1.  Get Organized.  Gather the names, addresses, phone numbers, job descriptions and dates of all work experiences, community service and schooling together so that you can efficiently write the bulk of your resume.  If you are not organized you may get overwhelmed by the whole process and procrastinate! The longer it takes to write your resume, the longer you are not being interviewed.

2.  Relate Objective to job description.  This statement sentence should match or relate to the job for which you are applying.  The same goes for the rest of your resume, it should support your career objective directly and should include relevant job experience and education.

3. Be concise and factual. Your writing should accurately represent your credentials in as few words as possible.  So choose those words carefully and leave out unnecessary words that make your sentences seem “wordy”.  Employers want to 1) see that you are able to write a decent sentence and 2) view information quickly and easily. 

4.  Choose strong action words.  Here are some good action verbs for a dental hygienist resume: administered, completed, created (specific client treatment plans), demonstrated, established (3-4 month recall appointments for periodontally involved patients), implemented, increased (office productivity by recommending in office products), preformed (do not use the word cleanings’), scaling and root planing is the correct termenology, reinforced (dental hygiene appointment with specific oral health instructions to the patient), reviewed, scheduled and many more.  Action words should start each or most sentences in the job description portion of your resume and are used primarily to highlight your professional accomplishments and skills.  Please feel free to contact us online, if you need more help on writing a job description sentence or strong action words!

5.  Let your ‘type A’ loose.  Line up everything in your document to match, use the same font throughout the document; bold, bullets, and underlining should be the same throughout for each heading or portion of resume they are used on; consistency in formatting should be displayed from top to bottom and first to last page.  When one paragraph or page looks different from another it is distracting to the reader.  You want the reader to pay attention to the details for your qualifications not bad formatting. 

6.  Get a Proof-Reader.  This is someone who is capable of giving you sound writing advice.  Have this person read over your resume to find spelling and grammatical errors. 

7.  Contact your references.  If you are a new graduate, contact an instructor or professor who you developed a good working relationship with.  This person should be someone who has worked with you clinically, and can elaborate on your clinical abilities and interactions with patients.   For someone with more work experience, contact individuals that  you have worked with professionally and who hold some type of manager or employer status as references.  Always call to make sure the person listed as a reference is available and willing to share all the positive and relatable qualities that make you a desirable candidate for employment.

8.  Print it, Attach it, Send it. Print your resume on high quality paper, mail it in a high quality folder and envelope (the kind that do not bend) and if they tell you to fax it, make the trip to the office to drop it off by hand.  Faxed resumes look horrible.  Plus you get to see the office and meet the front desk team.  When emailing a resume, make sure your attachment title is professional as well as your email address.  Misscutiepie@something.com is unprofessional and if you want you can create a professional email account specifically for your job listings.  The attachment heading should display your name and an underscore followed by the heading of the document you are sending.  For example, msmith_resume or msmith_coverletter.  This makes your resume standout in the inbox and employers can find it and print it easily.  If you name it as my resume or just your name, employers may not recognize it.  Lastly, if at all possible send it directly to the employer, sometimes there are websites that are just big holding databases for resumes, “resume never-never land”, as I like to call them.  These waste your time and give you a false sense of hope. 

9. Follow up Phone Call or a Thank you card. Let employers know you really want the job and/or appreciated the job interview.   It is quick and easy to do and may be the one thing that puts you above the rest or at least makes you memorable.  Take a business card when you drop off your resume/have an interview so you will have the all of the contact information.  I was temping in an office until their new hire could start, after working for that one week I sent a thank you letter and made a phone call letting them know I really enjoyed their office.  Within two weeks when the new hire did not work out, they called me. I worked there for 3 years until the dentist retired. 

Additional Resource: If your experience on dental hygiene direct leads you to a working interview or permanent position and you need a to bring a hard copy of your resume to the interview; Dental hygiene direct offers resume writing and editing services.  For more information on writing/editing of a professional bio-sketch, Curriculum Vitae, resume or cover letter please contact online.