How To Make The Best Resume

Volunteer Work And Activities

Lastly, create a section for volunteer activities. This could be formal or informal volunteering, such as serving food at a local homeless shelter or helping your neighbor rake leaves. For each volunteer activity, include who you volunteered with, what your role was, the dates and hours you volunteered and a brief description.

Example of how to list volunteer work and activities in a resume:Coral Springs Soup Kitchen, Coral Springs, Florida; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;25 Hours Meal Prep and ServingPrepares, serves, and cleans up after meal service at a local homeless shelter on a bi-weekly basis.

List Your Interests And Activities

This section should include all extracurricular activities and interests that relate to the position you seek. This section is also very useful when you do not have much experience to work with.

However, since interests and activities tend to be less relevant, this section should only be included if youâve used the other tips on this page and filled up as much room as you can. Weâll talk about unnecessary information in the next tip.

Interests and activities on a resume example:

So letâs say Tom was part of his universityâs entrepreneur program and volunteered to organize food delivery to the cityâs homeless population. and blogged about new business startups in the local area while in school.

Tom can list this section as:

Interests and Activities

• Member of Queens College entrepreneur program

• Organized and managed routes for the Meals-on-Wheels, a non-profit which delivers food for the homeless and other vulnerable populations.

• Blogged on various new startups in the New York City area.

Not everyone has relevant activities and interests and thatâs just fine. If you need some more help coming up with some relevant activities or interests, we have a related guide about how to include hobbies and interests on a resume. Otherwise, you can definitely skip this section without fear of losing out on opportunities.

So How Long Should A Resume Be

Once upon a time the fast and hard rule was keep your resume to one-page MAX! Job seekers who found their resumes exceeding the one page limit were forced to either cut out valuable information or tweak their formatting, font sizes and/or margins to make it work, often resulting in either difficult formatting or incomplete histories.

Nowadays the rules are a little more relaxed and the new rule is: Your resume should be long enough to entice the hiring manager to call you in for an interview.

Confused? Dont be.

First off, your resume is an introduction to who you aregive them enough information to get them comfortable, but brief enough that theyre left wanting more

This isnt a novel. It isnt a 10-page dissertation on who you are or a 20-page essay on everything youve done from your first moments on earth to the moment you sent it to the company.

Its a career marketing tool and should be used exactly like any good advertising is usedto build excitement, pique curiosity, and encourage the viewer to ask Okay, I like this so farwhat else?

Remember our hiring manager from story time at the beginning of this article? Remember, theyre looking through hundreds, if not thousands of resumes and the last thing you want to do is to hand them a long document theyll have to pour over to get the info they need.

Be concise. Be brief. Be clear. Be professional.

The best way to determine how long your resume should be is to follow these simple rules:

Good.

Lets go!

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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 Is The Best App To Make A Resume

These seven options come with templates and tools to make your CV the best it can be.

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Write A Winning Resume Introduction

Placed at the top of your resume, a well-written resume introduction briefly introduces your key qualifications and skills, and convinces employers to continue reading your application.

There are many different types of resume introductions used by job seekers today, including the:

However, the two most commonly used introduction styles are the resume objective and the resume summary.

Finding The Best Resume Format Examples

Of course, reading about it is one thing, but seeing how these resumes look is another. If youre interested in seeing examples of how these resumes look in person, head on over to our How to Make a Resume 101 article. Just make sure, no matter which format you choose, that youre targeting it for the job youre applying to.

We also have to give some credit where credit is due. Our pals over at NovoResume have put together some really great content about resume format over on their site, along with a few great examples. This will be a great companion to the information we have already taught you here!

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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.

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.

Related:13 Best Practices for Beating an Applicant Tracking System

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Resume Format : Functional Resumes

Functional resumes focus more on relevant skills than work history. While the chronological format highlights work experience with detailed summaries of the achievements within each position, the functional format focuses on the applicants skill set relevant to the role you are applying for.

• Additional information

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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Keep Your Formatting Consistent

Professional resumes need to have consistent formatting. For instance, if you use;bullet points;to describe your responsibilities and achievements at one position, be sure to use bullet points in all other positions as well.

Also, make certain that the bullet points are formatted the same way throughout. For example, don’t use circle bullet points in one section, and diamond bullet points in another section. Be consistent with font, font size, and style .

Why Do I Need A Resume

I know the

If thats true, then hey, you probably dont need a resumeyoure essentially guaranteed the job alreadybut what about when that job ends?

Betcha no matter how great your hookups are right now, at some point in your career, youre gonna need a killer resume, and luckily were here to tell you how to create a resume.

And not just any resumea professional resume.

For those of us who dont have direct connections to killer jobs, a resume is essential to getting your foot in the door.

