What Should A Resume Have

Tips For An Effective Resume

Formatting: Use plenty of white space on your resume, this will make it easier for the reader and will showcase your skill set more effectively. Locate the most important information on the left hand side of the page e.g. dates should be on the right as position and organization are more important. Be consistent with your formatting.

Action verbs: These are important in detailing your work experience. There is a list of action verbs in the Resume Builder module of OptimalResume.

Content: Describe specific responsibilities and support all activities and responsibilities with results and accomplishments. Use present tense in describing current job. All previous positions are described in the past tense. Organize your descriptions according to function and do not keep repeating yourself throughout the resume.

Keywords: Keywords are an integral part of your resume. Consider use of them. Check job descriptions and try to use this language on your resume.

Critique your resume: Have an objective reader look over your resume to proofread it for content, grammatical and typing errors.

What Should A Resume Look Like In 2020

Omitting information can make recruiters suspicious, especially if there are large gaps in your employment history. So make sure your resume doesnt have too much white space, or gaps in time, without including relevant information. If you worked outside of your current industry while in-between positions, for instance, you can account for it by including it in an additional experience section.

You Will Not Include A Section About Your Hobbies And Interests

Including a section about your hobbies and interests is widely regarded as a newbie mistake. The company is interested in what skills you have that can help them earn more money, not whether you can juggle or swallow swords .

For more ideas regarding which abilities are appropriate for your resume , check out our skills for resume guide.

If your hobbies, interests, and side projects do coincide with what the company is looking for, then you should include them in your Additional Skills or qualifications summary section.

Read Also: How To Send A Resume To A Recruiter

Can 14 Year Olds Work Uk

In the UK, you must stay in school or at least be in training till the age of 18. If you decide to work at the age of 14, you must stay in school whether you like it or not! The working hours for a 14-year-old are as follows It is illegal to work during school hours, and you cannot work before 7 am and after 7 pm.

How To Match Your Resume Skills To The Job Description

Many companies use an applicant tracking system , which acts as an electronic filter, to collect, scan, sort and rank resumes to narrow applicant pools to the most qualified candidates. Thats why you need to customize your resume and cover letter using keywords and phrases that match the job listing .

If an employer is looking for a graphic designer with mastery in Adobe Creative Suite, for example, you wouldnt just claim experience with software for creative professionals. List the software by name, give your expertise level, and if you have it highlight your Adobe Certified Expert certification. Likewise, if an employer is searching for an accountant with experience processing daily invoices and credit, then use similar language in your resume. Simply listing gathering receipts as a duty wont likely score well with an ATS.

Repeat common words and phrases from other postings of the same role, too. But remember, every job description is different. Tailor the keywords and skills on your resume and in your cover letter for each position.

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What Contact Information Should Your Resume Have

A great resume would contain the following contact information in the right order:

Full Name – The generally preferred format is Name, Last Name

Right under the name, you should include your:

Professional Title – this should always mirror the job position you are applying for.

Lets say you are applying for a front-end web development position but your professional title says Junior Data Scientist.

Whoever picks up your resume will most likely discard it thinking that you are either overqualified for the position or your resume is in the wrong pile.

Professional Email Address

Your email should be professional and not something you created back in primary school.

Check out our guide on how to email your resume to an employer for more tips!

Phone Number – If you are applying for a job outside your country, make sure to include your country code as well. If you have a US phone number, for example, youd add in front of the number 555 555 5555.

Heres an example of how this would look exactly.

So far so good. However, you can notice how there is a lot of valuable empty space for you to add more eye-catching information.

Aside from the basic contact information, you should also put on your resume links to your social media handles and/or personal websites.

What Is The Best Resume Format For Nurses

The best resume formats for nurses are the chronological resume and the combination resume. We urge nurses to avoid the functional resume format.

Now, youll see many articles on nursing resumes that recommend functional resumes for new-grads, nurses making career transitions, and nurses reentering the workforce after some time away. While this is the generally accepted recommendation for all industries, we believe its not a good choice for nurses.

First, if youre a new-grad, then you can add your clinical rotations in lieu of work history. New-grads can also include work history outside the healthcare field. Select this link to view our article for new-grad and student nursing resumes.

