Choose The Right Formatting
There are three major formats to write a resume: chronological, functional and combination. Although most resumes follow a chronological format, the correct format may depend on the industry, your job title and personal preferences.
Restrict the length of your resume to a page or two. Depending on your work history, it may benefit you to focus on the most recent position you held and the most important educational qualifications you hold. Keep the descriptions about older jobs and less relevant qualifications as short as possible.
Related: Resume Format Guide
Past Achievements For Your Professional Summary
On the third line of your Professional Summary, you will list three to five phrases that describe your demonstrated past success. No need for numbers here as youll dive into that in detail in your work experience section, so here youre sharing the how of your High Scores. Any type of achievements or attributes for which you have received recognition are appropriate, and those that best demonstrate your mastery of your prior roles are best.
Summarize the three to five most important achievements of your recent career to make a concise case for why past success is indicative of future results.
Examples:
- FDA Review Expert Acquisition Identification Received 17 Patents
Tweak Keywords To Build The Best Resume For Each Job
Dont make the mistake of answering each job posting with the same generic resume. Instead, take a few extra minutes to mirror it to the keywords and phrases within the job ad. Youll be much more likely to make it to the next round of hiring, especially if an applicant tracking system has anything to do with it.
Get as close as you can to the language of the job description, or at least look for common denominators, Leavy-Detrick advises.
If youre planning to cast a wide net by uploading a general resume to your LinkedIn or Indeed profile, make sure its tailored to the primary job you want then update your keywords when applying to positions that deviate from the norm.
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Top 5 Resume Formatting Tips
1.Keep your format simple: Remember, you have 10-20 seconds to snag a hiring managers attention. Presenting them with a resume thats overly crowded, hard to read, confusing or just plain messy isnt going to get you the jobits going to get you thrown out. Watch your spacing, font size and margins. Keep it legible!
2.Keep it professional: Avoid cute fonts, gimmicks, scented paper, glitter, odd shapes, or anything that could potentially make an employer look at your resume and question your sanity. Dont print on cheap paper. Show an employer youre serious about the job.
3.Focus on what you did for past employers, not just the job you held. Anyone can push a button. Why were you the best button pusher there was? What set you apart from every other button pusher who came before you and will come after you? Dont just outline the job description. What were your accomplishments while doing that job?
4.Make sure youre selecting the resume format that best reflects who you are, your work history, and the job youre applying for. Keep in mind employment gaps, career trajectory, where you are in your industry, and where you plan on going. Make sure youre selecting the right format resume .
Update Your Resumes Design
One of the most powerful ways to give your resume a modern lift is to update the design. Old templates tend to be clunky and poorly laid out. Today, there are thousands of free resume templates online. Find one that provides a pleasant reading experience, looks modern, and is compatible with applicant tracking systems.
Recommended Reading: What A Resume Should Look Like In 2019
Can I Use Any Of These Examples To Help Write My Own Resume
Yes, we have plenty of examples you can use. Select any resume example from the list on this page, and youll find the following:
- A professional template with job-specific bullet points and information
- Sections to present your skills, experience, education, and professional accomplishments
- A free download in Microsoft Word format for you to personalize
- All resume information provided in text format ready for you to copy and paste
- Writing tips for creating a resume in that particular industry
We also have guides on how to write your own resume introduction, how to use resume action verbs, and articles outlining every other part of resume writing and formatting imaginable. Theyre all accessible on our resume help blog.
Start With A Resume Summary
A good-looking resume always starts with a summary section. A resume summary is a short section at the top of your resume highlighting your career and your key qualifications. It can be formatted either as a paragraph of three to four sentences or as four to five bullet points.
Use it to showcase your skills and achievements, and how you can use them in a new work environment:
Server Resume Summary
Courteous server with 7+ years of experience of food preparation and service in 150+ seat restaurants. Generated additional daily wine sales of $150. Certificate in Food Handling and Safety.
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Other Important Resume Sections
The sections weve covered so far are must-haves for any resume. Theyre the bread-and-butter for any job application, and if you get them right, youll land any job you apply to.
The following sections, though, can really give you a boost here and there.
Languages
Are you bi-lingual? Or better, multi-lingual? You should ALWAYS mention that on your resume!
Even if the position doesnt require you to know the specific language, it can still come in handy at some point. At the end of the day, its always better to know more languages than less.
To list languages in your resume, simply write them down and assign them the appropriate level:
- Native
- Proficient
- Intermediate
- Basic
As a given, you should never lie about your language skills. You never know, your interviewer might turn out to be fluent in the language, or even be a native speaker!
Hobbies & Interests
Want to add some spice to your resume? The hobbies and interests section, while not a game-changer, can help show who YOU are as an individual. Who knows, maybe you and your interviewee have some hobbies in common?
