Resume Writing Tips How to Write a Resume from Resumes_com

RESUME WRITING TIPS

Your first impression is your last impression; you don't have a second chance. Invest time in your resume to write it well. Your resume can make you stand above the crowd if written well and organized properly. Millions of dollars are spent on advertisements, our resumes are our advertisements. Your resume should represent your best abilities truthfully. Employers do not have the luxury to spend more than a minute of their time reading your resume. It must be eye-catching, short and brief. The purpose of your resume is to get you in the door. Your interview gets you further ahead in getting the job you desire. Your resume should reflect what your capabilities are and what you can do. Reverse Chronological Format Resume Commonly used by people with job specific titles and experience with no major gaps, chronologically listing you most recent job first. This resume format is appropriate when you have specific job related experience and background. Generally people with professional experience in their field of specialization are comfortable using this resume format. Functional Format Resume This resume format is more commonly used where the experience and education may not have a steady continuation, or long history of experience, which makes it impractical to be listed chronologically. Summarizing the education, experience and skills make this resume format attractive. Listing your education and experience briefly can be compensated in the summary. Combination Format Resume This resume format utilizes the best features of both the chronological and functional format resumes. Commonly used when there is a lack of or not enough job specific experience and qualifications. New graduates can use this resume format comfortably since it has more flexibility to adapt many variable backgrounds and experience. Some guidelines in writing a professional resume: Keep your objective brief, to the point and in line with your education and experience. Never exaggerate your qualifications, skills or lie on your resume. This will make your job search more efficient and help recruiters find you. It's quite likely that your exaggerations will be exposed during a background check or an interview. Not only will you be risking immediate removal from the job pool, but it might taint your reputation in the industry. You should prioritize your accomplishments and skills on your resume according to impressiveness, uniqueness and relevance to the prospective position. Don't bury the skill or job experience that would be most likely to impress a recruiter. Resumes are scanned quickly, so a recruiter may move on to the next resume if you lead with an irrelevant skill. Do not over write your resume with out of place big words and endless text; leave spaces and lines between each section. You should use bulleted sentences, not paragraphs, to describe your work experience in your resume. Resumes are read quickly, and bulleted sentences are much easier for a recruiter to read than long paragraphs. The bulleted sentences in your resume should also begin with action words, such as "developed," "initiated," or "managed." Action words add strength to your resume. Stay focused in your field. Summarize your qualifications and experience related to your field, do not list odd jobs, trainings and courses. Be sure to proofread your resume before submitting it to a prospective employer. Use your word processing software's grammar and spell-checker to find any obvious mistakes. Ask a friend or colleague look over your resume and give you their opinion on its structure or style. Make and save a text (.txt) format copy of your resume. This is useful to copy and paste online and elsewhere. You should avoid sending your resume as an email attachment to employers unless you are invited to do so — which is often the case. Some potential employers may not have the software (or version of the software) that is needed to open the resume attachment, and many employers are very concerned about viruses in email attachments. By pasting your resume within the body of your email, you will avoid these issues and make it easier for the recruiter to scan your resume. Try to use specific key words in your resume related to your field. This allows employers and recruiters to easily find you when searching for your talents, skills, expertise and education. Avoid mentioning hobbies and interests when writing your resume. Hobbies and interests often aren't relevant to the position you're applying for. Concentrate on describing your key experience and skills. Do not use fancy or colored paper. Use the brightest white paper, and stay away from cheap quality papers.