Keep The Layout And Design Simple
Most employers use an applicant tracking system to scan resumes and check whether those resumes meet their needs.
If your resume cant pass the ATS, the software will automatically reject it before the hiring manager sees it.
Resume layouts with graphics or excessive design elements are too confusing for the software to process, so keep your resume simple.
These elements make for a less ATS-friendly resume:
Avoid these elements:
- Infographics: An ATS cant read images, only words.
- Uncommonfonts: The best fonts for your resume are easy to read and professional, like Calibri, Cambria, and Times New Roman. The ATS might not understand uncommon fonts.
- Graphics/tables: Just like infographics, most ATS software cant read graphics and tables.
- Unclear section titles: If the ATS is looking for your education section, it wont recognize that a section titled Stuff Ive Learned is the same thing.
- Uncommon file types: Most types of ATS software are programmed to read PDFs and DOCXs, but will reject an OTT file.
When To Use A Curriculum Vitae
If you are considering positions in academia , you are generally asked to provide a curriculum vitae instead of a resume. Your CV will highlight your scholarly and professional experiences when applying for academic , research positions, academic postdoctoral research opportunities, grants, and fellowships. Keep in mind the purpose is also to have the hiring committee interested in interviewing you. Therefore, be selective in your accomplishments to show you are a strong candidate for the job, department, and institution.
CVs vary from discipline to discipline. It is recommended to reference the CVsof others in your field and have your advisor review them as well. The CV is focused on expertise and provides a complete summary of your academic achievements. The typical CV length is 2-3 pages, with additional pages added to further your career and academic successes.
Standard CV sections include: Education, Teaching Experience, Research Experience, Honors and Awards, Professional/Volunteer Experience, Publications, Presentations, Scholarly/Professional Affiliations, Research Interests, Extracurricular Activities, Licensing/Registration/Certifications, Grants/Fellowships, University Service, Technical Skills, and References.
Pick The Ideal Resume Layout
The hard part is over. Youve written your resume, and are feeling confident about getting that interview. Now its time to take a moment and consider your resumes design.
Depending on the industry you work in or the job you want, you may need to adjust your resume layout to fit the expectations of the hiring manager.
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What To Include In Your Resume
Highlight your education and credentials. Teaching jobs usually require specific degrees and certifications, so be sure to highlight your education. Include an Education section toward the top of your document.
Include all of your relevant teaching experience. Remember to list relevant teaching experience if applicable. If you have limited teaching experience, include volunteer positions, internships, and co-curricular activities that involve teaching in some way.
Showcase your skills. Include your most relevant teaching skills, taking the time to match your qualifications to the job.
List accomplishments, not duties. Rather than listing your duties for each job, include a list of your greatest accomplishments. For example, you might mention that you helped improve student test scores, or you might include information or quotes from your supervisors evaluations of your classes. If you received an award or commendation from your school, mention this. Whenever possible, include values to numerically show your successes. For example, you might state, Developed and implemented new math curriculum resulting in 48% improvement in state test scores.
Formatting Your Margins And Spacing
When you format your resume you want to make sure that your leave enough margin space to allow for printing. If you try to adjust your margins and make them too narrow in order to fit more into your page, you run the risk of critical information being cut off if an employer prints it out.
Inversely, making your margins too large will leave your resume looking boxed in and squished. The general rule is to set your margins at one inch on all sides.
Think of your resume as a piece of fine artwork. Your margins should create a beautiful frame around it. If youre truly desperate for space, you can slightly adjust your top and bottom margins but try to avoid adjusting your side margins.
In terms of the spacing, keep your resume to single-spaced with a blank line between each section of your content.
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Which Resume Categories Do I Include
Organizing your resume is just as important as formatting it. Many resumes are put together by job seekers who arent sure of how to organize their information, resulting in a resume that lacks focus.
You always want to make sure that your categories are well defined and organized appropriately for not only who you are, but the type of resume that youre using .
Here are the categories that you need to include on your resume:
+ Effective Resume Examples
Knowing how to write a resume is one thing, actually creating a resume that stands out is something else entirely. Without inspiration, even top career experts might stumble on a roadblock or two.
Check out the following effective resume examples to get a better sense of what a good resume looks like…
Want to see more examples? Check out our compilation of 20+ resume examples for different fields.
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Why The Design And Layout Of Your Resume Is So Important
A great resume is about substance, so while it might be tempting to dress up your resume with fancy fonts and graphics, its much more compelling to have a clean and fuss-free design and layout. According to Hallam, there are other good reasons to ensure a simple resume design:
- Resumes with graphics and too many columns wont actually get through Applicant Tracking Systems , so a poorly-designed resume may not ever be seen by potential recruiters.
