Even if you have never been paid to decorate, you can write a powerful resume that can help you get an interior decorating job. In order to do this you will need to get some decorating experience. Even if the only homes you decorate are homes of friends and family members, you will still have decorating experience! The key is to present that experience in a way that is attractive to employers. Employers are most concerned with the value you will bring to them as an employee. They want to know you have the specific skills necessary to do the job they are hiring for. They are not interested in reading about every previous job someone has had if those jobs are unrelated to the one being applied for.
If, like Stockwell Day, former leader of one of Canada's major political parties, you have held jobs such as logger, auctioneer, meat packer, youth counselor, deck hand, school administrator, and assistant pastor in addition to doing interior decorating, don't mention all those previous jobs on your resume!
Some employers make a decision about a resume within seconds, so a resume containing too much irrelevant information could be rejected before the employer has even finished reading it. Therefore, instead of submitting a traditional resume focusing on each job you held and what you did, create a functional resume focusing on the skills and experience the employer is looking for. Exactly what you will include on your resume depends on both the job you are applying for and your previous decorating experience. You will find a sample of a resume that could be used to apply for a position working as a decorator for a retail outlet. It assumes the person applying has some experience doing decorating work for charities and friends, as well as previous retail experience.
Your own resume could include different categories. For example, if you are applying for an office job it's a good idea to include computer programs you are familiar with, plus any previous office jobs you have held. Also include anything else related to decorating that you feel will help sell you to the employer, such as internships, certificates or awards you have earned, if you have created design boards, etc.
Other basic principles of preparing an effective resume are the same as for any job. For example, try to keep your resume to a single page unless you have extensive relevant experience. Also, you don't need to go back further than 10 years on your resume, since some employers may judge anything you learned before then to be outdated.
Something else to keep in mind is that you are applying for a job where appearance matters. Choose an attractive paper stock, lay it out nicely on the page, and make sure there are no typos. Ask someone else to look it over before you send it out.
The Harvard Business Review is reported to have said that almost 80 percent of jobs are not advertised in the classifieds. That figure may be even higher for a fab job like an interior decorator. In fact, it is rare to find ads for interior decorators placed by certain types of employers such as interior decorating or interior design firms. (It is much more common to find ads for interior designer positions.) Even among the types of employers that usually do advertise for decorators, smaller companies may not have a website, and are unlikely to spend hundreds of dollars to post jobs at a site such as Monster.com. So how do these employers find employees?
Many employers find employees through word of mouth. When a small business owner needs a new employee, they will typically ask friends, business associates, and current employees if they know anyone who might be suitable for the job. In many cases, this is how they find the person for the job. In this article you find practical advice on how to network to find interior decorating clients. You can also use the advice in this part of the article to help you meet and connect with people who can hire you – or recommend you to someone who can hire you – for a full-time or part-time decorating job.
Even if you don't know anyone connected to a particular company, it may still be possible to get a job there by contacting the company directly. It happens rarely, but sometimes a manager will have just made the decision that they need a new person, when they happen to receive a phone call or resume from someone who looks like they might be an ideal candidate for the job. Many employers would rather find someone this way than invest all the time and effort in advertising the job, screening resumes, and interviewing numerous candidates.
If you decide to make "cold" contact with employers (as opposed to the "warm" contacts that come through networking), it's a good idea to focus on specific types of employers. This will allow you to target your job search most effectively since it takes time to track down company owners' names, tailor your resume, and prepare personalized cover letters explaining why you want to work with that particular company.
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Note: This article was sent to us by: Jerry U. at 03012010
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