Name And Contact Information
Regardless of resume format or order, your name and contact information should be at the top of the page. You could have the best resume in the world, but it won’t matter if recruiters don’t know who you are or how to contact you. So always include your name, your phone number, and a professional-sounding email address. If you have a LinkedIn profile , include the URL as well. If you’re in a field where examples of your work are importantlike writing, design, or software development you might also include a link to your personal website or portfolio.
You may see resume examples and advice that indicate that you should include your street address as well, but your city and state are plenty, and even including that is optional. For instance, if you already live, or are moving, close to the job, you might list your location or “Relocating to: City, State.”
What does this look like all together? Here’s one example:
Cleo Thomas 444-3333 | cleo.thomas@email.com | Chicago, ILlinkedin.com/in/thomascleo | cleothomas.com
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 .
Resume Summary Or Objective
Its not a secret for anyone that first impressions matter, whether theyre in your personal life, or your career.
If you leave a bad first impression, chances are, its there to stay. After all, its very hard to change someones opinion of you.
The same applies to your job search – the HR manager spends around 6 seconds scanning each resume. Yep, your carefully-worded, hand-crafted resume only gets 6 seconds of attention. Unless, of course, you manage to leave an amazing first impression.
The way you accomplish this is through either a good resume summary or objective. Both are placed at the top of your resume, right around the contact information section:
So, heres what you need to know about the two:
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Find Inspiration From Creative Resume Templates To Craft Your Executive Resume Today
Start the process of writing your resume by peeking at our free resume sample examples. Youll gain some inspiration and tips, and familiarize yourself with the modern resume format.
Dont have time to follow these tips and write your resume? Get in touch with one of our professional resume writers today to see how we can ace this task for you.
In the end, creating a visually engaging resume gives you a much better chance of standing out in this ultracompetitive job market. Follow these five tips and you should have no trouble landing your next interview.
Are you tired of your resume being rejected by applicant tracking systems? I know how frustrating it is to submit your resume and receive no response. I hate seeing qualified people never break through the screening process. It shouldnt be that way. Thats why I created so you can start seeing better resume response rates!
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.
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Resume Mistakes That 95% Of People Make
Most resumes that come through an online portal or across a recruiter’s desk are tossed out because they violate a simple rule.
When recruiters scan a resume, the first thing they look for are mistakes. Your resume could be fantastic, but if you violate a rule like using an unprofessional email address or improper grammar, it’s going to get tossed out.
Our goal is to fully understand the triggers that cause recruiters/ATS systems to make the snap decisions on who stays and who goes.
In order to get inside the heads of these decision makers, I collected data from dozens of recruiters and hiring mangers across industries. These people have several hundred years of hiring experience under their belts and they’ve reviewed 100,000+ resumes across industries.
They broke down the five most common mistakes that cause them to cut resumes from the pile:
What To Write In A Cv Personal Statement
A study revealed that on average recruiters spend just under 9 seconds looking at your CV . So, similar to the way someone can quickly pass you by when using apps like tinder, use your Personal Statement section of your CV to really sell yourself and give the recruiter a reason to read on.
In one or two sentences, summarise who you are, your work experience and relevant skills, aiming to prove why youre suitable for the position. Keep this strong and simple.
Example CV Personal Statemetnt
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Current College Student Resume
Why this resume works
- If you’re at the point in your collegiate career where you have 1-2 internships under your belt you can get a bit more creative with your resume format since you’ll comfortably be able to fill one page.
- When discussing your past work experience it’s important that you try to quantify the impact of your work whenever possible. This makes it clear to the hiring manager you know what metrics are important in your line of work and you have worked to meaningfully impact those metrics in your internship.
Related Resume Guides
Highlight Your Key Skills
Remember, one thing if your resume skills are not matching with the employer requirement, then your resume could be skipped by the interviewer during the interview.
For making a good list of skills, you should very honest towards your works and keep read the Job description twice, and match the skill requirements as per the given parameters. You have to write the keywords for matching profiles.
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Best Resume Fonts To Use
Choosing the right resume font can seem like an impossible task, especially as there are hundreds of choices available. Making sure your resume is readable is step number one.
You want to make sure that a potential employer can easily read it regardless of if its printed out or on a computer screen. Speaking of computer screens, not everyone is on the same operating system which means a unique or quirky font on your screen might show up as code or nonsense on someone elses.
And nobodys hiring nonsense.
Your resume is a professional representation of who you are, and as such, should look professional.
Many companies these days use an automated applicant tracking software to first pre-qualify candidates and the last thing you want to do is get sorted to the bottom of the pile, or worse, rejected, because the computer program didnt recognize your font or had difficulty reading it.
Sans Serifs fonts are fonts which are clean, crisp, sleek, and most importantly, scanner-friendly! Theyre also eyeball-friendly which means a hiring manager reading it wont have any issues trying to figure out what theyre looking at or run into eye-strain.
Stick to fonts like Arial, Verdana, Trebuchet MS, Century Gothic, Gill Sans MT , Lucida Sans and Tahoma.
Of course, over here at The Interview Guys, well confess that were partial to Helvetica. Its a flawless blend of style and clarity.
Try to stay between 10.5 and 12 points. Any smaller and its hard to read.
