What Makes A Good Resume

Pick The Ideal Resume Layout

The hard part is over. Youve written your resume, and are feeling confident about getting that interview. Now its time to take a moment and consider your resumes design.

Depending on the industry you work in or the job you want, you may need to adjust your resume layout to fit the expectations of the hiring manager.

Contains Data And Metrics Instead Of Only Text

One of the best ways to make your resume stand out is to include numbers, metrics, and data, rather than just text.

Putting numbers catches the eye and makes the resume more interesting and therefore more likely to get read closely!

And you dont need to be working in sales to add numbers. Practically anyone can do it.;

Lets say you work at a healthcare company, managing their blog and social media. That doesnt relate to sales whatsoever, but you could write resume bullets like:

• Grew social media following by 212%
• Managed blog read by 220,000 people per month

Thats a lot more impressive than just saying, Responsible for managing company social media accounts, or, Responsible for managing company blog.

In fact, you should NEVER start a resume bullet with Responsible for.;

Ill explain more below

Resumes With Headlines And Profiles

Every job seeker’s experience and goals are different, and it’s important to add sections to your resume that highlight what makes you the best candidate. In these resumes, you will find examples of specific sections that can help you direct a hiring manager’s attention to what you feel is most important.

• Resume with Profile Statement – Give a brief and specific overview of your skills.
• Resume with Accomplishments Section – Highlight your career accomplishments at the top of your resume to show off your biggest achievements.
• Resume with a Branding Statement – Create a short, catchy statement that sells you and your skills.
• Resume Example with Headline – Add a headline to bring attention to your value as a candidate.
• Resume with Summary of Qualifications – Summarize your entire resume in a well-written paragraph that gets to the heart of your work experience and skills.

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How To List Education On Your Resume

The next section were going to cover is your Education. Lets start with the basics – how to format the education section & what to mention there. Then, well move on to tips & tricks thatll help you stand out

• Program Name. E.g.: B.A. in Business Administration
• University Name. E.g.: New York State University
• Years Attended. E.g.: 08/2008 – 06/2012
• GPA. E.g.: 3.9 GPA
• Honors. E.g.:Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, Summa Cum Laude.
• Academic achievements. Any interesting papers youve written, courses youve excelled in, etc.
• Minor. Minor in Psychology

Here’s an example:

Tips on perfecting your education section:

• If you dont have any work experience, mention your education section first.
• Mention your latest educational entry on top.
• If you have a university degree, dont mention your high school at all.
• ONLY mention GPA if you had a very impressive academic career .

The Importance Of An Updated Resume

Just the other week, I had breakfast with an old boss of mine who moved on to do different things last year.;What I thought was a friendly meet up turned out to be a soft sell on why I should join his firm.

We should talk more next week Sam, he concluded.;I think youll be amazed at what were doing here.

I proceeded to discuss my meeting with another old colleague of mine who then said, Sam, actually we also have a 5 year runway to build something great. You should send me your resume.

No problem, I said. Truth be told, my resume was one year old and needed some updating. But, thats OK, given the changes were quite minor.

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Dont Over Think Design

Unless you are a graphic designer looking for a job, theres no need to over think the design of your one-pager.;Contact info, latest two or three jobs with responsibilities, education, and hobbies. Done.

Segment the page out in sections with clear, standard titles. Use bullet points if you will, and make that one page as simple to read as possible. We really dont care about what type of font you are using, whether the paper has a thicker weave, and all the nitty gritty details of your latest project.;Like blogging, content is king!

Do Not List Achievements In Dense Blocks Of Text

Recruiters receive so many résumés to scan through at a time, so make it as easy as possible for them to understand why you’re perfect for the job. Dense blocks of text are too difficult to read, said Augustine.

Under each job or experience you’ve had, explain how you contributed to or supported your team’s projects and initiatives.

“As you build up your experience, save the bullets for your bragging points,” Augustine said.

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Use Proactive Action Verbs

Beyond quantifying your areas of success, also aim to use proactive action verbs. Some effective verbs for resumes include:

• Developed
• Tracked
• Conducted

Power verbs;like these put you in the drivers seat. If you start a bullet point with responsible for, youre not saying much about what you did in the role.

As you build your resume, remember to sell yourself. If the resume could be about anyone with a similar work history, you need to rework the language to sound;more proactive and unique.

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.

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The Perfect Resume Looks Like This

Resumes are essential to the job search, but let’s be honest: creating one is not exactly anyone’s idea of a good time. With so many conflicting pieces of advice, you might feel like you don’t know where to start or what to do. But don’t worry this time, we’ve done the heavy lifting. We combed through;some of our best resume advice and compiled it into one infographic to give you an easy-to-follow outline for a resume that will wow recruiters and hopefully, land you the job of your dreams.

Ready for a resume revamp? Read on below!

1.;Design Matters:;Don’t go overboard with intricately decorated templates.;Look for sufficient white space, margins of at least .7 inches, and a font size no smaller than 11 pt.

2. Be Reachable: Make it easy for recruiters to reach out to you by providing your contact info near the header.

3. Show Off Your Skills: Don’t make recruiters hunt for the most critical information on your resume include a table of your key soft and hard skill sets up top. Make sure your;highlighted skills show why you’re a good fit for the job all the better if these are keywords from the job description.

4. List Your Experience: This section should include each company you’ve worked for, your title, the dates you worked there, and several bullet points that describe your key accomplishments and responsibilities.

