What Not To Include
- Roles you undertook more than 20 years ago: This is simply not relevant, so omit any outdated information, Hallam says.
- The words Curriculum Vitae: now resume is more current, Hallam explains.
Rememberif you want your resume to stand out, focus on getting the content right, rather than dressing it up with fancy fonts or graphics. A clean and functional resume will be a much better tool to get you noticed by potential employers.
What Is The Best Resume Layout
The first thing a job recruiter notices about any resume is the layout.
Does it look organized or cluttered? Is it too short or too long? Is it boring and easy to ignore, or does it scream out Read me!?
Here are some of the best practices when it comes to your resume layout:
Resume Layout Must-Haves
1. One page in length. You should only go for 2 pages if you really, really believe that itll add significant value. HR managers in big firms get around 1,000+ resumes per month. Theyre not going to spend their valuable time reading your life story!
2. Clear section headings. Pick a heading and use it for all the section headers.
3. Ample white-space, especially around the margins.
4. Easy-to-read font. Wed recommend sticking to what stands out, but not too much. Do: Ubuntu, Roboto, Overpass, etc. Dont : Comic Sans
5. Pick the right font size. As a rule of thumb, go for 11 – 12 pt for normal text, and 14 – 16 pt for section titles.
6. As a rule of thumb, save your resume as PDF. Word is a popular alternative, but it has a good chance of messing up your resume formatting.
One more thing you need to consider in terms of resume layout is whether youre going for a traditional-looking free resume template or something a bit more modern:
If youre pursuing a career in a more traditional industry – legal, banking, finance, etc. – you might want to stick to the first.
Next Steps After Your Resume
Now that weve covered everything you need to know about how to create a resume, lets talk cover letters & interviews.
After all, your resume is only the first step in your job search. To really land that job you deserve, you also need to craft a killer cover letter, and ace that upcoming interview.
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Legal Career Objective Examples
Example 1:
An accomplished lawyer with proven expertise in legal drafting, arbitration, company affairs, and labor laws. Desirous of a top-level position in a reputed law firm to assist clients with the professional skills gained in the past 8 years.
Example 2:
2 years of working experience as a Junior Advocate in District and Session Court . Seeking a more challenging role in a similar environment.
Example 3:
Focused, confident, and committed Associate Lawyer. Interested in associating with major law firm committed to helping the aggrieved party by making optimum utilization of knowledge and rules of the Indian legal system.
How Long Should A Resume Be
No matter which of the three formats you decide to go with, it should fit neatly onto one single sided page without crowding.
Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule, and in some cases , a slightly longer resume is acceptable.
Anything longer than that and youve moved out of the world of resumes and into the world of CVs which are acceptable, but ONLY in VERY SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES.
Keep in mind this isnt your autobiography!
This is meant to give a hiring manager just enough information about you that they feel compelled to call you in and meet you face to face!
To put it bluntly, the average hiring manager spends initially between 10-20 seconds on each resume which means you have 10-20 seconds to catch their eye. The last thing you want to do is give them something thats messy, confusing, or unorganized.
Rather than spend an additional 10 seconds trying to figure out your resume, most hiring manager will just throw it awayand we dont want that!
Ok, so what about fonts, margins, paper, etc?
Lets start with fonts.
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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.
How To Create Emotional Branding
Here are six steps to creating a strong emotional connection with your brand:
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Adding Absolutely No Value
Mistake number five is probably the worstand the easiest to fall into Mistake number five is writing a statement that basically fills space but doesnt tell the hiring manager anything about the value you bring to the table. This can also be confused with the too vague statement
EXAMPLE: To obtain a position within my chosen field where I can utilize my skills as a hard-working, well-educated employee in exchange for a steady market-fair paycheck.
Congratulations. Youre educated and youre hard working and you want to make money. So what? So are 90% of the people youre going up against. Why are YOU the ideal candidate? What makes the hiring manager want to bring YOU in over everyone else? See what we mean?
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY:
How are you going to fulfill the needs of the company?
When writing your resume objective, you should always have the intention of answering this question.
Quick Review: How To Know If Your Resume Is Good
The best way to know if you have a good resume is to look at whether youre getting job interviews. This is your resumes main job to get you invited to interviews. So if thats not happening, then something needs to change .
We also discussed some specific factors that make a resume good. These include:
- Data and metrics
- Writing in terms of results, rather than what you were responsible for
- Utilizing spacing and bullets to make everything easy to read
- Tailoring your resume for the job specifications to show employers how youd help them in their exact role
- Including keywords from the job description
- Proofreading and ensuring your resume is error-free
Those are all areas that can help you get more job interviews, so make sure youre doing everything above before applying for a role.
You now know what makes a resume good and how to fix many common problems.
Finally, if you want a free online tool that will tell you how strong your resume is automatically, we recommend this tool from TopResume.
And for more free articles on resume writing and how to get more interviews, visit this page.
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Research The Companys Culture
Take the time to go beyond the job description and do your research on the company. Schweikert suggests simply going on the companys career website to see what their values are. In addition to including your professional experience on your resume, think about including information relevant to that companys culture.
For example, if you see that a company participates in a significant amount of charitable work and you have volunteer experience, consider adding that to your resume, Schweikert says. And even if the company doesnt mention anything about volunteering, you may want to include it anyway about 80% of hiring influencers , indicated that they believe there is a relationship between volunteering and leadership ability, according to a 2016 Deloitte survey.
What Are Technical Or Hard Skills On Your Resume
When listing hard skills on your resume, include specific proficiencies and certifications. Front-end web developers, for instance, would report their level of expertise in HTML, CSS and JavaScript, and other technologies the company lists in its job posting. A financial controller, meanwhile, might claim a strong foundation in GAAP or SEC reporting, and an administrative professionals resume skills could advertise a CAP or MOS certification.