If you end up with some extra space in your resume, dont hesitate to show off your personality with a hobbies/interests section.
Volunteering Experience
If youre the type of person to use your free time helping others, while expecting nothing in return, chances are that youre the type of employee whos in it for more than just the money. It leaves the impression that youre a devoted, loyal employee.
And Lets Wrap It All Up
If youve followed all of our advice until now, congrats! Youre probably an expert on how to make a resume.
To wrap it all up, lets brush up on some of the most important lessons weve learned so far…
- Use the rightresume builder. You dont want to mess around with formatting for hours before even starting to work on your resume!
- Focus on achievements. Mention your achievements instead of responsibilities, so that you stand out from all the other applicants.
- Include the must-have sections. That is, resume summary, work experience, education, and skills.
- Tailor for the job. Everything listed on your resume should be relevant for the job youre applying for.
- Perfect your cover letter. Its as important as your resume, so make sure you pay as much attention to it!
At Novorésumé, were committed to helping you get the job you deserve, every step of the way! Follow our career blog to stay up to date with industry-leading advice. Or, check out some of our top guides:
Andrei Kurtuy
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Why You Should Care About How Your Executive Resume Looks
Before I get into what your resume should look like in 2020, I want to first address a question I often hear from executives I work with. They usually say, I have over 30 years of work experience why does it matter how my resume looks?
And to some degree, theyre right.
What you include in your resumefrom your relevant work experience and education to your expert-level skills and professional qualificationsshould matter more than what it looks like. The good news is that those things are important.
However, with up to 250 resumes coming in per job posting, hiring managers often see the same traditional, bullet-list-only chronological resume. This tired format just regurgitates a candidates employment history.
Because its not visually engaging, hiring managers have a harder time distinguishing one candidate from the next. And that means they could pass by your resume before even reading your sales pitch .
This is why a creative, eye-catching resume makes all the difference.
With one, youll capture the attention of hiring managers and hook them like a fish. Its much easier to reel them in, so to speak, when your work experience and other qualifying attributes leap off the screen or page.
But, keep in mind, theres a fine line here. Going overboard with your visuals wont help you either. So heres how to strike the right balance:
Dont Restrict Work Experience To Work
Recently out of college with little work experience? Consider including major projects and papers you worked on as a student. Group projects and large research papers can involve the types of skills that many employers are after: communication, writing skills, time management, focus, project management, teamwork and research just to name a few, Reynolds said.
It can be tricky to decide where to place this kind of experience on your resume, but if the work youve done has largely occurred in an academic setting, the experts recommend listing it separately under a Relevant Experience section. Use titles like research partner, strategy lead, or project manager, and make clear any time restrictions you were bound by to emphasize that you are comfortable working on a deadline.
Prospective employers will be impressed by your ability to connect the dots from the classroom to the real world and communicate value beyond an assignments scope.
Pro tip: Only highlight projects that are relevant to a potential role.
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How To Make A Resume
Before you even start working on your resume, you need to decide how youre going to build it.
And no – you shouldnt use a basic text editor. While this IS the most popular method for creating a resume, its very far from the best.
With a basic text editor resume, youll need to spend hours playing with the formatting. You make a minor change and BAM! Your entire resume layout gets messed up.
Instead of using a text editor, we recommend choosing a resume builder, such as Novorésumé. Our resume builder is fast, easy, and to put the icing on the cake, a Novorésumé looks much better and can fit more information than your average, cookie-cutter resume…
To get the most out of this guide, you can head over to the resume builder and start building your resume on-the-go as you read this guide.
Work Experience: Show Your High Scores
From our experience at Ladders, the most successful resumes all have one thing in common: they display the past successes of the professional. One common resume error seen in less effective resumes is a reliance on listing job descriptions, duties, or staff size.
The High Score Resume approach to resume writing is to make each bullet a High Score. That means sharing, with numbers, how well you did at that part of your job. And it means bringing a players enthusiasm to how to you retell it.
A bit tongue-in-cheek, but when youre telling your friends, or if you were trying to join a team, you wouldnt say this:
But you might say this:
All high scores have numbers its easier that way for people to understand how good you were at Tetris, tennis, or tax strategies. Same for your past experience let your future boss know how good you were at the role, by providing your score. The High Score Resume constructs each bullet of your work experience with a success verb and a number whether it be units, a dollar sign or a percentage. Thats the most effective way to convey your past successes.
Also Check: Film Industry Resume Template
Important Factors You Need To Include In Your Resume
Systematically arranging your resume is equally essential as formatting it. Most job seekers who are not sure of how to organize their resumes lead to a vague CV. Make sure to format your resume accurately and organize it accordingly, not only about yourself. It should also be about the kind of resume that you are utilizing.
