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Word of the Month: Attractive
Your favorite blog or magazine and your resume, what do these items have in common? They are both attractive and easy to read quickly. Or they should be. So what do you need to do to ensure your resume is the J. Lo of resumes?
For starters:
Provide relief from the text, which means embrace white space, use one-inch margins (or close to it) and keep text blocks short. More than two or three lines starts to feel dense.
Avoid getting too creative with fonts and styles, sticking with one font or two at most keeps the reader from getting distracted. Using bold for headers and/or key points helps the reader focus but too much use of any kind of formatting such as underlining or italics may slow them down or interfere with automatic scanning (see below) used by many employers.
As for what type of font, you'll see many opinions on this. Some prefer the traditional Times New Roman, while others recommend Arial, Tahoma or other commonly used fonts to be less traditional. Personally, I think if you can get the recruiter to see within seconds that your skills and experience fit with the position, font is less important as long as it's among the standard ones that are used.
Also, make it really easy for someone (or something) to see what you've accomplished, a short bulleted summary at the top is a good way to do this. Your resume may first go through applicant tracking software so make sure you have used words from the job description in your resume.
Finally, nothing is less attractive than a typo! Check and double check for typos, missing words, and punctuation errors, and have someone else review it for you as well. Failure to proof thoroughly is a very common mistake that many job seekers make.
The Alexandria Workforce Development Center (WDC) offers free
career readiness workshops that include resume writing, as well as a Career Center with access to computers and other resources to help you get started. Also, check out this
article and video from
Time on current trends.
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Culinary Arts Training Program
WDC in partnership with Together We Bake are offering a Culinary Arts Program.
You may be eligible if you are:
- 18 years or older
- In compliance with the provisions of the Military Selective Service Act
- A U.S. Citizen or lawfully eligible to work in the U.S..
- A City of Alexandria resident
- Meet income eligibility guidelines
Fall Session will begin Sept. 13 through Nov. 3.
Registration is now open.
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SAFELINK WIRELESS service is a program for income-eligible households provided by TracFone Wireless, Inc. In order to participate in the SAFELINK WIRELESS service, persons must meet certain eligibility requirements set by each state where the service is to be provided. These requirements are based on a person's participation in a state or federal support programs or by meeting the Income Poverty Guidelines as defined by the U.S. government. SAFELINK WIRELESS® service is limited to one person per household.
SAFELINK WIRELESS will now be present at WDC every
Wednesday.
Please visit our office for more information.
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Calendar of Events
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Click the date to register
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| Orientation of WDC Programs and Services |
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| Employment Strategies for the Experienced Strategies Worker 50+ - Module 1 - 6 |
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| Basic Resume Writing |
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| Ace the Interview |
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| Introduction to Basic Computer Training |
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| Debt & Credit Management |
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| Career Pathways & Training Programs |
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| Introduction to Microsoft Word |
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| Completing an Effective Employment Application |
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Upcoming Hiring Events and Job Fairs
WDC Events
Michael Hiring Event on Tuesday, Aug. 2 at 10 a.m. at WDC, 1900 N. Beauregard Street, Suite 300, Alexandria, VA 22311. Click here to register. For more information contact Ralph Critten at 703.746.5861 or ralph.critten@alexandriava.gov.
Rebuild Your Professional Career in the U.S. Information Session on Friday, Aug. 5 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the NOVA Alexandria Campus, 4915 E. Campus Drive, Alexandria, VA 22311. Click
here to register.
For more information email wdc@alexandriava.gov or call 703.324.7280.
Community Hiring Events and Job Fairs
DreamHome Remodeling Job Fair on Thursday, Aug. 4 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at DreamHome Head Quarters, 7830 Backlick Road, Springfield, VA 22150. For more information call 703.455.4650.
The 2016 Job and Opportunities Fair
on Thursday, Aug. 11 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place NW, Washington, D.C. 20001. Click
here
to register.
Job Zone 2016 Patuxent River MD Job Fairs on Tuesday, Aug. 16 from 3 to 7 p.m. at Bay District Volunteer Fire Department Social Hall, 46900 S. Shangri-La Drive, Lexington Park, MD 20653. Click here to register and post/link resume.
2016 Job Zone Job Fair on Thursday, Aug. 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Joint Base Andres, The Club at Andrews, 1889 Arnold Avenue, Joint Base Andrews, MD 20762. For new updates and posting/linking resume to this event, click
here.
Job Fair Professional Networking Expo 2016 on Saturday, Aug. 20 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at ADAMS Sterling, Main Hall,
46903 Sugarland Road,
Sterling, VA 20164. Click
here
to register.
Washington DC Choice Career Fair on Thursday, Aug. 25 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at DoubleTree by Hilton Washington, D.C./Crystal City, 300 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, VA 22202. Click here to register.
Corporate Gray Military-Friendly Job Fair on Thursday, Sept. 15 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at The Waterford Reception Center, 6715 Commerce Street, Springfield, VA 22150. Click here to register.
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1900 N. Beauregard Street, Suite 300
Alexandria, VA 22311
703.746.5990
571.384.5244 Video Phone
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