When putting together your resume, the most important thing to remember is that your goal is to sell yourself to a potential employer.
You have to think of your resume as an advertisement for yourself. The hiring manager has to dig through dozens or even hundreds of resumes, most of which will receive only a cursory scan and then get tossed aside. But your resume must be different if you want a real chance at the job.
Your resume must stand out and interest the reader enough to bring you in for an interview. Your resume is the key to getting your foot in the door.
Let’s go over some of the main points you need to learn about writing a resume that will make an employer want to learn more about you.
Format
Presentation is important. An ugly resume may get thrown away without ever being read. Try to fit everything on one page, two at the most. Use plain white paper and a standard font such as Arial or Courier. Fancy colors and fonts will make you stand out, but for all the wrong reasons.
Use wide borders and leave plenty of white space to make it easier to read. Stay away from long paragraphs or blocks of text. Use short, snappy bullet points for maximum readability.
Content
At the top of your resume should be your name and contact information, including home address, telephone numbers, and email addresses where you can be reached.
Many employers will then look for an Objective. This is a short statement (one or two sentences will suffice) that explains exactly what you are looking for. These few lines can mean all the difference when compared to a pile of generic resumes.
Next make a short list of qualifications, achievements, or qualities that the employer would find valuable. If you think of your resume to an ad, this would be like a list of features and benefits that the employer would get by hiring you. For example, if you know the company uses an industry-specific brand of software you should be sure to mention that you have used that software in the past. This immediately gives you a leg up on the competition.
Your employment history comes next. Start with your most recent position and work backwards, listing responsibilities, promotions, and achievements for each. If there are gaps in your work history due to unemployment or raising a family, you can briefly explain them here.
Next list your education and any degrees or certificates you earned. This area is more important for young people who do not have an extensive work history.
You can also list any IT and other skills you have that are relevant to the job. The ability to type 75 words a minute is relevant if you are applying to be an administrative assistant, but not if you are applying for a position as a gardener or a truck driver.
Choosing Your Words
As we discussed above, learning how to make a resume is really just learning how to sell yourself. The words you choose may be the deciding factor in the hiring manager’s decision. You don’t want her falling asleep as she tries to get through your resume.
Avoid long sentences. Instead, use short and punchy bullet points.
Speak in the third person and stick with action verbs. Make it sound like your past performances really made a difference. Read the two sentences below:
“I was responsible for increasing the output of the assembly managers by 31 percent.”
“Increased worker productivity by over 30%.”
Which sounds better to you?
The first sentence drags on forever. The second one communicates concisely, uses an action verb, and leaves no doubt that you made a positive difference in your last position.
Proofreading
This is where so many job applicants go wrong. Their lack of attention to detail dooms them before they even have a chance to prove themselves. But that’s not going to happen to you.
Use the spell checker on your computer and then go over it again yourself to look for errors in spelling and grammar. Then read it out loud. Listen for any awkward spots and reword them if necessary. And have a friend read it too. They may spot an error that you missed.
With a winning resume in hand, you’ll be landing the job of your dreams in no time.
