Resume & LinkedIn: A Practical Handbook

Points clés

• Build every resume in the house on the same one-page skeleton, contact line, summary, experience, education and skills, saved as a clearly named PDF.
• Write every cover note in three short paragraphs: the role and why this place, two proofs from the posting, then a clear close.
• Set up LinkedIn screen by screen with someone else taking the photo, and go through a teenager's privacy settings together first.
• Never list a referee without asking, and send requests a week ahead naming two specific things the person saw you do.
• Before sending, swap documents and run the ten-point check aloud, then keep a copy of the posting and the confirmation together.

À l'intérieur de ce bit

1. The one-page skeleton, line by line

   Every resume in the house can share one skeleton. Line one is your name.

2. The cover note in three short paragraphs

   Many postings ask for a cover note, and even when they do not, the email that carries your resume is one. Keep it to three short paragraphs.

3. LinkedIn setup, one screen at a time

   Set aside an hour and work through the profile in the order the screens appear. Photo first: stand by a window with a plain wall behind you, shoulders up, and let someone else hold the phone.

4. Asking for references and recommendations

   A reference is someone an employer may contact about you; a LinkedIn recommendation is a short written note that sits on your profile. Both work best when the person saw your work closely and you make it easy for them.

5. The ten-point check before you press send

   Keep this checklist on your phone or taped inside a cupboard door, and run it on every application. One: the file opens and is named with your name and the role.

6. Sending it: email, portals and forms

   How an application travels matters almost as much as what it says. Before you start, save the posting as a PDF or screenshot, because adverts often vanish before the interview and you will want to reread what was asked.