered as a viable candidate.

When you have gaps in employment鈥�

Instead of including the specific months and/or years when you worked at a particular company, simply put the number of years you were at each position.

So, instead of writing this on your resume:

Assistant Manager, 2012-2014
ABC COMPANY city and state

Lead Customer Service Associate, 2004-2009
XYZ COMPANY city and state

You would put this:

Assistant Manager, 2 years
ABC COMPANY city and state

Lead Customer Service Associate, 5 years
XYZ COMPANY city and state

When you lost or quit your job this 测别补谤鈥�

Whether you lost your job in January or you just quit a month ago, present that job in the present tense. You are more marketable if it looks like you are still employed. If you put the end date of employment as 2017 on your resume, it will raise that proverbial flag. The reader would wonder why you are not still there if you did such an awesome job while you were there. Since you won鈥檛 be sitting next to the hiring manager when he/she first reads your resume, you won鈥檛 have the opportunity to explain why you left or what happened. Once you get the phone call or the in-person interview, you can then share that you just haven鈥檛 updated your resume yet, but didn鈥檛 want to miss the opportunity to apply for the available position.

So, instead of writing this on your resume:

Account Manager, 2012-2017
ABC COMPANY city and state

You would put this:

Account Manager, 2012-present
ABC COMPANY city and state

When you鈥檝e had a lot of jobs in a short period of time鈥�

If you鈥檝e worked over 90 days at a company, and if that company is in the industry where you want to be, then you can still include it on the resume (as long as you left on good terms). Perhaps you had to relocate, or they had to downsize, or you were recruited by another company. There are lots of acceptable and understandable reasons why you might leave a company after a short period. If, however, you did not make it to 90 days and the employer told you it just isn鈥檛 working out, 诲辞苍鈥檛 include them on your resume. 90 days is typically the trial period to see if a new employee is a good fit. There鈥檚 no sense sharing with a prospective employer that another employer wasn鈥檛 interested in keeping you on board after working with you for less than 90 days.

So, instead of writing this on your resume:

Machine Operator, May 2016-September 2016
ABC COMPANY city and state

You would put this:

Machine Operator (no dates whatsoever!)
ABC COMPANY city and state

Again, the purpose of your resume is to get the chance to learn more about the position and see if it would be a good fit for you. It鈥檚 not to share every single detail about your past employment. By leaving dates off and by changing the actual dates to the number of years, you open up the opportunity for conversation, and you give the prospective employer something to ask you about when he/she calls. Keep a printed, hard copy of your resume near you once you start sending it out, and be prepared to share the actual dates of employment (if/when asked) and the reasons you are no longer employed (if/when asked).

Since your resume will be the first piece of information a prospective employer will receive to learn about you, you might consider hiring a professional resume writing service to develop and design your resume package. If you know you are qualified for a position but do not hear back from the prospective employer, the chances are pretty good that there was something wrong with how you presented yourself on your resume.

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Here are some tips to help create the best reference list possible:

Contact Your References First (Before You Have Others Contact Them)

Just because someone told you four years ago that you could include him/her as a reference, doesn鈥檛 mean you can still include him/her today. Their job title, contact info, and memory of you may have changed over the years. Contact each reference you want to use for your list and ask if you may (still) include that person on your list. If they have a vague recollection of you or what you did at your former job, but still say they will serve as a reference, thank them and then delete them from your list. There is no reason to have a reference on your list if the person does not really know you, your work ethic or your skills.

Compile a List of 3 to 5 References

One or two references are not enough; more than five is too much. Your reference sheet is a list of individuals who will speak highly of you. It鈥檚 not to prove you鈥檙e a name-dropper. It is not a list of people in high-ranking or powerful roles who attended a private party where you worked part-time as a bartender. Each reference should be able to place your name with your face 鈥� and with your disposition!

• You can include a relative, as long as that cousin, uncle, or sibling has a different last name from yours. If contacted, the relative would simply say he/she grew up in the same neighborhood (or school) with you and has known you all your life.
• Ideally, your list will include at least one reference from a recent
• Be careful when including a reference from your current employer and only include someone that you trust implicitly. Plenty of people have lost their jobs while looking for a new job because the word got out that they wanted to quit.

Seven Things You鈥檒l Need for Each Reference + One Thing You鈥檒l Really Want

In addition to the reference鈥檚 name, you鈥檒l want to include:

• his/her title,
• the name of their employer,
• the city and state where they work,
• their email address, and
• their phone number.

When building your reference page, include direct quotes from some of your references. Send them an email and ask them if they would write a few sentences about you that you could include on your reference sheet. You are not asking them to write a full-length reference letter; you simply want a few sentences from them. By including this unique component directly on your reference sheet, often times the prospective employer will simply read those quotes and not bother to call the reference directly.

Your reference sheet should match your resume and cover letter in layout, design, paper, and font. Bring a copy of it with you on each interview. At the end of the interview, hand a copy to the person who interviewed you and say, 鈥淧lease feel free to contact my references!鈥� It鈥檚 a nice way to end the interview, and it shows that you are organized and well-prepared.

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