Second, most nursing employers will only consider skills that the candidate utilized on the job within the last 2 to 3 years. As a result, a skills-based resume wont work for new-grads or nurses who are reentering the workforce after many years away.

The only reason we can imagine for nurses to use a functional resume format is if they are not a new-grad and have absolutely no work history to list. This is a very rare scenario. Again, we urge nurses to use the chronological and combination resume formats.

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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.

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.

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Use Similar Terms And Address Every Required Qualification

Your experience needs to address every required qualification in the job announcement. Hiring agencies will look for specific terms in your resume to make sure you have the experience theyre seeking.

For example, if the qualifications section says you need experience with MS Project you need to use the words MS Project in your resume.

Sample One Page Resume

This is an example of a one page resume. or see below for more examples.

Career Summary

Seasoned and meticulous Financial Analyst offering 10 years expertise providing decision support to executives of global manufacturing companies. Highly skilled in clear-cut and concise storytelling through financials. Core Competencies:

• Financial Analysis and Reporting
• Quantitative Methods and Forecast Modeling
• Revenue and Expense Variance Analysis
• Data Mining and Visualization

ABC MANUFACTURING CORPORATION, Oklahoma City, OKFinancial Analyst, 02/2013-PresentPartner across all functional business units to deliver quantitative analyses and forecasts of expenditures, sales revenues, and capital improvements.

• Implemented and trained executives in use of new management reporting system that increased timeliness and accuracy of financial reporting
• Pinpointed and reconciled discrepancies in business unit financial reports, averting risk exposure by creating stringent new due diligence processes.

XYZ GROUP, Norman, OK, 06/2008-02/2013

Skillfully researched and prepared business cases, performed cost benefit analyses, and structured quarterly forecasts to optimize business planning processes.

• Played instrumental role in creating a business case and performing due diligence key to a $4.5M merger and acquisition.
• Formulated recommendations for long-term planning that ultimately produced a 17% increase in business growth.

Education and Credentials

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Why Your Resume Doesn’t Need An Objective

If you learned how to create a resume ten years ago or longer, you might be surprised to know that an objective is no longer an essential part of a standard resume. In fact, some career experts will tell you that having a resume objective is unnecessary at best and dated at worst. Like the line “references upon request,” it’s a space-filler that’s keeping hiring managers from getting to the meat of your resume.

You have a limited amount of time in which to grab their attention: less than eight seconds, to be exact, according to one study. Obviously, you don’t want to waste any of that time telling them what they already know from the subject line of your email or the requisition number in the applicant tracking system.

Here are the better alternatives to a resume objective:

Top Hard Skills For Your Resume

Hard skills tend to be more technical, and each industry or type of job will usually have its own required set. Finding out what range of hard skills youll be expected to have in your field might require some research. Here are hard skills examples that tend to be in-demand across many industries.

Computer Software and Application Knowledge

The list of professions that does not require you to use computers and certain types of software is very short. You could very likely break up computer skills into two or three specific technical proficiencies for your field.

Design

Aside from the obvious professions like graphic or web design, there are jobs in marketing, advertising, branding, engineering, and construction that require some type of design skillseven if its only for drawing up presentations.

Data Analysis

Understand data is very much in vogue right now, and there are a lot of jobs out there where you will be called upon to analyze metrics and extrapolate a practical use from it, making analytical skills extremely valuable to put on your resume.

Negotiation

There are many jobs that involve selling a product or service, purchasing stock or merchandise, brokering deals for production or transportation, establishing partnerships for advertising or investments, and so on.

Mathematics

Project Management

Marketing

Administrative

Writing Skills

Foreign Languages

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You Will Not Make Any Grammar Or Spelling Errors

Even a stellar resume is easily destroyed by simple grammar and spelling mistakes. Because its such an important document, mistakes immediately set off red flags in the hiring managers view.

The thinking is, if you cant take the time to correct basic mistakes, then you might also be a low quality worker.

Take these steps to make sure your resume is error free:

• Run spell check

Eight Tips To Keep Your Resume Concise

1. Avoid repeating information: Did you perform the same or similar job tasks for more than one employer? Instead of repeating job duties, focus on your accomplishments in each position.

