An effective resume presents a view of your past accomplishments and opens the door to the future. Your resume should be one or two pages at the most. Remember, this is only an introduction. A good resume will grab the attention of the readers, motivating them to call you to meet you in person. It should be brief and to the point. A resume is a summary and not intended to relate the story of your life.
A great resume may not get you the job—but a sloppy, full-of-errors resume will prevent you from getting an interview.
Every resume that comes to our office is read by me personally, Dorothy.
The resume you send to us allows us to evaluate your past experiences and how we may best assist you in achieving your future goals. There are several types of resume formats, but choose one that is simple and informative.
This style is best for our industry because of the many changes in property owners and/or management.
Note: If you are out of work and need help with your resume, please be cautious about paying someone to write a resume for you who is not familiar with the property management industry. There are a lot of scams out there, but also a wealth of free information that may help. If you are using Word to write your resume, there are several templates that will help you format a great resume that are free to use on the program. Just be sure to use a very simple and clear template and nothing too flashy. Writing a resume is simpler than you might think and we have several tips to help you!
GETTING STARTED
Header
Your header should include your name, address, phone number, and email address. At least once a week, I receive a wonderful resume but the basics are not there. If you have a home and a cell phone number, list each number and label them accordingly. If we can’t contact you, neither can a prospective employer!
Also, it is very important that you retrieve and empty your voicemail on a regular basis. If voicemail is full, no one is able to leave a message for you and that could hurt your chances at getting a job.
We suggest calling your own phone and listening objectively to your message. We also suggest having an e-mail address that is simple and professional. Your outgoing voicemail message and email address should reflect your professionalism.
Career Objectives
If you choose a format that includes an objective, it should be considered carefully and not limit your options. When your objective is too specific to one field, you may be overlooked or not even considered for other potential opportunities even with experience. Let the objective be a tool that opens up more dialogue for you when presenting your resume.
As recruiters, we often see things in your past job experiences that will show us a certain direction for you.
List Your Professional Experience
List your professional experiences in chronological order starting with your most recent or your current position. Do NOT leave off employers! We don’t need your high school job, but any relevant work history should be included.
When listing your work history, be sure to list your position and the property management company. If applicable, list the property and number of units on that property.
List all your relevant accomplishments. It’s okay to brag a little, but always be truthful.
It’s also helpful to have a small skills section on your resume that bullet points relevant skills, such as HUD or Section 8 compliance or any software programs that you may be skilled at. If there are industry specific software programs that you are proficient on, list them as well. This information should be brief and relevant to the job.
It is very easy to check on information listed in your resume and we do check that information as will any potential employer.
Education
After the work history, list your education, again in chronological order, most recent on top and working backward. It is also important to list unattained degrees or on-going education. If you have not had college at all, list nothing. There is no need to list your high school.
You should list any vocational classes or technical certifications relevant to the property management industry.
Military
List your military service and recognitions while serving our country. And from all of us at Dorothy Long Search, we thank you for your service!
Professional Affiliations
This should be limited to only your professional (career) affiliations.
A FEW MORE THINGS TO REMEMBER
Use White Paper
Don’t waste your money and time with borders and colors. Don’t use unique looking fonts. The font should be easy to read and not difficult on the eyes. When printing your resume, they oftentimes appear blotchy and unpresentable. All you need are the basics, a well-formatted and scripted resume. Be sure to triple-check your spelling and grammar! Ask a friend or family member to assist you with a quick overview of the final draft to catch anything you might have overlooked.
Avoid Unnecessary Personal Information
Do not include personal information such as age, marital status, hobbies, or ages of your children on your resume. Photos on resumes are a thing of the past. Save them for the social networking sites.
Don’t Make Salary Requests
Do not list requested salary or past salary information as this may prevent an employer from offering you more.
No References
Do NOT list references on your resume. You want to control who checks your references and when it is done. Have your professional references with both their corporate number and their cell number listed on a separate sheet of paper. At the end of an interview, if you are asked for references, you may take this as a very positive sign.