Writing a Winning Resume
Madeleine Berg, MS, RD, CDN Your resume is a marketing tool with the main objective of landing a job interview. If you ‘re returning to the workforce like me, or just starting out, a problem you are likely facing is filling in resume gaps. I know you’re thinking that not even a marketing genius could parlay my decade away from the field into a suitable resume. But by following these simple tips, my resume has landed me coveted job interviews. Some of the interviews I have bombed spectacularly, but I digress. How do you fill in resume gaps? Even if you don’t have paid experience in the field, internships, volunteer work and jobs you’ve held in other fields can be used to highlight relevant skills. Desirable skills include budgeting, organizing, communicating, computer skills, management, leadership. Did you raise money for a charity? Did you organize an event for your local school or religious organization? Do you have a blog? Have you done any kind of consulting? I volunteered to run a nutrition booth for my school district and that was my first introduction into worksite wellness. I also started taking dietetic interns. Taking interns when you are job hunting may seem counterintuitive, but I have learned much from my interns and I was able to add teaching and supervising to my resume. Make a list of your professional skills and you may find your resume gaps are not as wide as you first thought. I interviewed many chief clinical dietitians and they overwhelmingly agreed that the number one quality they look for on a resume is that the applicant has kept current. If you feel you need to brush up on your skills or if you want to make your resume more competitive, get an additional certification. You can become certified as a health coach, personal trainer or diabetes educator.Managers spend less than 2 minutes reading each resume. Get to the point! Keep your most impressive qualifications on top. Don’t wait until the bottom of page 3 to note you are a CDE. Keep your resume professional. Your resume is not the place to highlight your battle with disordered eating or your personal weight loss journey. - Include license/certifications in the header - Lead with your most impressive work accomplishment - Resume should be clean and neat - Focus your resume so it is job specific - Do not provide false information - Do not use cliches or generic phrases - Do not include superfluous or personal information like hobbies/interests - Do not use bold color or unusual fonts - No typos or incorrect spelling or grammar In my next blog post I will share my most humiliating job interview experiences and how you can avoid them.
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Lisa Samuels is a Long Island native who is currently a Dietetic Intern at LIU Post. She has a B.A. in Art History from Ithaca College, a B.S. in Nutrition from LIU Post & was also a practicing baker for two years. Lisa has finally found her calling. Combining her love for food, writing, and nutrition, she strives to bring you the latest news in the field.
Check out even more posts from Lisa at her website: www.haveabitenutrition.com Archives
June 2015
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