How To Construct A Resume

Arrange Your Contact Information

Now that you know the format youre going to use, its time to start your resume. First things first, employers need to know who you are and how to contact you.

List the following contact details in your resume header at the top of the page:

• Name
• Telephone number
• Email address
• Link to online portfolio
• LinkedIn profile

Traditionally, you would also include your mailing address on your resume. However, this is no longer mandatory because most job applications are sent via email.

Here are two examples of how you can format your contact information section:

Name Professional Title And Contact Details

The first part of your CV, positioned at the top of the page, should contain your name, professional title and contact details. Under no circumstances should you title your CV with curriculum vitae or CV as its a waste of valuable space. Treat your name as the title instead.

When it comes to your contact details, your email address and phone number are essential. Once upon a time, it was customary to include your full address on your CV. Today, you simply need to list your town and county.

If you like, you can also include a link to your LinkedIn profile in this section but only if its up to date!

Here is an example of how your name, professional title and contact details might look:

Forename Surname | Professional Title

Tip : Revision And Review

One of the most important steps to writing a good resume is having others you trust look it over. A small spelling or grammar error on a resume could cause problems by making it seem like you lack attention to detail.

You can start with standard spelling and grammar checking programs. However, while these programs are very helpful, they are not enough by themselves. For example, the programs may not flag errors with homophones . They also have difficulty with uncommon, technical, or foreign words that may not be in their dictionaries. In addition, they are not looking for formatting inconsistencies or at the overall appearance of the resume. While computer programs can help with many issues, there is still no substitute for the human eye.

Start by printing a copy of your resume and looking for errors and inconsistencies yourself. Then, present copies to others along with a description of the job or educational opportunity that you are applying for. When presenting your resume to others, consider at least two kinds of people: a peer, and an experienced professional or teacher. Each may identify different issues with the resume.

Ask the reviewers to provide two types of notes: technical revisions and feedback on the writing, organization and effectiveness of the resume.

A good resume can help you land an interview, but even minor errors can take you out of the running. Schedule an appointment with a counselor to ensure it will be effective.

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Build A Resume That Gets You There

Who have you always dreamt of becoming? We bet a resume writer didnt make it to that list. So dont let a piece of paper turn your dreams into nightmares. With Zety resume creator, we take care of the details, so you can focus on what really matters: your career.

Choose from 20+ resume templates in various colour schemes.

How To Write A Perfect Cv

Writing a CV takes care

Fashion a perfect CV by downloading our invaluable ebook.

It gives you the following valuable information on how to write a perfect CV:

• Identify the right personal details to include. Learn what to add and what to leave out, such as whether to include your marital status or nickname.
• Add a personal statement. Find out what one is and how it can be used to focus a potential employers attention on your best attributes.
• Know what to include in the skill section. Discover how to bring your skills to the fore and make sure you understand the difference between transferable, job-related and adaptive skills.
• Mention former jobs. Brush up on the best ways to present former or current employment in a way that shows you in the best light.
• Dont forget your qualifications. Learn what to include, how to select relevant qualifications for a particular CV and why not listing everything exhaustively is crucial.
• Tailor it to the application. Gain skills with writing a CV that is adapted to an individual employer or a particular sector of industry to get the best results.
• Keep it up to date. Find out the best ways of keeping your CV up to date so that it is ready to go at a moments notice.

The ebook also gives plenty of help on how to avoid the common pitfalls found in many CVs such as poor layouts, inappropriate language or simply writing too much.

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Feature Short Simple Sentences And Bullet Points

As you list your work experience, try to keep the descriptions in short, detailed sentences. You should explain what your responsibilities were, what skills you applied toward your past work and the results it brought, if possible.

For example, if your past work experience was as a social media marketing coordinator, you could say, “Used creative writing skills to develop social media posts that increased social media engagement by 30%.”

How To Ace Your Next Interview

Youve perfected both your resume & cover letter. Now, its time for the next step – the dreaded job interview.

Whether youre an extrovert or an introvert, you probably hate the interviewing process. After all, sitting there while someones prodding into your past experiences and judging the hell out of you isnt the most fun experience.

Did you know, though, that most interviewers ask the same questions? Yep – all you have to do is learn how to answer some of the most common interview questions, and youll be an interview away from landing your dream job!

Want to learn more? Check out our complete guide to Job Interview Questions and Answers.

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How To Format Your Resume

It’s important to choose a font and font size that are legible and will leave enough white space on the page.