2. Eliminate old experience: Employers are most interested in what you did recently. If you have a long career history, focus on the last 10 to 15 years. If your early career is important to your current goal, briefly mention the experience without including details. For example: Early Career: ABC Company — City, State — Assistant Store Manager and Clerk, 1980-1985.

3. Don’t include irrelevant information: Avoid listing hobbies and personal information such as date of birth or marital status. Also, eliminate outdated technical or business skills.

4. Cut down on job duties: Many job seekers can trim the fat off their resumes simply by removing long descriptions of job duties or responsibilities. Instead, create a paragraph that briefly highlights the scope of your responsibility and then provide a list of your most impressive accomplishments.

5. Remove the “references available upon request” line: Many job seekers waste the valuable last line of the resume on an obvious statement. Delete it.

6. Use a telegraphic writing style: Eliminate personal pronouns and minimize the use of articles when preparing your resume.

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Detail Your Work Experience

The work experience section is the heart of your resume. Employers look at this section closely to determine whether your job history and prior accomplishments make you a promising candidate.

Thats why its important to detail not only your job responsibilities but also your competence in prior roles. The work experience section is your chance to show recruiters and hiring managers how you have added unique value to other companies.

The first things a recruiter looks for on your resume are the job titles youve held and the caliber of companies youve worked with. Make this information easy to find by sticking to a familiar format.

List each job in reverse-chronological order. Each job should have its own subheading that includes the following information:

• Company

How Many Pages A Resume Should Be

How long should your resume be? The answer is that the length of your resume depends on a number of factors. It depends on how much experience you have and what level candidate you are. If you’re an entry-level candidate, a page should be plenty.

For more experienced candidates, it’s fine to have a longer resume. Read below for more detailed information on how long your resume should be, and tips for making your resume the perfect length.

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More Soft Skills Than Hard Skills

As mentioned earlier, employers have a preference for seeing hard skills on a resume. The right place to highlight soft skills is your cover letter or in an interview, where you can better demonstrate communication skills, interpersonal skills, active listening, and more.

So as you review your resume, its a problem if you find many soft skills but few hard skills and job-related skills.

In fact, you should be looking to highlight these job-related skills in practically every resume section, starting with your resume summary paragraph.

Resume Summary Or Objective

Your resume summary or objective should be a short, one to two sentence section that briefly explains who you are and why youre qualified. Carefully review the job posting for clues on which of your technical and soft skills will be most important and relevant.

Resume summaries and objectives are slightly different, and you should choose to include one or both depending on your background and the position youre seeking. A resume summary will describe your work experience, while a resume objective will state your short-term goals.

A summary is good if you have at least some work experience that can be quickly summarized. An objective statement, however, is better suited for those who have recently graduated from high school or college, or who otherwise have limited job experience.

Your resume summary could say:

Thoughtful construction laborer with over five years of experience helping manage teams toward successful and safe completion of housing projects.

Your resume objective could say:

Recent graduate eagerly looking to expand construction labor experience with a growing contractor.

In both your resume section and your summary, its important to avoid talking about topics more suited to a job interview, such as how much youre hoping to earn.

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What Is An Objective Statement

An objective statement is one or two sentences near the top of your resume that introduces your goals to the employer. With this statement, you identify the reasons you are applying for this job and the skills that make you suitable for it. Usually, you add an objective statement right after your name and contact information. An objective statement can get the attention of the hiring manager quickly and make it more likely that theyll read the rest of your application materials.

Image description

The best time to use an objective statement on your resume is when you are changing into an entirely new career. When changing to a new career, you need to show why youre interested in this new field and how your past skills can transfer over.

For example, youve spent the past 10 years working in marketing and now you want to start a career in sales. Your resume is filled with marketing experience, but you need to show that youd be a strong sales employee. In your objective statement, you could mention how youre experienced in understanding client needs and working with customers. Listing transferrable skills can show how you can apply your abilities to a new field.

You can also add an objective statement to your resume if youre a recent graduate, an entry-level candidate or recently relocated to a new area.

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