The recent hurricanes may seem to have little to do with recruiting and employment at first blush, but “Fonzalo” should help to put some people back to work and make the Christmas season a little brighter as people with money in their pockets spend a little more on presents and festivities.

Will this lead to more employment? A little. Hurricane damage repairs will add to some short-term employment gains, along with additional premium pay for the terrific people from Belco, CableVision, BTC and the like who are putting in extra hours now.

Insurance claims will wash through the economy and the miracle of the velocity of money will go to work as money goes from insurer to homeowner to contractor to construction worker to grocery store to cashier to shop to shop worker and so on. So that $1 may get turned over eight or nine times (admittedly in diminishing amounts) before it almost certainly ends up overseas or under a mattress.

Somewhere along the line, it will lead to more jobs, either long- or short-term. Are you ready?

The subject of this week’s column is the resume, also known as the curriculum vitae (CV).

The resume remains perhaps the most important component in the job search.

As we have discussed in previous columns, some cover letters get read, and others don’t. Networking may get your foot in the door. But the resume is the single deciding factor in determining if you get an interview for a job. So getting it right matters.

Traditionally, the resume is a chronological listing of a person’s employment history, educational accomplishments and, often, other interests. It is also traditional to include a list of duties that accompanied each job in a person’s work history.

These days, many resumes often include more emphasis on the skills and accomplishments of the candidate.

A functional resume will give a great deal of attention to skills and competencies, along with accomplishments which came about as a result of those skills.

So for example, part of a resume might read like this:

Management skills

• Managed team of five sales people at Company A

• Achieved record sales three years in a row at Company A

• Opened two new branches for Company B in new territories

Sales skills

• Increased sales 50 percent at Company A in three-year period

• Took sales in new territory from $10,000 per annum to $500,000 per annum in five years for Company B

• Developed award-winning sales software for Company C

Job ads will usually detail skills and responsibilities, so this kind of resume is excellent for showing how you match up with the job. You can show how you have used this kind of software at Company A, were a self-starter at Company B and so on.

Resumes can also be tailored to a particular job description. This does not mean accomplishments or certain jobs should be exaggerated or, worse, omitted. But if you’re applying for a sales job, it makes sense to emphasise your sales experience and to spend less time on your time in operations. Your operations knowledge may be helpful, but remember what you are applying for.

The style and tone of the resume also matters. If you’re applying to work in a bank, then a video resume showing off your DJ skills won’t help you and may hurt you. But it might be ideal and make you stand out if you are applying to work in a nightclub or a hip digital media business.

There are plenty more resume dos and don’ts — they will be the subject of a future column.

Bill Zuill is marketing director of Bermuda Executive Services Ltd. If you have questions about employment, please e-mail marketing@bes.bm BES’s blog is available on www.bermudaemployment.com