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.
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 Recordkeeping
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. If you
don’t know how to proofread effectively, here are 8 tips that you can use.
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. Here you can find a complete
list of action
verbs divided by skill category.
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 drama, 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.
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