When I was a child, my father used to âput his name downâ to get jobs. I had no idea what putting his name down meant. But heâd say it all the time. Conversations that began âIâve put my name down for that new place opening around the corner next monthâ, were quite common around the dinner table. Thatâs not to say that my father was out of work. Far from it. He merely hated his job and was always looking for a way out. When I grew up a little and reached my teens, I started to wonder about the possibility of getting a weekend job to pay for clothes and concert tickets. My father told me to put my name down at the local aquarium. I asked what that actually meant. And he said go and tell them you want a job. I said is that it? He said how else are they going to know you want a job. Perhaps itâs a generational thing. But these days, a resume is most definitely the way forward. Unless youâre planning on going door to door to secure your next career move, you might want to know how to âput your name downâ in the modern world.
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Lay out your layout in a well laid out layout
Do you have any idea how many resumes are submitted via email to every company employing over 500 people in North America each month? Me neither. But Iâm willing to bet the intake of digital interest in any advertised post is far from meagre. You need your name at the top. That helps. And your contact details. Right at the top. Thatâs standard practice – donât mess with convention on this one, itâs important you get this right. Then ⊠the rest is up to you.
No, really. Laying out your resume in a well-presented format can be an industry specific task. The top tip here is to research how people applying for your line of work organise their resumes.
Learn to lie
People donât want to know that you have a one-month gap in your employment history, and that the explanation includes a far-fetched story about being let go for spurious reasons before finding a better job at a competitor brand a few doors up the road. Big lies wonât end well. But little cover ups will help tidy up your resume.