Having a solid and effective resume can greatly
improve your
chances of landing that dream job.
That is beyond discussion. How does one make
sure
that his resume is top notch and bullet proof,
however? There are several websites with tips
around the web, but most bring just a handful of
them. We wanted to put them all together in a single
place, and that is what you will
find below: 44
'
resume writing tips.
1. Know the purpose of
your resume
Some people write a resume as if the purpose of the document was
to land a
job. As a result they end up with a really long and boring piece that
makes
them look like desperate job hunters. The objective of your resume is to
land
an interview, and the interview will land you the job (hopefully!).
2. Back up your qualities
and strengths
Instead of creating a long (and boring) list with all your
qualities (e.g.,
disciplined, creative, problem solver) try to connect them
with real life and
work experiences. In other words, you need to back these
qualities and
strengths up, else it will appear that you are just trying to
inflate things.
3. Make sure to use the
right keywords
Most companies (even smaller ones) are already using digital
databases to
search for candidates. This means that the HR department will run
search
queries based on specific keywords. Guess what, if your resume doesn’t
have
the keywords related to the job you are applying for, you will be out even
before the game starts.
These keywords will usually be nouns. Check the job description
and related job
ads for a clue on what the employer might be looking for.
4. Use effective titles
Like it or not, employers will usually make a judgment about
your resume in 5
seconds. Under this time frame the most important aspect will
be the titles that
you listed on the resume, so make sure they grab the
attention. Try to be as
descriptive as possible, giving the employer a good
idea about the nature of
your past work experiences. For example:
Bad title: Accounting
Good title: Management of A/R and A/P and Record keeping
5. Proofread it twice
It would be difficult to emphasize the importance of
proofreading your resume.
One small typo and your chances of getting hired
could slip. Proofreading it
once is not enough, so do it twice, three times or
as many as necessary.
6. Use bullet points
No employer will have the time (or patience) to read long
paragraphs of text.
Make sure, therefore, to use bullet points and short
sentences to describe your
experiences, educational background and professional
objectives.
7. Where are you going?
Including professional goals can help you by giving employers an
idea of where
you are going, and how you want to arrive there. You don’t need
to have a
special section devoted to your professional objectives, but overall
the resume
must communicate it. The question of whether or not to highlight
your career
objectives on the resume is a polemic one among HR managers, so go
with
your feeling. If you decide to list them, make sure they are not generic.
8. Put the most important
information first
This point is valid both to the overall order of your resume, as
well as to the
individual sections. Most of the times your previous work
experience will be the
most important part of the resume, so put it at the top.
When describing your
experiences or skills, list the most important ones first.
9. Attention to the
typography
First of all make sure that your fonts are big enough. The
smaller you should go
is 11 points, but 12 is probably safer. Do not use
capital letters all over the
place, remember that your goal is to communicate a
message as fast and as
clearly as possible. Arial and Times are good choices.
10. Do not include “no
kidding” information
There are many people that like to include statements like
“Available for
interview” or “References available upon request.” If you are
sending a resume
to a company, it should be a given that you are available for
an interview and
that you will provide references if requested. Just avoid
items that will make
the employer think “no kidding!”
11. Explain the benefits
of your skills
Merely stating that you can do something will not catch the
attention of the
employer. If you manage to explain how it will benefit his company,
and to
connect it to tangible results, then you will greatly improve your
chances.
12. Avoid negativity
Do not include information that might sound negative in the eyes
of the
employer. This is valid both to your resume and to interviews. You don’t
need to
include, for instance, things that you hated about your last company.
13. Achievements instead
of responsibilities
Resumes that include a long list of “responsibilities included…”
are plain boring,
and not efficient in selling yourself. Instead of listing
responsibilities, therefore,
describe your professional achievements.
14. No pictures
Sure, we know that you are good looking, but unless you are
applying for a job
where the physical traits are very important (e.g.,
modeling, acting and so on),
and unless the employer specifically requested it,
you should avoid attaching
your picture to the resume.
15. Use numbers
This tip is a complement to the 13th one. If you are going to
describe your past
professional achievements, it would be a good idea to make
them as solid as
possible. Numbers are your friends here. Don’t merely mention
that you
increased the annual revenues of your division, say that you increased
them by
$100,000, by 78%, and so on.
16. One resume for each
employer
One of the most common mistakes that people make is to create a
standard
resume and send it to all the job openings that they can find. Sure it
will save
you time, but it will also greatly decrease the chances of landing an
interview
(so in reality it could even represent a waste of time). Tailor your
resume for
each employer. The same point applies to your cover letters.
17. Identify the problems
of the employer
A good starting point to tailor your resume for a specific
employer is to identify
what possible problems he might have at hand. Try to
understand the market
of the company you are applying for a job, and identify
what kind of difficulties
they might be going through. After that illustrate on
your resume how you and
your skills would help to solve those problems.
18. Avoid age
discrimination
It is illegal to discriminate people because of their age, but
some employers do
these considerations nonetheless. Why risk the trouble?
Unless specifically
requested, do not include your age on your resume.
19. You don’t need to list
all your work experiences
If you have job experiences that you are not proud of, or that
are not relevant
to the current opportunity, you should just omit them.
Mentioning that you
used to sell hamburgers when you were 17 is probably not
going to help you
land that executive position.
20. Go with what you got
If you never had any real working experience, just include your
summer jobs or
volunteer work. If you don’t have a degree yet, mention the
title and the
estimated date for completion. As long as those points are
relevant to the job in
question, it does not matter if they are official or not.
