The sole purpose of your resume is to obtain an interview. This will determine whether you land the job. Few people are thrilled with the idea of writing a resume. They often include every job and minute details to describe what they did. If you are writing a resume for the first time or have not written on in ages, here is a short primer.
LISTING YOUR CONTACT DETAILS
Only include your city, state, and zip code. Gone are the days of listing your complete street address. Next, include your phone number, email address, and your customized LinkedIn profile URL if you have one. If you do not have a one, create it since this is essential for the job search.
CREATE YOUR ‘BRAND’
Experienced workers should include a paragraph after the contact information summarizing their skills required for the job. This section should be tailored for each role when possible. Title this according to the position to which you are applying—for example, Brand Manager, Public Relations Specialist, Financial Analyst, etc.
DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCE
Ultimately, it is the content that matters. List relevant work experience in reverse chronological order (present or most recent job first). Include the job title, employer, employment dates, and location (city, state). Only include the most significant responsibilities and use bullet points instead of paragraphs, since these are easier to read. Begin bullet statement with an action verb: supervised, coordinated, managed, etc. Use present tense verbs for current roles and past tense verbs for previous positions. Whenever possible, highlight results and quantify. For example, did you work on a project that resulted in a significant increase in revenue? Were you able to use cost-saving measures to reduce company overhead? If you supervised direct reports, how many were there?.
VISUALS COUNT
Avoid templates. These formats might look great, but they will not pass Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) software many companies use to screen resumes. Craft an appealing resume using a single column without color or graphics. Content should be laid out in one to two pages. A single page is recommended for recent graduates or those with three years' work experience or less. Experienced professionals can use two pages if necessary. Make use of white space, so the resume is easy to read and keep font sizes between 10-12 points.
EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS
This section should be listed at the end of your document if you graduated more than three years ago. Recent graduates should include education after the contact information. If you graduated more than 15 years ago, delete your graduation year because ageism is real. You might create a section titled 'Earlier Employment' if you used relevant skills..
ADDITIONAL SECTIONS
Depending upon your experience and qualifications required for the position, you can include professional affiliations, computer/technical skills, certifications, presentations, publications, etc.
Finally, revise, review, and run spell checks. As harsh as it sounds, some employers will discard a resume because of a typo. If you have time, put your resume aside for a day or more and look at it with fresh eyes to catch errors.
If you need help with your resume, contact me for a free phone consultation.