What is the best way to write a resume when I hardly have any work background?

Question

I am in my 40's, was a stay at home mom, then, a stay at home "gama", now I am ready to enter the workforce with hardly any skills or solid work history. How should I compose a resume?

Answer 1

I was recently a recruiter for an administrative staffing company. This is a great question. My advice to you is that a resume is the key to getting a company to want to meet with you. Although work history is important it is not usually what makes the company want to hire you. Focus on your skills and making sure your resume reflects your strengths. for the layout put your name on top (of course) then an objective (this is your chance to say a little about you and what you are looking for) ex. I am a dedicated, loyal, hardworking receptionist seeking a carreer with a stable company that offers me the oppertunity to advance through proven achievements. (says your strengths, position wanted and what you want in your company) Next make a section called skills/ relevent experience etc. and list out what you know- as bullet points...not all in one sentence (make this the bulk of your resume) ex. typing speed = 50 wpm, filing, answering multi phone lines, customer service, etc. etc. Finally list your previous experience. Rememeber those reading a resume are looking for a reason to even call you in for an interview... they are looking for a reason to hire you and ultimatly - looking at your resume to see how you are going to solve their needs/make them money. good luck. I hope this helped you a little bit.

Answer 2

All of the terms used in the previous answer to mine are great starting points, but you need specific examples of each. Companies do not like vague terms, such as "hard worker" standing on their own. You need specific stories to back up your claims, which could be literally anything. Most companies are looking for the "it" in your personality that will make you a successful part of the team. This is because anyone can learn to do tasks, but only few people bring any excitement to the table. Hope this helps!

Answer 3

Download a Word Resume Template
Also check out job descriptions at www.monster.com

Answer 4

Well, you should take stock of all the things you have done and accomplished during your year's raising your kids. I am sure you will be able to think of many things that help you in your day to day life and would be considered assets to any employer. Depending on the type of job you want to get, you may need to take a couple of computer courses to bring your skills up to snuff or whatever applies for you.

Answer 5

Outline the tasks you were responsible for, skills you brought to the job and anything out of the perameters of job that you accomplished during your tenure. So under each job held, you would have bullet points...

Maintained budgets and client lists
Scheduled meetings with clients...

etc.

And then things like:

Brought in 10 new accounts contributing $X of new business to the firm.

And so on.

Answer 6

Hotjobs on Yahoo helps you build a resume.

Good luck!

Answer 7

Make the "skills' and "qualifications" section bigger than the work history. Emphasize stuff like:

"Hard worker"
"Good written and oral communication skills"
"Self-starter"
"motivated"
"Type at X words per minute"
"Knowledge of basic computer skills, microsoft word, etc"
"Personable, team player,"

YOu get the picture. Target what makes YOU you, and de-empahsize the work history by not making a big blank spot. If you have to, make your 'qualities' a bulleted list to fill the page.