Your resume is one of the most important factors in securing a job; which goes unsaid. The work experience, knowledge, skills, qualifications and abilities you include in your resume are assessed by recruiters and HR reps to consider you qualified for the job. So what your resume should look like is important.
The old school resumes included all the sparkles and glitter: border lines, headers on each page, an extensive objective statement letting the employer know what you want, blue font color and a beige background!! In 2020, it’s obvious that none of that is necessary to portray your experience in a concise document. Also, if you are applying for a specific position then why write an objective statement that repeats what is already known? Here are some tips:
1. Keep your resume simple: use a simple format that is ATS friendly and headings that count – demographic information to start followed by a clear summary statement that brings out the value you offer, then, work experience section (chronologically or functional) followed by education, job related training, and additional information if it applies: volunteer service, prior experience, or anything that doesn’t quite fit into the content of your resume.
2. Include concise information. From experience, I personally suggest 5-7 max lines in paragraph form followed by 3-4 bullets of key accomplishments (quantify your bullets if it applies, otherwise, explain the key accomplishments/additional duties). Relate the information to your experience or the job of interest if you have it. Cut the nonsense and get straight to it, you don’t have to explain what things mean in your resume – save it for the interview. For example, “Facilitated the Help All program for the department; overseeing project tasks and ensuring requirements were met”. This shows program facilitation, project support and project completion. There is no need to explain what the Help All program is, if the interviewer is interested it can be explained in the interview OR it may be asked in the interview indirectly – “explain a time when you facilitated a program or oversaw project tasks”.
3. Finally, use action verbs, avoid first person, and please do not writer “responsible for”. Being responsible for something doesn’t mean you actually performed the job. Using an action verb clearly shows you performed the job: “responsible for managing 10 employees VS managed 10 employees”…see the difference in word choice.
Use these tips and get your resume on point! Get Yours Today!