You also want to keep style features to a minimum reserve the use of boldface for section headings and for quantifiable achievements that you would like to have pop on the page .

When you use a particular style, use it consistently. That is, if you bold one section header, make sure to bold all of them.

You should use consistent spacing throughout, and evenly sized margins on all sides if possible. Its generally best to stick to your word processors default settings, but in some cases, if you shrink the margins on the left, right, top and bottom, this can help buy more space to fit your resume on one page.

Although visual or infographic resumes have become trendy in some industries, it is always a safe bet to stick with traditional formatting: white page, black text, readable font. Choose a basic font such as Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri, Helvetica, or Georgia. Ideally, your font size should be no larger than 12 and no smaller than 10.5.

Even if you are only sending in copies digitally, it is a good idea to print your resume to be sure it prints on a single page, and is easy to read in printed form. Reading over a printed copy of your resume will also help you ensure that there is plenty of white space on the page and it looks professional.

S For Building A Resume

Constructing a compelling and visually appealing resume can be challenging, but a few strategies can help you use your resume as a showcase of what makes you the best candidate for a job. Learning what to include in a resume can help you build a compelling and visually appealing document that could impress hiring managers. In this article, we will describe 10 practical steps for building a resume that can show employers that you are the best fit for their position.

Related:

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How To Write A Resume

The Balance

Do you need to write a resume? While it’s only a page or two in length, a resume is one of the most important parts of a job application. Your resume is your most powerful tool to tell the story of your professional work history to potential employers.

A well-written resume that highlights your most relevant qualifications for the job will help you get selected for an interview. Often, interviewers will consult your resume during the interview, too. Above all, your resume needs to be consistent, concise, and easy to read. If it’s not, your resume and cover letter won’t get a second glance from any hiring manager.

In many cases, your resume is the first document a hiring manager will look at when reviewing your application, and therefore is a true first impression. Accordingly, its important to put time and effort into developing and maintaining an updated, accurate resume.

Here is information on how to write a resume that will get noticed and help you get invited for an interview.

Resume Contact Information Tips:

• Include a personal phone number, never a work number.
• You dont need to include your full address but do add your city, state, and zip code. Recruiters often search for local candidates first.
• Use a professional sounding email address. Consider creating a free Gmail account for your job search if you currently use a more outdated email service like Hotmail or AOL.
• Create a strong LinkedIn profile and be sure to include the URL on your resume.

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How Do I Write A Good Personal Statement

Our tried and tested way to write a good CV personal statement is to include 3 sentences to make one short paragraph that outlines who you are, what you do and at least one achievement. This gives the recruiter a brief overview of you as a person and entices them to continue reading.

First sentence: Who you are and what you do

Licensed beauty therapist with over 8 years of experience preparing and administering treatments to a range of clientele.

Second sentence: Details of your specialist skills

Specialising in massage therapies such as Swedish, Thai and sports relief massage.

Third sentence: Achievements

Trusted and awarded therapist with 5-star reviews on Google and Londons Massage Therapist of the Year Award 2019.

Or, you can skip the thinking and head straight towards our pre-written personal statements in our CV builder, which allows you to personalise and tailor them to your own experience. Use them to form the base of your statement, or dont change them at all.

Were sure our professionally written summaries will help you to create a fantastic CV – saving your time to find the perfect interview outfit!

How To Fill The Gap Left By The Covid

The first thing to know is that COVID-19 has disrupted the career plans of thousands of students and you’re not alone. As a result of the pandemic career-boosting activities such as work experience, internships and volunteering have been postponed or cancelled. If this has left you worrying about the corona-shaped gap on your CV let us put your mind at rest.

Employers understand the challenges caused by lockdowns only too well and they won’t expect you to have completed a period of work experience in this time. That said you could still demonstrate to potential employers how you used this time wisely – showing yourself to be a proactive, dedicated and resilient candidate.

You could mention:

• details of online courses or Massive Open Online Courses you’ve undertaken or webinars or online events you’ve attended
• the acquisition of new skills, such as learning a language or learning to code
• volunteering work such as checking in on and shopping for vulnerable neighbours or caring for young siblings or elderly relatives
• charity work – perhaps you got involved with fundraising or raising awareness of a particular ogranisation.
• new hobbies such as starting to vlog, picking up a sport, learning to cook or setting up a community book club.

Remember – you’ll need to relate these to the job you’re applying for so focus on the skills these activities taught you and how/why they’d be useful.