Employers use resumes as a way to quickly screen potential applicants, selecting only the individuals they feel are right for the position, so making sure your resume is in tip-top shape is absolutely vital.

Here, let me walk you through a quick little scenario and well see just how important those little pieces of paper actually are:

Imagine youre a hiring manager and its your job to find the perfect candidate for an open position with your company.

Youve trolled the usual job listing sites and posted what youre looking for and the response has beenoverwhelming.

Your desk is COVERED with resumes. Pile after pile. Stack after stack.

You call maintenance and ask them to empty your trash can, again. Its filling up too quickly with all these rejected candidates.

You continue to slog through the pile of papers, your eyes growing heavy with each rejection. Youre sleepy, youre bored, and youre frustrated. Does NOBODY really qualify for this job?

No fun, eh? Absolutely not!

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Start By Choosing The Right Resume Format

A format is the style and order in which you display information on your resume. There are three commonly-used resume formats you can choose from depending on which is right for you: Chronological , functional or a combination.

A chronological resume format places the professional history section first and is a good option if you have a rich professional work history with no gaps in employment.

1. Name and contact information2. Summary or objective4. Educational history5. Skills and abilities

The functional resume format emphasizes the skills section and is a good option if you are switching industries or have some gaps in your work history.

1. Name and contact information2. Summary3. Skills grouped by theme4. Any relevant professional experience5. Education

The combinationresume format is a good option if you have some professional experience, where both skills and work history are equally important.

Use The Chronological Resume Format

There are three primary resume formats job seekers use when applying for work.

However, the chronological resume is the most compatible with ATS software, because it best emphasizes and organizes your work experience . If you have a normal work history with no large employment gaps or career changes, definitely make sure you use a chronological resume.

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Use The Right Language To Stand Out

Trite, lackluster descriptions of your job duties and accomplishments won’t do you any favors. Make sure you’re using strong action words like “achieved,””designed,””improved”;and “established”;to describe your roles and projects, said Sade. This, he said, will make you sound confident while imparting vital information. But be cautious about depending on action verbs make sure to include details about how you improved a process or achieved a goal.;

“Words such as ‘professional,”results-driven’ and ‘detail-oriented’ provide very little helpful information,” Sade said. “It’s better to use actual job titles than these words.”

Diya Obeid, founder and CEO of applicant tracking software company JobDiva, also said that you should remove buzzwords like “go-getter,””team player” and “go-to person” from your resume. These come off as fluff and only take up precious space on your resume.

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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What Is A Resume Builder

A resume builder is an online app or piece of software that provides users with interactive forms and templates that focus on resumes. The best applications of this type provide tips and suggestions to help you provide employers with the right kind of information. For example, the Zety resume builder features ready-made content tailored to the needs of specific job seekers. This makes wording each section easier in terms of communicating your value as an employee.

Dont Worry Too Much About Gaps

One of the questions that Lees and Heifetz get asked regularly is how to account for gaps in a resume, perhaps when you werent working or took time off to care for a family member. If you were doing something during that time that might be relevant to the job, you can include it. Or you might consider explaining the gap in your cover letter, as long as you have a brief, positive explanation. However, the good news is that in todays job market, hiring professionals are much more forgiving of gaps. In a recent survey, 87% of hiring managers said that they no longer see candidates being unemployed or having an employment gap as a red flag.

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Hard Vs Soft Skills: Whats The Difference

Heres the difference between hard skills and soft skills:

Hard skills

Hard skills are quantifiable, job-specific abilities learned through education, training, or on-the-job experience. Language skills, computer skills, and being able to operate heavy machinery all count as types of hard skills.

Heres a list of 24 popular hard skills to put on your resume:

The Creative Angle: An Infographic Resume Or Resume Website

This resume type is characterized by how its formatted visually. You may choose a reverse chronological order or skills-based style to organize your information, but also use graphics, colors, unique fonts, and even multimedia elements to help that information pop. Keep in mind that any creative resume is still likely subject to an ATSand certain elements may be unreadable by a robot. So consider going this route only if you know a human will be reading your resume .

Who its good for: People applying to creative roles , startups, or fun companies, or to jobs where a creative resume is encouraged, if not required.

Not a designer but want your resume to look just as pretty as this example? Check out these articles:

• 5 Digital Tools That Will Make Your Resume Infinitely More Beautiful

Your resume is a living, breathing document. So while you wont go through this whole process every time you apply for a job, you should be thinking about all these things as you go to update your resume for your next career step. You might decide later on to switch up the order, or remove or add things, or even get creative and try out a whole new format. If youre not getting the calls back you expect, you may decide to scrap it and start overand thats totally OK.

Fast Company

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