One of the best things you can do for your job, whether you’re fresh to the industry or seeking a shift, is to create a standout CV. Even if writing is not your strongest skill, you may still create a compelling resume to impress potential employers. The word “Resume,” which is also spelled résumé, derives from the French word for “summary”.
In any event, a resume is a formal record with the single, fundamental objective of showcasing a person’s abilities and professional history. This is where we tell you exactly how?
The How to of a Good Resume Profile
A resume has three purposes: to introduce you to potential employers, to highlight your skills and accomplishments, and to land an interview. Writing a resume should have the objective of outlining your experience, education, and talents in a manner that is simple for recruiters to understand. A resume is unquestionably necessary. If not, you cannot anticipate being contacted for a job interview.
A good resume should be easy to read and contain the appropriate information. Additionally, you should optimize your resume for simple browsing and search engine visibility when creating it for employment portals and online submission.
There are three main forms of resume writing. Most resumes follow a chronological format, but the right format depends on your industry, job title, and personal preferences. The first few lines of your resume are the most important in getting an employer’s attention. A strong summary is a great way to make a good first impression. A summary or summary section at the top of your resume should highlight your key skills, experience, qualifications and accomplishments.
Using the right keywords in your resume will help you stand out from recruiters. It also helps you get through the automated applicant tracking and filtering systems many employers use early in the hiring process. Keywords should be relevant to the desired job profile and the position you are applying for.
There are two standard types of resume profiles: Professional Objective and Professional Summary. A professional summary is essentially an overview of your work experience, skills and professional know-how. Choose this if you have a lot of work experience. Professional Objective profile is directed towards general knowledge and skills and towards your professional goals. This statement is suitable for career changers and career starters. Whatever you decide to do, keep it short (5 sentences maximum) and include your most important skills and achievements.
The Checklist
Keep your contact information relevant and current. You must include the following information in your resume header:
- full name (no nicknames);
- current address (optional)
- mobile phone number,
- a trustworthy email account that you often check
- If applicable, a LinkedIn profile or online portfolio
On your resume, do not include your age, marital status, race, religion, or any pictures. These may give rise to discrimination claims.
If you want to make a great resume, your work experience section needs to be perfect, so it shows you can do the job. Here’s how to do that:
- List the most current date and then go back in time with your experience.
- Include your current professional position.
- Include the company name and location.
- List key responsibilities in bullet points. Use no more than 6 for your current position, fewer as you go back in time. Remain concise.
- Add key achievements if applicable. You shouldn’t have more than 1-3 so choose impressive ones.
- Use action verbs to really demonstrate your involvement in your job.
- Highlight promotions and leadership positions you have held (even if they are within the same company).
The education section should include:
- Degree/Diploma
- School name and location
- Graduation Date (Completed or expected)
In your skill section, you should include your technical and personality driven skills. Be mindful of the job ad you are applying for. Your skills should be in line with the professional skills the recruiter is looking for. It is important to put label skills with relevant keywords, you cannot write “Office” in place of “Microsoft Word” and expect positive results. Spend time and effort in making your resume look clean and chic.
A few additions to add on your resume:
- Foreign language
- Volunteer work
- Certificates and Licenses
- Hobbies and Interests
And remember to always spell check!
The Design
Incorporate an easy and clean layout for the resume. Use headers, bullet points, keep the paragraphs short and to the point, highlight crucial achievements and keywords by italicizing or making them bold. The font is another factor that affects the eye of the recruiter. Using fonts such as Times New Roman, Georgia and Tahoma are usually easier to read, but factors such as the spacing also matters. There is a slight difference in the necessary spacing of a soft copy of a resume and a hard copy. But, keeping it between 9 to 12 points is usually the go-to that makes it look stellar and maintain readability.
Another game-changer for resumes is color. With the use of more apps and software that dedicate to making resumes you can let your personality shine through the colors and design you choose for your resume. But, of course being strategic about this is important.
Keeping balance is key, use color as a guide to the important points but let’s be simple and use the gold mine and that is, black. Black and white is a classic and should be enough. Let your achievements speak, until and unless you are into the design world. Then that’s a different tea.
Conclusion
Employers often have a large number of applications to review, they may only be able to spend a few minutes or even a few seconds scanning each resume. Because of this deadline, your resume should immediately attract the attention of an employer. This means that the way you write your resume can have a huge impact on the success of your job search.
Another way of looking at it is from the lense of the recruiter, the recruiter is supposed to look for individuals who are diverse career wise and this leads us to understanding why companies prefer diverse hiring.
A killer resume lays the path for a good future!