Read our example cover letter explaining a gap in your CV.

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Can I Ask A Recruiter For Cv Feedback

Yes, you can always reach out to a recruiter for feedback however, it is worth noting how busy they will be if they are currently recruiting. If youve received a Youve been unsuccessful style email from a job youve applied for, you can reach out for feedback on why you were unsuccessful, and if they had any advice for next time.

Our tip would be to ask a recruiter before youre applying for feedback, especially if theyre a specialist in the area you are looking to work in. Or give them a call to ensure youre providing all the information they are looking for – this can also help to build a rapport with them.

If you do call or email be sure to have a list of straightforward questions, and not to waste their time with questions you could have researched online. If you’re lucky, the recruiter may be able to give you critical feedback and help you to write a better CV in future.

Lying About Your Experience Or Education

It can be tempting to tell small white lies on your CV, especially if a role ended badly or if you dont have a lot of experience. We absolutely cant tell you how detrimental this is to your career. Avoid lying about the incident, the time you were at a role or where you went to university.

Just dont do it. Dont ever elaborate or inflate the truth. Your CV is a factual document.

Remember – everyone started somewhere. Youre not expected to have the experience of a twenty-something at 18. Showing that you’re enthusiastic, positive, and ready to learn will put you in an excellent position to be chosen as a candidate.

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Add Your Contact Information

The first item on your resume should be your first and last name, a phone number and an email address. Consider also including additional contact information so that potential employers have multiple ways to reach you. You may, for example, include your professional networking platform page or an online portfolio link. You can also include your address, whether its the full mailing address or just your city and state. Many companies prefer to hire local employees to reduce relocation time and expenses.

When To Pick A Basic Or Simple Resume Template

Basic or Simple templates are best for situations where your experience needs to speak for itself. Candidates applying for positions in transportand logistics, maintenance and repair, retailor food service can all benefit from simple resume templates. A basic or simple template sends the message that youre a clean and organized candidate whos ready to get the job done.

While professions involving physical activity and labor can benefit from a simple layout, these templates are also great for students and those applying to entry-level positions. Before you go bold with loud colors and untraditional fonts, you may want to test the application pool waters with a simple template that keeps the focus on your experience.

To make the most out of your basic template, make sure to keep the writing clean and professional. Since you dont have many pictures or colors to catch a recruiters eye, youll want to use strong action verbs that accurately capture your accomplishments. As always, proofreading your resume for grammar and spelling errors is a must.

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My Cv Is So Long What Am I Doing Wrong

This first thing you might see when researching how to write your CV in the UK is to keep it to 2 pages. This is the golden rule of CV writing, and we recommend sticking to this limit as it helps recruiters get to the heart of your experience faster.

If youre going over this limit, there could be a few reasons why:

• You might be including too much experience – positions held over 10 years ago may not be relevant now, significantly if you have changed careers or jobs many times.

• Youre going into too much detail on all your roles – to combat this, and we recommend giving the most space to your more recent jobs. Use between 6-8 points per jobs title within the last 5 years and 4-6 for those older roles.

• You include too much detail on your education section – your education is only vital if you have little work experience, or if it covers the last 10 years.

• You’re not sticking to a sensible number of relevant skills – we recommend 8-10 skills maximum.

• You’re using a massive font or large size. We recommend 11-12 points for standard CV text.

• You’re double spacing your work. Don’t – use single line spacing.

• You’re wasting space on a massive title.

For example, someone who is an account manager now might have started as a hairdressers assistant over 15 years ago. This experience is no longer relevant to this person’s current role or any applications for positions as an account manager, so its best to leave it off and let your relevant and recent experience shine!

Craft A Career Snapshot

More recently, career experts have urged job seekers to do away with the old “objective” statement and instead consider including a brief summary, called a “career snapshot,” at the top of their resumes.

“With the career snapshot, you present a branding statement that briefly explains your unique value as well as your skills and qualifications,” said Tomer Sade, founder and CEO of FACTORE. “This would then be followed by a few bullet points that highlight your experience and your accomplishments. Whatever you list here should be relevant to the position you’re applying to.”

“The top third of your resume is prime resume real estate,” added Lisa Rangel, an executive resume writer and official LinkedIn moderator at Chameleon Resumes. “Create a robust summary to capture the hiring manager’s eye.”

Think of your career snapshot as an answer to the question “how would you describe your work experience in one sentence?” The summary is an opportunity to sum up your most relevant and important skills, experience, or assets right off the bat.

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