How To Write A Nice Resume

What Is The Best Layout

One of the key things to keep in mind when making a resume is that the layout is the first thing that captures the recruiterâs attention. Thus, for everyone who is wondering how to prepare a resume, the answer is – start with the layout.

It should be of the perfect length, well-organized, and, most importantly, it should engage recruiters and scream out âRead me!â. Here are the basic resume layout principles and tips that will help you get it right:

Highlight Your Relevant Job Skills

Hiring managers are on the lookout for candidates who have relevant, job-specific skills. While listing a heap of skills on your resume doesnt actually prove youre skilled, incorporating your various skills into different sections will catch the eye of whoever is vetting your application.

For instance, you can showcase your hard and soft skills in your introduction and work experience section. And of course, you should also list your most valuable abilities in your resumes skills section.

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 Consider creating a free Gmail account for your job search if you currently use a more outdated email service like Hotmail or AOL.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 To Write Your Biography

Once you have completed writing your resume, invest some quality time to write your personal biography. It can be anything from a couple of paragraphs up to one page long.

You never know when you would need to provide your bio at a moments notice and rather than hastily putting one together at the last minute which might not capture your true essence completely, it is best to work on your bio in advance of when you might need it.

A bio might be needed by a new employer when you start a new job and they want to introduce you to other staff or the public either through an email, intranet, company newsletter, verbal introduction or even a press release.

Perhaps your employer might require a bio to put on your staff profile on the Companys website. You might also be invited to workshops, events and conferences where your bio is required.

You can also use your biography for networking to showcase your skills and what you have to offer. You can give out your bio to family and friends, or even post it on your personal website.

Unlike a resume which could be targeted to a specific job opening, when networking you might not know the specific job that might be available so a bio can be your next best weapon to use to target prospects.

Remember to write your bio in the third person. Instead of saying I am a Graphic Designer who specializes in xyz say Susan Hill is a Graphic Designer who specializes in xyz.

Header & Contact Info

Your resume will start with a header and contact info section. Typically a resume header is your name placed at the top of the page and centered. Sometimes, it may have a subheading that states your specialization underneath it.

Use headers to structure your resume and make it look more professional. To keep your formatting uniform throughout the entire document, pick one heading to use for all headers.

As for the contact information, here is what you have to add:

• Full name

• Website / Blog

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Executive Assistant Resume Objective

Looking to work in a fast-paced and challenging executive assistant role that allows for the application of strong organizational, support, coordination, scheduling and communication skills.

To obtain a position as an executive assistant to provide outstanding support to executive-level professionals by coordinating schedules, meeting deadlines, working effectively as part of the team, managing communications and overcoming all challenges.

Top It Off With Some Skills And Interests

The skills section of a resume gets a bad rap, but its just as important as the rest of the stuff you include. Its a quick list a recruiter can scan to see if your skill set aligns with what theyre hiring for. And its super ATS-friendly because it allows you to add in keywords the machine is scanning for.

Usually this section goes at the bottom of your resume, but in special casessuch as a skills-based resume or when someones switching fieldsyou may place it further up.

What exactly do you throw in here? Youll want to list any hard skills and applications youre familiar with , and, if relevant, your level of expertise. Avoid including soft skills here, like time management or public speakingsave those for your bullet points instead.

Be strategic when filling in your skills. Dont list things you actually couldnt do at a high competence level , and maybe nix skills that are completely irrelevant to the job you want. For example, you may not even need to include Excel if youre applying for say, a design position, unless its listed as a job requirement.

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List Relevant Skills And Keywords

Resume keywords are important terms of interest that recruiters look for whether skimming a resume or searching within an applicant tracking system . The more role-specific keywordsoften hard skillsyour resume contains, the better optimized your resume is.

99 percent of Fortune 500 companies use applicant tracking systems to sort, filter, and search applicants. Some ATS, like Taleo, can automatically rank your resumes content against the job description, allowing recruiters to focus only on the best applicants. Recruiters often also search their applicant pool for important resume keywords, like customer service, accounts receivable, or Adobe Photoshop.

Where on your resume should you include important skills?

Its crucial to incorporate important skills throughout your entire resume, beginning with your headline which should, when possible, include the most relevant keyword: the job title. You can also list skills in a dedicated skills section of your resume if using the hybrid resume format.

How do you find keywords to include in your resume?

Turn Up The Volume With A Video Resume

One bold way of cutting through the job competition is by complementing your traditional resume with a video resume.

You can let your oral communication skills shine through as you talk on a video. You also get a chance to show your unique personality.

In addition, you can showcase examples of projects that you have worked on in the past or perhaps even show some real examples of your skills in action. It is best to keep the video presentation short no more than two minutes.

A word of caution however, videos can be very subjective. Moreover if your video quality and sound is not good it could work against you.

A good professional video could be expensive to produce. On the flipside, the cons of a video should not discourage you. Look for a friend who is good at shooting videos and find a room with good lighting.

You can get good video editing at freelancing websites at an affordable price. If you can afford professional video production then go for it.

Thoroughly read and understand the job posting and ensure that you are addressing on your video what the job requirements are asking for.

Once your video is ready you can include a private link to your video on your resume or cover letter with a brief explanation of what the video is about.

Recruiters will be likely to click to your video even if it is just out of curiosity. This will give you an opportunity to stand out from the competition, and perhaps even initiate a personal connection with the recruiter.

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Creating A Resume Skills Section

The skills section is an essential part of your resume. However, there are several different ways to approach creating yours.

Here are a few examples demonstrating the different ways you can format your resumes skills section:

Example 1

If you have many relevant hard and soft skills, add them to your resume skills section using separate bullet points, like this:

If youre a student or recent graduate and have no significant job skills yet, there are still plenty of things you can list in your resume skills section. Heres an example of a skills section written by a candidate with no work experience:

Example 2

Another way to organize your skills section is by using bars to provide employers a rough estimate of your proficiency.