- Fancy or hard-to-read fonts are distractingbusy recruiters and employers wont view them favourably.
- An aesthetically appealing, functional resume is a reflection of who you are as a potential employeeit shows your professionalism.
This doesnt mean youre expected to come up with a knock-out resume design yourself, thoughchoosing a simple resume template and making it your own is the best way to go.
Who Is Zety Cv Builder For
The Zety CV creator is a tool that anyone can use. If youre someone who is tired with formatting their application in a word processor or are pressed for time, then Zety helps cut down on how long it will take you to make a CV on your own. Weve heard success stories from job seekers in all industries. Interns, juniors, mid-level staff, all the way to c-suite executives. Even students writing CVs for college applications.
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List Your Personal Interests
- This section shows you’re a well-rounded person who people would want to know and work with.
- Employers often use this section at the start of an interview to break the ice.
- Casual interests are better not to list . This is really about highlighting hobbies that have helped you grow as a person.
- This résumé step is considered optional. If you’re having trouble coming up with interests, or feel your résumé is already too long, feel free to leave it off.
Examples:
Ceramics, camping, reading, soccer, automotive repair, carpentry
What Is A Functional Resume
A functional resume is a resume format that focuses on your professional skills rather than each job you held and when you held it.
The biggest difference between a functional resume and a standard chronological resume is that a functional resume groups your experience under skill categories instead of job titles. Under each skill category, bullet points are used to highlight examples of your skills, and those examples can come from both work and life experiences.
Emphasizing your skills rather than your career progression, the functional resume format is great for career changers, job seekers with employment gaps, and people with highly developed skill sets.
Heres what a functional resume looks like:
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Whats A Resume Objective & When To Use It
A resume objective is, in a nutshell, the goal of your resume. It communicates your motivation for getting into a new field. As with a resume summary, a resume objective should be around 2-3 sentences.
As weve mentioned before, a resume objective is the go-to for anyone that either has no work experience or is going through a career change.
Formula to Create Your Resume Objective:
Looking to apply my at
to help .
Examples of Resume Objectives
1) So, heres how that would look like if youre a student:
- Hard-working recent graduate with a B.A. in Graphic Design from New York State University seeking new opportunities. 3+ years of practical experience working with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, creating illustrations & designing UX / UI. Looking to grow as a designer, as well as perfect my art, at the XYZ Design Studio.
2) Or, on the other hand, if youre going through a career change:
- IT project manager with 5+ years of experience in software development. Managed a team of developers to create products for several industries, such as FinTech and HR tech. Looking to leverage my experience in managing outsourced products as a Product Owner at XYZ.
What Should A Resume Look Like
December 3, 2020 | By Arseny Kaluzhinsky| Reviewed by Howard Davies
If your resume looks good, its more likely to catch the attention of hiring managers and be examined more closely. Use these tried-and-tested tips to create a resume that stands out for all the right reasons.
The example in this infographic shows you what a resume should look like. If youre still unsure how to transform your resume into one that looks like this, heres how to do it:
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Proofread Your Resume And Finish Strong
Once youve written your resume and cover letter, youre in pretty good shape to send out that first application. However, youre not quite done yet.
The most important step before sending out any resume is to read it over and make sure that there are no issues that could get your application discarded.
To help make that process easier, heres a checklist you can go through to make sure your resume is looking spotless:
The Resume Genius Resume Checklist
Is your contact information accurate?
Does your resume NOT include details like headshots or sensitive personal information?
Does your resume fit on one page ?
Is your information easy to read ?
Is the design of your resume appropriate for the position youre applying for?
Did you include all relevant sections on your resume?
Did you include quantified achievements in your work experience section?
Does your resume address the requirements stated in the job ad?
Is your resume free of typos and grammatical errors?
Is all of your information clearly formatted and professional?
Feel free to use our on-page checklist, or and begin reviewing your resume.
Most Recent Jobs First
The High Score Resume always shows the most recent jobs first. When people ask about your golf game, vacation travel, or books read, theyre not looking for you to go all the way back to the beginning and tell you about your first one first. They typically want to know about the latest.
Same thing on your resume. If your last job was working as an IT security engineer, dont list your college role as a sales representative first. Your most recent experience is the most relevant in the same way that your most recent high score is most relevant to the games you play.
This is your chance to detail your successes and achievements.
And, in the same way that your high score doesnt say Well, first I did level 1, where there were challenges and many obstacles. Then I did level 2 , your resume should not simply list past job titles and duties, and shouldnt provide an inventory of your staff or budget size.
The purpose of the High Score Resume is to display for your future boss the specific achievements that made you a valued contributor to past bosses.
For each job youve had, youll have an entry including the company name, title, description, and dates.
