It can be hard to land an interview today with so many job seekers looking for work. Your resume has to be crafted in the correct way or it will fall through the cracks. Impressing the recruiters with your CV needs a special effort so you need to put in your best effort that they would love.
If you want to create a resume that gets you that interview, here is a step-by-step guide.
1. Select the right resume format
There are various resume formats you can choose from. The reverse-chronological format is the most traditional format. An advantage is that it’s one hiring managers are familiar with but a disadvantage is that it’s not the most creative option.
A functional format is skills-based. It allows entry-level candidates to emphasize their skills if they lack experience. However, hiring managers may think they are trying to hide their lack of experience.
The combination format is good for seasoned professionals and helps them to highlight transferable skills. If you’re an entry-level jobseeker, you should use this format.
If you’re unsure about the right format to use, you can always get assistance from professional resume writers at resume services.
2. What contact information to include
Contact information you should include:
- Full name
- Phone number
- Email address
- LinkedIn URL
Information you can leave out:
- Your date of birth, unless your age is relevant for the job
- A second email address or phone number
- A photo/headshot.
3. Start with a resume summary
Hiring managers will only take a few seconds to flip through your resume. Having a resume summary at the top of the page is important. It should summarize exactly why you are the best candidate for the position. It shouldn’t focus on everyday duties but on accomplishments. It should give evidence of skills and experience. Try to avoid using the first person.
Example: Senior graphic designer with five years of experience in a fast-paced, high-end graphic design company. Received achievement awards for best graphic designer at the company for four consecutive years. Developed more than 400 graphic design logos, brochures, advertisements, and infographics that increased ROI by 20%.
4. Give relevant work experience and key achievements
Your work history and relevant achievements are the most important section of your resume. Format this section in the following way:
- Job Title
- Company, city, state
- Dates employed
- Key responsibilities and achievements
If you have worked at more than one company, start with your most recent position. Use five or six bullet points when talking about your key responsibilities and achievements. Showing what you accomplished beyond your daily duties is important to future employers. They want to hire someone with ambition and motivation.
Example:
- Spearheaded design in a small, high-end firm.
- Facilitated team meetings on a project for e-commerce clients that helped them increase their revenue.
- Led the team in creating daily infographics and images for written online content.
- Contributed to the design of a customer website that won “most innovative design” award from the Graphic Designer’s Guild.
Use keywords: Large companies tend to use applicant tracking systems (ATS). The software helps to automate the early stages of recruitment. It looks for keywords and assigns a score to a candidate. This means you must use keywords in your resume and you can do this in the experience section. If you look at the job description, you will find keywords related to the responsibilities you will assume. Use these keywords in your bullet points.
Choose action verbs and active voice: Choose action verbs and power words to keep readers interested. Don’t use passive voice because it can feel unclear whereas active voice is to the point and concise. Use past tense to describe past experience and present tense to describe your current job.
How much work experience to include: Senior level applicants can list up to 15 years of relevant work experience. Mid-level job seekers like managers and executives can list detailed job descriptions of the most relevant positions and briefly mention other positions. Entry-level candidates should list all work they have been paid for. First-time job seekers with no experience can mention volunteer or internship experiences.
5. Don’t treat your education as an afterthought
Your education forms an essential part of the structure of your resume.
- Put your highest degree in first place.
- List other degrees in reverse-chronological order.
- Leave out your high school information if you attended university.
- Mention completed credits if you didn’t finish university.
- Add relevant coursework and any awards received, such as making the Dean’s list.
- Finish off with your extracurricular activities.
6. Include relevant skills that fit the job advertisement
Your hard and soft skills are crucial to getting you that interview with employers. Your hard skills are the specific abilities you have learned, such as how to use Photoshop. Your soft skills are those you have developed in life, such as the ability to communicate or listen carefully.
What skills to put on your resume: Pay attention to the skills mentioned in the job advertisement. These are the ones the hiring manager is looking for. These are some of the common skills they want to see.
- Communication, listening and interpersonal skills
- Technical skills or the knowledge to perform specific tasks
- Leadership skills
- Critical thinking and problem-solving skills
- Organization skills
You should avoid mentioning every skill you have on your resume. There’s no need to say you can use Microsoft Word.
For specific jobs where technical skills are required, you should give more specific details. For example, if you’re applying for a job in project management, budget planning, performance evaluations, quality assurance and task delegation and management are relevant skills.
7. Add additional relevant information
You can make your resume unique by including extra information as long as it is relevant to the position.
Hobbies or interests: You may have a hobby or interest that shows you have the ability to be a team player. If you act as a coach for a team, it shows you have leadership skills.
Volunteer work: If you have done any volunteer work, it shows your values and commitment.
Certifications and awards: If they are relevant to the industry and the position, you should include them.
Languages: If you speak another language, it increases your usefulness as an employee, especially in an international firm. List the language and your fluency level.
Conclusion
Once you have completed your resume, proofread it carefully and send it in as a PDF, Word document or whatever other form is required. As long as you stay relevant, tailor it to the advert, and include what’s suggested above, you can successfully write your own resume.