This type of skills section is particularly popular with more creative professions, like graphic design or social media management:

Add A Resume Summary Or Objective

After your contact information, you have the option to include either a resume summary or objective statement. An objective statement quickly explains your career goals and is a good choice for those with limited professional experience, such as recent college or high school graduates. A resume summary is a short statement that uses active language to describe your relevant work experience and skills.

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Write A Compelling Professional Summary

Write two or three sentences that summarise who you are and what you hope to achieve in your career. A good professional summary encourages the recipient to keep reading your resume to learn more about you. You might include your short-term professional goals and the value you can bring to an artist or artist management firm.

Summarizing Your Job Experience

Your resume experience section is the most important aspect of your entire resume. It’s a summary of your career experience and progression that outlines your responsibilities and achievements.

This is the section that you’ll most likely spend most of your time on. It’s good practice to make sure you consistently jot down any new experiences you’ve had, even if you’re not looking for a job.

For example, if you recently landed a $200,000 deal by bringing on a new client at your firm, write that down somewhere you can remember. Over time, you’ll have dozens of bullet points you can copy over to your resume when you are ready for a new job.

Here’s a simple example of work experience

Server, Red Lobster

• Greeted incoming guests and directed them to comfortable seating.
• Memorized and informed guests of daily menu specials.
• Made recommendations about food and beverages as well as other services provided by the restaurant.
• Provided exceptional and friendly customer service by taking food and beverage orders and entering them in our PoS system.

Here are the key pieces of information that your resume objective should include:

• Job Title = e.g. Server
• Company Name = e.g. Red Lobster
• Start & End Dates = e.g. November 2018 – Present
• Location = e.g. New York, NY
• Responsibilities & Tasks = e.g. Made recommendations and answered questions about our food, beverages and other restaurant functions and services.

This is a simple example, but it can be improved by adding more detail.

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Start With Your Basic Information

Your contact information should always go at the top of your resume. In this header youll want to include anything that could be helpful for a recruiter to get in touch with you. Usually, this means adding in:

• Your full name
• Your phone number
• Your personal email address

You might also choose to include other basic information, such as your LinkedIn or personal website URL, your GitHub , your social media profiles , or your address. If youre looking to move for a job, you may choose to leave out your address or write open to relocating to better your chances of getting an interview.

The key is to make this part as clear as possible. If a hiring manager cant reach you, theres no point in perfecting the rest of your resume.

Save As A Pdf Or Word Document

You might’ve always been taught to save your resume as a PDF, but that’s not best practice since it won’t make your resume friendly for the applicant tracking systems. Sure, a PDF will help preserve the design and format of your resume, but applicant tracking systems are less likely to read it correctly. Of course, if the job listing says PDF files are acceptable, then you can submit your PDF. However, if a file type isn’t specified, play it safe by submitting a word document, saved as a .doc or .docx file.

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Write A Matching Cover Letter

Now that you know how to write your dream resume, you might be wondering: is a cover letter necessary? The answer is yes, always include a cover letter if you have the option.

Knowing how to write a good cover letter helps you round out every application you ever send out, and boosts your chances of landing an interview.

Cover letters are a valuable tool in your job-hunting arsenal because they give you an opportunity to provide context to your resume, show off your personality, and express enthusiasm for the job youre applying for.

Heres an example of what a resume paired with a matching cover letter might look like :

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.

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What To Include In A Resume

Whether you apply for a traditional or online job, it is your resume that defines whether you will land an interview or not – every career advice expert will confirm this. However, while the role of a bot-beating resume for your future career is rather clear, there is one more concern that torments every job seeker.

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This article is your complete guide to creating a perfect resume, so, buckle up and get ready to learn how to make a professional resume.

To get started, it is vital to understand what elements are essential for a resume. So, let’s take it as a starting point. Here are the main elements you have to include when writing your resume:

• Header

Include An Education Section

An education section will be especially valuable if you have limited work experience or if you are transferring to a new industry. You can include information such as:

• Relevant coursework

• Grade point average

• Participation in clubs or organizations

• Leadership positions held

• Awards, achievements or certifications

When writing your education section, you should include the name of the institution, dates of attendance and your degree or area of study. If you are applying to mid or higher-level positions, you might remove all but the name of your school and dates of attendance to make room for more relevant professional experience on your resume.

If you have certifications or licenses that are relevant to the job description, you can include them in this section as well. To save space, you can leave off any credentials that are not directly related to the requirements of this job.

Related: How to Include Relevant Coursework on a Student Resume

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Sorting Out Your Education And Professional Development

Now it’s time to tackle the education and professional development section of your resume. If you’re out of college, you can go ahead and wipe out any mention of your high school activities. If you’ve only recently graduated and feel as though your degree can help you land a job, feel free to place your education section at the top of your resume. Otherwise, once you’ve got some experience under your belt, you can move it to the bottom.

Still have a few questions? Here are some answers to a few frequently asked questions in regards to listing your education on your resume:

• If you started college at one place but finished at another, only list the college you earned your degree from.

• If you didn’t finish college, you have a few options. If the job you’re applying for requires a high school degree, list your high school. You can also list any relevant coursework.

• If you’re still in college, you can simply list your expected graduation date.

• If you finished college more than 15 years ago or are wary of age discrimination, older job seekers can delete your graduation date.

If you’re a recent grad, you might also feel inclined to include your GPA or even major test scores. However, unless the job description mentions these as a requirement, you can leave them off.

In this section, you can also list any professional development courses, programs, or certifications you’ve received, as long as they’re relevant.