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What Recruiters Are Looking For On A Resume
Workers need to be pliable these days, and so do their resumes.
Its nearly impossible to avoid change whether it be updates to technology, staffing, or workflow. Proving that you can adapt to constantly shifting situations is key to finding gainful employment.
This is especially important for older job seekers, who arent perceived to be as versatile as their younger counterparts when it comes to technology, Leavy-Detrick says.
If you fall into that category, she adds, emphasize the digital skills you have experience in, like email marketing, cybersecurity, or otherwise.
Our Resume Samples Are Unique
One thing you must have noticed by now is that our resume samples look good. Our resumes were in fact designed with extreme precision to balance between professionalism and creativity. Every resume generated through our platform reflects this craftsmanship.
Enhancv provides both resume examples andresume templates, as a starting point. However, what separates our products from the competition is that you have the freedom to customize the entire resume content.
This means, we donât offer a quick fix, and tell you exactly what to do. If your goal is to get hired, taking the time to look at our samples and create something worthy of the job you want is the better bet. And we give you that choice.
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Your Ideal Sales Resume Template
Now that you have an idea of what an effective sales resume looks like, which template should you use?
Fortunately, there is no right answer here! You can use any of the templates on this page or you can build your own.
There are a few rules you should follow when structuring your sales resume though:
- If you have less than 10 years of experience, keep it to one page.
- You should have these sections: skills, education, work experience.
- Optionally, you can include a resume objective, projects, or interests/ activities sections that are relevant to sales.
- Don’t have any grammar or spelling errors! Don’t let this be the reason you don’t get an interview.
- Be consistent in your tense throughout your resume. If you refer to your work experience in the past, always refer to it in the past.
- When talking about your previous work experience, numbers speak louder than words .
Sales is a people-driven industry. As a successful sales professional you know how to quickly build relationships with people.
Still, at the end of the day, results are what matter.
These results can be in the form of improved conversion rate, new leads, high customer satisfaction, or an improved customer retention rate.
With sales, there are a whole host of metrics you can draw on when talking about your past work experience.
You should quantify your impact whenever you can.
Take a look at these two sample work experiences. Which do you think is more convincing to a hiring manager?
WRONG – no metrics
Write A Work History Section With Numbers And Action Verbs
Use numbers when listing your accomplishments on your resume. Theyre eye-catching and show you have a history of delivering results.
Even if you didnt work in a data-driven field, you can still find numbers in:
- how many customers you served
- what percentage increase in sales or efficiency you achieved
- how much money you saved your company
Heres how that should look on a resume:
Customer Service Representative
Acme Inc., Hilo, HI / July 2016April 2020
- Provided basic technical support for clients on a wide range of company products, resolving issues at a 90% rate
- Received an average 85% customer satisfaction rating to date, 15% higher than company average
- Handle 90+ calls daily, with duties including signing up new customers, retrieving customer data, presenting relevant product information, and canceling services
- Suggested a new tactic to persuade canceling customers to stay with the company, resulting in a 5% decrease in cancellations
Also, focus on achievements rather than responsibilities. Bullet points that begin responsible for dont tell the hiring manager much about what you achieved for your previous employer.
Instead, use powerful resume words and action verbs that describe why you excelled in the position. For instance, check out these action verbs :
Administrative Assistant
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Additional Resources For Graduate School Resume And Cv Samples
In addition to the four graduate school resume and CV samples above, there are a ton of resume samples you can access for free online. To find high-quality samples, we recommend going to university websites, specifically university career center webpages, as these are most likely to offer you direct guidance on resume and CV writing.
Before we proceed to the resources, however, note that a majority of the following resume and CV samples are actually job oriented. The major differences between job-oriented resumes and graduate school resumes are the focus and the use of references. Graduate school resumes and CVs typically emphasize education and do not contain any references .
In spite of these differences, though, you should still be able to use some of the samples below as inspiration for your own graduate school resume or CV.
Why Are These The Best Resume Formats
These three resume formats are some of the best options because theyre easy to read and the most likely to be processed through an ATS without critical errors.
Recruiters often have to review many resumes for a single open role. They can read a resume in a standard format more easily and thoroughly because they know where to find the information theyre looking for. For example, if a role requires a specific skill, a recruiter will look for it in your skills section included either above or below your work experience. They have a limited amount of time to spend reviewing each resume, so they may move on and assume you dont possess the qualification if it takes too long to find the right information.
Also, most applicant tracking systems will perform a more accurate review of your resume if the format is simple, straightforward and follows a few basic rules. The three resume formats discussed in this article mostly adhere to these best practices, though some ATS may have difficulties scanning a functional resume, and can help ensure that your resume is successfully processed through an ATS review.
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