9. Keep It Concise: Limit your resume to 1-2 pages at the most.

How To Make A Resume 101

If you are reading this article, I think it is safe to say that we can call you a job seeker, correct?

But what kind of job seeker are you?

Are you looking for a change of pace from your everyday job?

Are you just starting out in the workforce?

Maybe youre a seasoned veteran trying to make the leap up the chain of command?

Or perhaps youre just fed up with the way things are going with your career and its time for a change?

Well, no matter what stage you are in your career, youre going to need to know how to write a good resume for a job interview and we are going to show you how! So start by downloading our Free Perfect Resume Checklist that will help you overhaul your resume and will get you more interviews.;

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Tips For Writing An Effective Resume

Hiring managers and recruiters alike say they’ve seen more poorly written resumes cross their desks recently than ever before. Attract more interview offers and ensure your resume doesn’t eliminate you from consideration by following these six key tips:

1. Format Your Resume Wisely “Do the Hiring Managers” Work for Them

No matter how well written, your resume won’t get a thorough reading the first time through. Generally a resume gets scanned for 25 seconds. Scanning is more difficult if it is hard to read, poorly organized or exceeds two pages.

• Use a logical format and wide margins, clean type and clear headings
• Selectively apply bold and italic typeface that help guide the reader’s eye
• Use bullets to call attention to important points

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2. Identify Accomplishments not Just Job Descriptions

Hiring managers, especially in technical fields like engineering, seek candidates that can help them solve a problem or satisfy a need within their company. Consequently, you can’t be a solution to their problems without stating how you solved similar problems in other companies and situations.

Editor’s 2019 Top Pick:Young Engineer Takes Great Strides with Prosthetic Foot3. Quantify Your Accomplishments

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4. Cater Your Resume for the Industry

5. Replace your Objective” with a “Career Summary”

6. Network. Network. Network.

Resumes Listed By Type

Comprehensive, Targeted, and Teaser: Every job seeker needs a comprehensive resume with a current and detailed work history, a targeted resume with your most relevant experience, and a one-page teaser showcasing your most in-demand qualifications.;

Chronological Resume: The traditional resume format focuses on your work experience and lists previous jobs in order.

Functional Resume: Focuses on your skills and expertise with less of an emphasis on whicih companies you worked for and when.

Combination Resume: Combines the elements of chronological and functional resumes to highlight both your skills and previous employment.

Targeted Resume: Write a resume tailored to the specific position you’re applying for.

Mini Resume: Not everyone in your job search needs see a full-length resume. Use the example to write one that’s brief and to the point.

Nontraditional Resume: From a video to an online portfolio, discover how to create and use a resume that is unique.

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Clarity And Quantitative Stats

It’s important for you to be concise when discussing your qualifications, so the hiring manager knows what you can bring to the organization and understand your opportunities for growth. Stay clear of wordiness and prioritize the most valuable information you want your prospective employer to know about.

Example:Oversaw social media efforts that expanded conversion rates by 27% for client accounts.

Poor Layout And Design

A good resume should have a logical progression and clear layout so whoever reads it quickly gets an overview yourcareer. A professional resume template, such as the one pictured below, can help you avoid layout and design problems.

, HR & Operations Director at Wilson Fields, warns applicants against using colored paper and clip art.;

Discover more resume tips, to avoid poor resume design, or use a resume template,;like the one above, so you start with a great design:

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Is My Resume Good Look For These Signs

When a recruiter or hiring manager opens up your resume, theyre looking for evidence that you can step into their job and succeed.

So the factors that make a resume good are details about past work and accomplishments, particularly past work and experience that relates to this employers job.

If you are an entry-level job seeker, then theyre looking at your education in the same way; theyre wondering, Will this persons background allow them to step into this job and succeed relatively quickly?

Thats a high-level overview of what makes a resume good, but how can you know if yours is good enough? And what can you do if youre looking to improve your resume?

Here are some signs that youve got a good resume or CV

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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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

Align Your Linkedin Profile

Your is just as important as your resume. You want to make sure youre presenting yourself in the same way. But dont just cut and paste from your resume. LinkedIn is a different beast altogether so you want to make the best use of the platforms features. You dont have to use bullet points; you can be more narrative, and even more casual, says Heifetz. You also want to tweak the tone. Theres a greater expectation that youll demonstrate personality, she adds. For example, the summary section should be written in the first person. It gives you the opportunity to present yourself as a living, breathing human being. Heres my colleague, , after she got some help revamping it from a professional.

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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 .

Do Use Quantitative Facts And Figures

Employers like the numerical facts. Do use percentages, dollar amounts, and numbers to best explain your accomplishments. Be specific to get the point across quickly.

Example:

• Incorrect: Sold advertising to 11 companies.
• Correct: Closed 11 strategic accounts billing in excess of $5M annually.

See the profound difference? Facts and figures better illustrate your abilities to an employer.

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Resume Example #: Accounting

Resume analysis: James resume is poorly constructed because it looks like theres a huge four year gap between when he graduated in 2001 and his current job as an accountant.

You have to look closely to see that he was an Accounting Intern from 2001-2005, which as an awfully long time. James should BOLD Accounting Intern, 2001-2005 and Accountant, 2006 to Present to make the resume more clear. James resume is severely lacking in personality and does nothing to differentiate itself from other resumes. Resume rating: 6/10

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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