Below are the necessary categories that you have to incorporate in your resume:
Putting It All Together
Whew! Did you get all that?!?
We promised you a much deeper look into resume formats and I think weve managed to deliver just that!
Making sure you have the right resume for the right job means more than just filling in your qualifications, it means selecting the right format and ensuring that youre organizing it properlyand now, thanks to this article, you shouldnt have any problems!
And as alwaysgood luck!
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Situational Recognition Or Industry Considerations
On the optional fourth line, you can include additional skills, capabilities, and achievements provide additional color around the types of situations you are looking for internal, external, or industry awards and recognition or indications of industry interest that may not be clear from other items in your professional summary.
Examples might include Marketer of the Year 2018, Turnaround Expert, Growth Company Executive, Successful Public Speaker, Startup Leader, CPG Veteran, or Airline Expert.
Your optional fourth line is a great place to add additional flavor to your overall initial presentation, and round out the picture of who youd like to be next.
This specific ordering suggests a pattern to follow. If it makes more sense to you to change the order or the themes, you have the flexibility to do that. So while it makes more sense to group skills on one line and achievements on another, if the specific order of job title skills achievements awards does not work for your situation, you should change it as you see fit, and as reads best for you.
To repeat, theres no penalty for mixing and matching the themes on these various lines, but theres no benefit either. Save yourself the time and aggravation by keeping it simple and following this outline.
Most Common Resume Mistakes
In building your resume, you must pay attention not only to the list of dos but also the donts to stay away from the common errors committed by hundreds of other applicants before you. Certain errors in your resume can cost you your dream job, and theres no correcting it once it lands in the hands of employers.
Spelling and grammatical errors are on top of the list of the most common mistakes by job seekers. One letter, or sometimes even just one word, can get the hiring manager slowly glancing at the next candidates resume. You dont wanna lose the chance of your resume getting picked up, so its best to practice proofreading your resume every time youre about to submit it.
It is also risky to have outdated information in your resume profile. Revising your resume from time to time cannot be helped. There are certain details that you have to update as you gain new skills and work experience. Contact information is also crucial information that needs to be constantly checked and updated.
Moreover, a second pair of eyes can help in ensuring that your resume is well-made. There are times when no matter how keen you have become in proofreading your resume, minor errors remain hidden. Having someone else double-check your resume, however, can ensure error-free content.
Common resume mistakes trend takeaways:
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Should I Use Action Verbs On My Resume
In the High Score Resume, the structure for each bullet points is a success verb plus specific numerical data regarding an accomplishment in your field or role.
That means you need about 25 magic resume words for your bullet points. Rather than make you guess, Ive provided you with 25 great success verbs in the box below that can serve effectively on any resume.
Typical resume advice says to use active verbs, which the High Score Resume says arent good enough, arent powerful enough, and arent persuasive enough. Some active verbs are very bland and do nothing to help persuade a future employer. Managed, established, defined, and performed are all considered active verbs and are frequently used on resumes.
But these arent good verbs for communicating your High Score. You wouldnt say I managed a little character through a variety of levels or I performed various moves in the game.
White-collar employees, by definition, establish, manage, define, and perform a wide variety of tasks. But what the High Score Resume wants you to share is were you any good at them? And thats an important fact a hiring manager or recruiter wants to know.
The simplest thing to do would be to use these 25 verbs and only these verbs. Unless you have a good reason to expand your variety, the above success verbs can cover most bullets you can think of. Limiting your choices will save plenty of time and headache while ensuring a higher quality resume.
Final Tips To Remember When Writing Your Resume
By the time the recruiter or hiring manager reaches the end of your resume, they will have more than likely made their decision about whether to add your resume to the interview pile or not. Here are three final tips to help your resume reach the shortlist:Firstly, tailor your resume for each application. To make the interview shortlist, your resume must demonstrate that you possess most or all the criteria required in the job. Tailor your application for each position you apply for by expanding on your experience relevant to the job and cutting back the less relevant parts. You should also show that you are genuinely interested in this job. Failing to tailor your CV by submitting a blanket application will not impress. So, weave into your professional summary the reasons that make you a good fit for this particular position and what specifically resonates with you about the organisation or role.Secondly, make sure you add quantifiable results. As mentioned above, providing evidence to support the claims you make on your CV brings it to life and establishes for the reader the value you could bring. However, not every role allows for the sort of measurement by which you can prove your expertise. If you find yourself unsure how to add quantitative evidence this blog provides some tips. Adding links to your LinkedIn profile and online portfolios of work can also help the reader build a better picture of your competencies.
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