Medical Coder Sample For Professional Experience
There is always more to learn. Read our guide on work experience in a resume.
Wondering what do employers look for in a medical coder resume? Wonder no more! Here is a sample medical coder resume showcasing the perfect professional experience section:
All the snapshots of medical coder resume samples in this guide have been curated using our Online Resume Builder. Use this tool to access a pre-designed medical coder resume and cover letter.
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Select A Professional Readable Font
When deciding what font to use for your resume, keep in mind that it should be clear and easy to read. Making sure employers dont have to work to understand words on your resume is the most important factor when choosing a font. It is also helpful if your resume is sent through an applicant tracking system. Many employers use an ATS, which doesnt always read and interpret intricate fonts well. You should also avoid light or thin fonts which can sometimes be difficult for people to read on a screen or paper.
Related:How To Write an ATS-Friendly Resume
There are two main categories of fonts serif and sans serif. Serif fonts have tails while sans serif fonts do not. Sans serif fonts are generally good fonts for resumes because they have clean lines that are easy to read. There are fonts like Georgia, however, that are still widely accepted among employers as simple and professional.
Here are several examples of the best resume fonts:
- Avenir
Related:Best Font for a Resume: How To Choose Type and Size
Make Your Resume Stand Out
If youre applying for an investment banking job, a hot-pink resume probably wont do you any favors. But subtle pops of color, like the orange used here, will work for just about everyone.
Its very minimal, and gives a bit of a design element, Leavy-Detrick says.
If you do use color, Use it sparingly, she warns. Stick to one color, and one color thats going to print well.
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How To Add Your Employment History To A Cv
This section shows when and where you have worked. Covering specific accomplishments youve made during each of the jobs you held.
Listing your relevant experiences in reverse chronological order, include your job title, the name of the employer, time in the position, and a few key responsibilities.
Rather than focusing too much on what responsibilities were in your previous roles, show what you achieved there and some of the skills you developed. A job title is enough to show an employer roughly what you did, but it doesnt necessarily show your achievements.
Should I avoid gaps in my CVs work experience?
Whether its through choice or forgetfulness, some people leave previous jobs off their CV resulting in a gap in their employment history.
Even if you were a stay-at-home parent for a while, include it. If a potential employer has to guess how you were spending your time during your employment gaps, theyll likely suspect the worst.
Example CV Employment History
How To Write A Convincing Cover Letter
Every job application consists of 2 parts – the resume and the cover letter. Now that weve covered the first, lets briefly explain the latter.
Most job-seekers flinch when they hear that they have to write a cover letter. What do you even mention in a cover letter, anyway? If you were good at writing cover letters, youd be applying for a writing job!
In reality, though, writing a cover letter is pretty simple, if you know its purpose.
You should think of a cover letter as a direct message to the hiring manager. You get to briefly explain why youre such an awesome fit for the position. When we put it that way, it doesnt sound as hard, does it?
Heres a format you could follow:
- Introduce yourself – As a start, give a brief run-down on your work experience and mention why youre interested in working for the company youre applying for. You can also mention 1-2 of your top professional achievements to leave a good first impression.
- Explain how youd excel at the job – Identify the top 3 requirements in the job ad. Then, dedicate one paragraph to explaining how you fulfil each requirement. So for example, if the requirement is Facebook Advertising Experience, mention how you have done Facebook ads in the past and how youve excelled at it.
- Wrap it up and say thanks – Thank the reader for reading your cover letter and propose the next steps. For example, If youd like to know more about my experience with Project XYZ, Id love to chat!
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Let’s Be Honest: Writing A Resume Is The Worst
Writing a great resume is one of the most frustrating parts of the job search. We sift through dozens of articles and compare conflicting advice to make our own decisions on what to follow:
One article says one page MAX while another says use two or three and include all of your experience.
And yet another tells you to write a quick summary highlighting your personality and experience while a different article claims that summaries are a waste of space.
You scrape together your best effort and hit Submit, sending your resume into the ether. When you don’t hear back, you wonder what went wrong:
Was it the single page or the lack of a summary? Honestly, who gives a s**t at this point. I’m sick of sending out 10 resumes every day and hearing nothing but crickets.
Writing a resume sucks, but it’s not your fault!
The real reason it’s so tough to write a resume is because most of the advice out there hasn’t been proven against the actual end goal of getting a job. If you don’t know what consistently works, you can’t lay out a system to get there.
It’s easy to say one page works best when you’ve seen it happen a few times. But how does it hold up when we look at 100 resumes across different industries, experience levels, and job titles?
That’s what this article aims to answer.
This article is going to walk through everything I’ve learned about the best ways to write a resume over the past 5 years, including:
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.
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List Your Education Details In A Medical Coding Resume
Have you been confused over what to include on a resume for an entry level medical coder? Do not leave out your education section, especially on an entry level medical coder resume.
Here’s a list of the details that your education sections need:
- Name of the school/university you have attended.
- Name of the courses you have pursued.
- The location of your school/university.
- Enrolment and graduation dates in month & year format.
There is more on Hiration’s Guide on how to list education on your resume. Head on there to read an exhaustive guide.
Here’s a medical coder resume example showcasing the ideal education section for your resume:
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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