A resume is the first impression of you that a company will see and therefore it is very important to get it right. First impressions shape a person’s judgement of who you are and is something they will always remember. You want a hiring manager to be interested in meeting you and knowing more, as there will always be other applicants just as talented (if not more than you).
In this article we’ll look at how you can write an amazing resume that has people clamoring to invite you in for an interview!
Layout:
There are two schools of thought when it comes to the layout of your resume, you can create your own based off of what you think works well. This means that you may decide to put your name in the middle or to have your phone number in the corner etc.
However, if you’re not as creative as this, there are plenty of websites online that have pre-existing resume layouts that you can download. Simply choose which one you think is most appealing and begin filling it out!
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Content:
Your resume is your time to shine, it is the perfect opportunity to articulately explain in detail your skills, accomplishments and experiences. It is valuable to know what to include and expand on and also what to leave out as it’s irrelevant.
Speaking on relevancy, what must be in every resume is your name and contact details – this is simply non-negotiable. If a recruiter likes your resume and wants to invite you for an interview, they’re going to need a way to do this!
Next, you want to make sure that you’re showcasing your skills in a way that is both pleasing and intriguing to read about. For example, if you’re a classically trained musician, why not also mention the gruelling hours of practice it took to get to that level? Or perhaps if you have first aid skills, it would be wise to mention a time where you had to use said first aid skills.
Resume summary:
This is optional, but it is an option many people take – it is a chance to succinctly talk about your skills and qualifications. Certain individuals include this as they know those reading your resume won’t have long to do so and it is a better way to grab their attention while they have it.
The way to compose a resume summary is to imagine you were speaking about yourself in the third person and briefly mentioning your expertise. To give you an example, Dwayne Johnson, may describe himself on his C.V as “a Hollywood blockbuster actor with several awards and $billion dollar grossing films”. (This is if we were to assume he would ever write one!)
Work Experience:
When detailing your past experiences, it is vital you include where you worked, the dates and a brief explanation of what you did there. This is crucial for many reasons, the first being that some companies are very reputable and having them on your C.V alone makes you more credible. Companies such as Google, Amazon, Facebook etc. can give your resume more weight, especially if the company you’re applying to is in the same field.
Dates are also essential to put down as it shows recruiters that you’re a loyal and stable employee who doesn’t just leave after a few weeks or months. There will always be cases where a contracted position is quite short, however a resume with many short term positions can put off a recruiter. Most companies want to hire for the long term as it costs money and time to train staff up to a desired level.
Including a short review of what you did while in a position gives a hiring individual the chance to understand what you’ve done in the past and also how you solved problems. This last point is one to remember- people are hired to fix problems a company has.
Tailoring:
If you know that a company is seeking out certain skills and experiences, then it may be worthwhile to tailor your resume to this. For instance, a company that is desperately searching for an individual who can read Chinese, doesn’t care much about your English skills. However, if you possess the Chinese language, you can, at several points in the C.V, mention this language skill.
Length:
As mentioned previously, recruiters won’t have long to go through your resume, so it would be wise to make it as short as possible. Recent studies reveal that the best length to keep your resume at is – two pages. This is both long enough to list all of your credentials and background whilst also being short enough to read quickly.
All in all, your resume is something you should take a lot of time and care over as it is usually the one thing that decides whether you get a job or not. The interview is paramount but it is mostly there to talk about what was already written in your resume.
Next, Step by step playbook for the best job hunt
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