21. Sell your fish
Remember that you are trying to sell yourself. As long as you
don’t go over the
edge, all the marketing efforts that you can put in your resume
(in its content,
design, delivery method and so on) will give you an advantage
over the other
candidates.
22. Don’t include
irrelevant information
Irrelevant information such as political affiliation, religion
and sexual preference
will not help you. In fact it might even hurt your
chances of landing an
interview. Just skip it.
23. Use Mr. and Ms. if
appropriate
If you have a gender neutral name like Alex or Ryan make sure to
include the
Mr. or Ms. prefix, so that employers will not get confused about your
gender.
24. No lies, please
Seems like a no brainer, but you would be amused to discover the
amount of
people that lie in their resumes. Even small lies should be avoided.
Apart from
being wrong, most HR departments do background checks these days,
and if
you are buster it might ruin your credibility for good.
25. Keep the salary in
mind
The image you will create with your resume must match the salary
and
responsibility level that you are aiming for.
26. Analyze job ads
You will find plenty of useful information on job ads. Analyze
no only the ad
that you will be applying for, but also those from companies on
the same
segment or offering related positions. You should be able to identify
what
profile they are looking for and how the information should be presented.
27. Get someone else to
review your resume
Even if you think you resume is looking kinky, it would be a
good idea to get a
second and third opinion about it. We usually become blind
to our own mistakes
or way of reasoning, so another people will be in a good
position to evaluate the
overall quality of your resume and make appropriate
suggestions.
28. One or two pages
The ideal length for a resume is a polemic subject. Most
employers and
recruiting specialists, however, say that it should contain one
or two pages at
maximum. Just keep in mind that, provided all the necessary
information is
there, the shorter your resume, the better.
29. Use action verbs
A very common advice to job seekers is to use action verbs. But
what are they?
Action verbs are basically verbs that will get noticed more
easily, and that will
clearly communicate what your experience or achievement
were. Examples
include managed, coached, enforced and planned.
30. Use a good printer
If you are going to use a paper version of your resume, make
sure to use a
decent printer. Laser printers usually get the job done. Plain
white paper is the
preferred one as well.
31. No hobbies
Unless you are 100% sure that some of your hobbies will support
you
candidacy, avoid mentioning them. I know you are proud of your swimming
team, but share it with your friends and not with potential employers.
32. Update your resume
regularly
It is a good idea to update your resume on a regular basis. Add
all the new
information that you think is relevant, as well as courses,
training programs
and other academic qualifications that you might receive
along the way. This is
the best way to keep track of everything and to make
sure that you will not end
up sending an obsolete document to the employer.
33. Mention who you
worked with
If you have reported or worked with someone that is well known
in your
industry, it could be a good idea to mention it on the resume. The same
thing
applies to presidents and CEOs. If you reported to or worked directly
with
highly ranked executives, add it to the resume.
34. No scattered
information
Your resume must have a clear focus. If would cause a negative
impression if
you mentioned that one year you were studying , and the next
you were
working as an accountant. Make sure that all the information you will
include
will work towards a unified image. Employers like decided people.
35. Make the design flow
with white space
Do not jam your resume with text. Sure we said that you should
make your
resume as short and concise as possible, but that refers to the
overall amount
of information and not to how much text you can pack in a single
sheet of
paper.White space between the words, lines and paragraphs can improve
the
legibility of your resume.
36. Lists all your
positions
If you have worked a long time for the same company (over 10
years) it could
be a good idea to list all the different positions and roles
that you had during
this time separately. You probably had different
responsibilities and developed
different skills on each role, so the employer
will like to know it.
37. No jargon or slang
It should be common sense, but believe me, it is not. Slang
should never be
present in a resume. As for technical jargon, do not assume
that the employer
will know what you are talking about. Even if you are sending
your resume to a
company in the same segment, the person who will read it for
the first time
might not have any technical expertise.
38. Careful with sample
resume templates
There are many websites that offer free resume templates. While
they can help
you to get an idea of what you are looking for, do not just copy
and paste one
of the most used ones. You certainly don’t want to look just like
any other
candidate, do you?
39. Create an email proof
formatting
It is very likely that you will end up sending your resume via
email to most
companies. Apart from having a Word document ready to go as an
attachment,
you should also have a text version of your resume that does not
look
disfigured in the body of the email or in online forms. Attachments might
get
blocked by spam filters, and many people just prefer having the resume on
the
body of the email itself.
40. Remove your older
work experiences
If you have been working for 20 years or more, there is no need
to have 2
pages of your resume listing all your work experiences, starting with
the job at
the local coffee shop at the age of 17! Most experts agree that the
last 15 years
of your career are enough.
41. No fancy design
details
Do not use a colored background, fancy fonts or images on your
resume. Sure,
you might think that the little flowers will cheer up the
document, but other
people might just throw it away at the sight.
42. No pronouns
You resume should not contain the pronouns “I” or “me.” That is
how we
normally structure sentences, but since your resume is a document about
your
person, using these pronouns is actually redundant.
43. Don’t forget the basics
The first thing on your resume should be your name. It should be
bold and with
a larger font than the rest of the text. Make sure that your
contact details are
clearly listed. Secondly, both the name and contact details
should be included
on all the pages of the resume (if you have more than one).
44. Consider getting
professional help
If you are having a hard time to create your resume, or if you
are receiving no
response whatsoever from companies, you could consider hiring
a professional
resume writing service. There are both local and online options
are available,
and usually the investment will be worth the money.
