Consider your résumé as a major tool in your box of “job tricks.” There are many aspects to preparing a résumé that will help to get you the job you want. What is the best and quickest way to handle difficult job titles and company descriptions? What about questions you might not want to answer or at least avoid? (The last time someone asked me my age, I replied: “Somewhere between forty and death.”) This may work sometimes, but not on a résumé. Besides, George Burns is dead. Help is on the way.
Parentheses help a great deal in setting off information, but don’t use them too often. For example, to indicate the degree of your responsibility in a former position, write something like, “Report directly to President.” Also, the nature of the companies you worked for might need further clarification. Next to the name, use parentheses to set off its purpose (Apex Limited- a medical supplies company).
Know when to highlight and when to understate your job titles. Like that old Kenny Roger’s gambling song about “knowing when to hold ‘em and knowing when to fold ’em”, the same rule applies. To decide, ask yourself which would be more important to the reader of your résumé to notice. In one case, it may be the job title and in another, say if you worked for a very prestigious firm in your field, it may be the name of the company. Unlike a solid work history, this format need not be consistent. You can vary the order of your emphasis and in one case highlight the title and in the next the employer. Consider your résumé an organic art form that changes along with your work needs and goals.
Emphasize or de-emphasize by using caps, spacing, underlining and boldface. Vary your choices for each area you want to draw attention to. If you do this correctly and with subtlety, you will find that that the potential employer will talk about the things you want to talk about and avoid the rest.
Good luck and happy resume.
Related Reading:
http://forums.families.com/jobs,f122