Here are some hard resume skills for 15 in-demand fields:
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Why Is It Important To Write A Good Resume
Since employers often have a large number of job applications to review, they may only be able to spend a few minutes, or even a few seconds, scanning each resume. Due to this time limit, your resume should capture an employers attention right away. This means that the way you write your resume can have a large impact on the success of your job search.
Banking Career Objective Examples
Example 1:
Energetic individual looking to showcase excellent presentation skills and transform theoretical knowledge of banking principles into practical applications of current and saving Account Opening, Wealth Management, and Forex Transactions.
Example 2:
8 years of experience in the banking sector. Seeking a Relationship Manager position with a reputed bank to showcase my excellent interpersonal and communication skills for making new clients, maintaining relations with existing clients, and increasing business revenue.
Example 3:
An enthusiastic individual seeking a mid-level position in a banking firm where I can use my negotiation and communication skills to achieve sales target. An MBA in Finance from Xyz University.
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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.
Management Career Objective Examples
Example 1:
With a Management degree from AB University and an internship experience at a renowned MNC, I have developed solid leadership and management skills Seeking a management position to bring forth innovative ideas, analytical approach along with superior product knowledge and organizational abilities.
Example 2:
Result-oriented, intelligent, organized, and motivated individual is seeking an available management position with ABC company in an effort to utilize years of experience to fulfill the company’s strategic requirements.
Example 3:
Seeking a Managerial position with ABC company a highly motivated and organized individual who will use 6+ years of management experience and skilled leadership to maintain productivity and quality of service.
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It Career Objective Examples
Example 1:
Looking for a challenging role in a reputable organization to utilize my technical, database, and management skills for the growth of the organization as well as to enhance my knowledge about new and emerging trends in the IT sector.
Example 2:
Desirous of an IT Service Management role in a challenging workplace that welcomes innovative ideas and offers growth opportunities and positive environment for accomplishing projects. Hold B.Tech in Computer Science from XYZ University.
Example 3:
IT Technology Manager with several years of experience and a strong grasp of Cloud Computing SaaS, PaaS, IaaS fundamentals and experience in designing and implementing solutions is looking for a similar role and position in a progressive organization.
Example 4:
An excellent academic record, ability to understand and test software, working knowledge of Azure, and a strong understanding of core internet technologies. I seek to work as a System Engineer to further my knowledge in the IT domain and utilize my skills.
Example 5:
Seeking a position of IT Manager to put 5 years of learnings into use to help the business meet strategic and operational goals by identifying opportunities to deploy new technology. Possess expertise in networking and hardware, superior technical aptitude, and proven ability to manage complex tasks.
Going On Too Long Or Cutting Things Too Short
Many people try to squeeze their experiences onto one page, because they’ve heard resumes shouldn’t be longer. By doing so, job seekers may delete impressive achievements. Other candidates ramble on about irrelevant or redundant experiences. Despite what you may read or hear, there are no real rules governing resume length. Why? Because human beings, who have different preferences and expectations where resumes are concerned, will be reading it.
That doesn’t mean you should start sending out five-page resumes, of course. Generally speaking, you usually need to limit yourself to a maximum of two pages. But don’t feel you have to use two pages if one will do. Conversely, don’t cut the meat out of your resume simply to make it conform to an arbitrary one-page standard. When writing your resume, ask yourself, “Will this statement help me land an interview?” Every word should sell you, so include only the information that elicits a “yes.”
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Resume Tips That Will Help You Get Hired
When you havent updated your resume in a while, it can be hard to know where to start. What experiences and accomplishments should you include for the jobs youve got your eye on? What new resume rules and trends should you be following? And seriously, one page or two?
Well, search no more: Weve compiled all the resume tips you need into one place. Read on for advice and tricks thatll make sure you craft a winning resumeand help you land a job.
Here Is A Good Sample For Someone Who Is In The Middle Of A Career Change:
This is a good example because it hits on everything we discussed above. Its specific. We know exactly who this person is , what company theyre applying to , both how they benefit the company and what value they bring and best of all, its short and to the point.
In just a few words this individual has taken what might seem like a totally unrelated field and shown how the skills and experiences they have directly translate to the job theyre applying for. Brilliant!
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Develop An Effective Resume
Resumes are what people use to get jobs, right?
Wrong!
A resume is your ticket to an interview where you can sell yourself! It’s a 1- or 2-page summary of your education, skills, accomplishments, and experience. A resume does its job successfully if it doesn’t exclude you from consideration.
To prepare a successful resume, you need to know how to review, summarize, and present your experiences and achievements effectively. If your resume is poorly organized or written, you’ll have little chance of getting an interview. Before you write, take time to do a self assessment on paper. Outline your skills and abilities, as well as your work experience and extracurricular activities. This will make it easier to prepare a thorough resume.
Media/journalist Career Objective Examples
Example 1:
Looking for a News Reporter position with a reputed media house where gathering and reporting information on several matters within strict deadlines are primary job responsibilities. Dedicated and energetic professional with 3 years of experience, open to working in a 24/7 environment.
Example 2:
A self-motivated copy editor with 8 years of experience in handling marketing materials, including website, brochures, press releases, magazine, etc. Areas of expertise include writing and proof-reading materials before final submission to the printing house.
Example 3:
A Mass Communication graduate with 2 years of full-time experience working as a journalist for a local daily newspaper and covering spontaneous and anticipated news for online and print media. Looking for a challenging role in a growth-conducive environment where hard work receives rewards and recognition.
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