When writing your resume try using positive, active words to describe your responsibilities and achievements.

Here is the list of good active verbs you can use for writing your resume. Maybe you can use it as an inspiration

What is the purpose of the cover letter? What is it intended to do.

Understanding the purpose of this letter is paramount to maximizing its impact and effectiveness. On the other hand, without a clear understanding what this letter is intended to accomplish, chances are it will be poorly designed, vague, and generally ineffective.

st and foremost, it is a business letter used to transmit your resume to a prospective employer.

nd, it is a letter of introduction. It is used not only to transmit your resume but also to introduce you and your background to the employer.

rd, and importantly, it is a sales letter, intended to convince the prospective employer that you have something valuable to contribute and that it will be worth the employer’s time to grant you an interview.

These three main objectives will provide you with some basic starting points.

In the beginning there was a blank page. We all know this lingering page, it always looks the same. Are you nervous about taking the next step? Are you desperate to make the right impression? Do you want everything to be just perfect? Am I scaring you?

I am just joking. Of course you are not afraid, you have me to help you organize your resume.

Basically, there are two methods to organize a resume.

First, the functional format. This type of resume is appropriate in these situations: you have broken work history or are changing occupations; you have unsteady career progression; you don’t want to highlight your latest employer; or you want to minimize your years of experience.

With a functional resume, you can separate the accomplishments into functions with headings such as Team Leadership, Instructional Design, and Delivery Training. These headings show how you qualify for the requirements of a new position based on your past experience.

In using a functional resume, be sure to do the following:

Group together all of your responsibilities and accomplishments from the same or multiple employers.

Do not worry about putting the accomplishments and responsibilities in chronological order.

List your employment information (employer names, job titles, and dates) in chronological order in a Professional Experience section.

Use functional headings to group accomplishments (effective, but not mandatory). Use up to seven accomplishments per heading.

Use up to 10 accomplishments from the same or multiple employers if you are not separating them by functional headings.

Benefits of a functional resume format

It highlights accomplishments and deemphasizes age and that is why we recommend it for mature job seekers. If you are changing careers, you can select the accomplishments that point toward your new position. If you are having a hard time identifying accomplishments and responsibilities, you can create five or six instead of having to place three under each employer when you have multiple employers. Using the functional format is also a good idea if you are including volunteer experience in your resume or you have gaps in your employment.

Second method is the chronological resume. A chronological format is appropriate when you have unbroken work history, you are continuing in the same occupation, and you have progressive responsibilities. In the chronological resume your latest employer is highlighted.

Most people think that career portfolio is for a specific profession (for example graphic designers), but this majority is wrong. It has been known to happen and majority should not take this against me.

I just love career portfolios. Actually, I am just designing one fabulous web page career portfolio and I have great time doing this. When I finish I will leave a link to show off my spectacular work

I think of career portfolio as a career scrapbook.

You want to be noticed? If you really want your resume to be read with enthusiasm you should have a portfolio. Resume is just a story, but portfolio is a documentation for the story. This makes your resume credible. It gives new meaning and life to your resume. With career portfolio your resume will not be only eye catching but consuming. I have read too many resumes in my life and I am rarely optimistic about reading more (because people rarely put together a good resume). On the other hand, going through portfolios is not a gloomy task at all. It is always interesting to see what great things somebody achieved.

Just like with your personal scrapbooks you recognize the passion, you see the person in their own environment, you know the context in which to read the resume.

When you decide to build a career portfolio you will face two options: a hard copy portfolio or a web page career portfolio. I must suggest the latter. Even if you are not technology or internet savvy this should be your choice because it is more practical, it is the most recent trend, and hard copy portfolios are a waste of natural resources. Be green.

What to include in career portfolio? Everything. Things like: letters of recommendation, awards, published articles, success stories, work samples, etc.

Blogging for job

I suggest you add a blog to your online career portfolio. You should keep it professional and write about things relevant to your work and industry. This way you are presenting yourself as somebody well informed, and if you are consistent with blogging people will start coming to you for news and advice.

You can see how they did it:

Please click on the thumbnail to see the real thing.