What Should Be On My Resume

Take It One Step Further

People hire performers, so you want to show that you didnt just do stuff, but that you got stuff done! As you look at your bullet points, think about how you can take each statement one step further and add in what the benefit was to your boss or your company. By doing this, you clearly communicate not only what youre capable of, but also the direct benefit the employer will receive by hiring you. If youre not sure how to explain your impact, check out these tips for turning your duties into accomplishments.

How To Edit Your Resume

Youve written your resume, and read it twice, but thats not enough. A good editing job will take a little longer and some specific tactics meant to catch resume errors.

First, dont attempt to edit your resume until its done. Yes, it can be difficult to leave a glaring error while you move on to write your skills section, but force yourself to finish your resume before you edit it. Why? Youll save yourself time, and letting go of errors now could help you write a better first draft because youre focusing on the writing itself. Youll be glad you decided to go back and make all the edits at once.

Next, never try to edit your resume right after youve written it. In fact, you should give yourself a 24-hour break before editing your resume. With time away, youll see your resume with fresh eyes and for what it really isnot what you meant it to be.

When you give your resume a read, try reading your resume backward. It sounds odd and its not always easy but reading backward forces you to focus on each word, and helps you better catch both spelling and grammatical errors in the text.

Ask a friend or family member to read your resume, too. They may spot errors that you missed, or have suggestions for how to show yourself in an even better light.

And lastly, be sure to look for common resume pitfalls before you press send.

What To Include In Your Resume

Now that you know what not to include in your resume, take a second look at your resume to make sure it includes all the right elements to effectively tell your story and market your qualifications. Click on the following link to learn what 11 pieces of information every professional should include in a resume.

Not sure if your resume includes any of these mistakes? Let us help! Take advantage of;TopResumes free critique today!

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Bonus: You Know Whats Important

Now that your;résumé;describes you at your best, ensure that it makes that great first impression;youre going for. Solicit constructive feedback from seasoned professionals. The Placement Exchange offers a free;Résumé Review service to candidates who are registered for TPE Onsite 2017. You can submit your materials starting;December 5, 2016. The last day to submit your information for review is;February 6, 2017. Learn more.

Write A Pithy Objective

Whether youre switching careers or feel slightly underqualified for the job you are applying for, Kim suggests including an objective at the top of your resume. This will help hiring managers understand the thought process behind your decision to change industries or why you are applying for the job. She says you can fill the gaps in between your experience by detailing the inspiration and motivation behind your move.

This objective statement should be limited to two or three sentences explaining what you are trying to accomplish and what you can contribute, Kim says.

And dont be discouraged by the job description: Schweikert notes that it is written for the perfect candidate and hiring managers know that so they likely expect that you wont fit each bullet point on a posting. Theres also a relatively simple way to determine if youre right for the role. Most job descriptions are written most important criteria to least important criteria, Schweikert says. So if youve got a lot of the first couple of bullets of the job posting, you are probably in a pretty good place.

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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.

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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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:

How Do I Tailor My Resume For A Career Change

A career change is one of the moments where its clear to most job seekers that the same old resume just wont cut it. When its time to make a pivot, a tailored resume shows an employer that you are invested in their business and ready to learn any skills you lack. Here are some simple tips to help you stand out when its time to try something new.

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Reach Out To Your Network

Arranging informational interviews with people you are connected to can also help your resume stand out, according to Schweikert. Most applications are submitted online, and the volume of resumes that hiring managers must sift through can be overwhelming at times so establishing a personal connection can help you get noticed, she says. Plus, if you are invited in for an official interview, you can bring up what you discussed at the informational one. You can say, hey I did a lot of research on the organization and met with Susie Q and they shared this with me,’ Schweikert says.

After your informational interview, you can reach out to that contact and ask that they glance over your resume, making sure to pose as many specific questions as possible about how you should tailor your resume to the company or specific role, Schweikert adds. For example, if you are struggling to decide whether to include your college activities on your resume, reaching out to your connection for advice can provide invaluable insight on whether that might be important to that company.

Kim also encourages informational interviews, as they are a great opportunity to learn more about an industry, company or specific role. There is also significant value in having someone else look over your resume. A second pair of eyes can bring a lot of fresh perspective, she says.

Write to Annabel Gutterman at .

When Should Your Resume Be Two Pages

Most resumes should be two pages long. Two pages are the standard length in 2021 to fit all your keywords, work history, experience, and skills on your resume.

Here are some situations that indicate you should use a two-page resume:

• You are not an entry-level candidate.

• You have enough relevant skills, experience, and keywords to fill at least a page and a half.

• Youâre submitting a resume online.

• Youâre handing a resume to a hiring manager.

If youâre concerned a two-page resume will slow down a hiring manager during their six-second resume test, remember that this âsix-secondâ figure comes from a review after an ATS scan has determined your fit for the position. If youâre able to bypass an ATS, one study suggests that when time constraints are not an issue, recruiters are 2.3 times more likely to prefer a two-page resume.

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Key Elements Of A Resume

Resumes tell the employer about your experiences, skills and work history. Use your resume to highlight items that indicate you are a good worker, are qualified for the position and bring desirable skills to the job. If you are a student and have little or no previous job experiences, enhance information about your school and community activities.

Personal Information

Name Current and Permanent address Telephone number

Objective

In one short sentence summarize your goal for your job search.The goal statement should be related to the specific position for which you are applying. It is also effective to highlight your skills in the goal statement.Examples:Seeking a position as a social worker providing service to the aged.Seeking a position that utilizes my skills in counseling, research, and proposal writing.

Work supervisor Character reference Include the name, relationship to you, organization, contact phone numbers.

Limit your resume to one or two pages.Do not include birth date, health status or social security number.Limit the use of personal pronouns such as “I. Begin sentences with action verbs.Be honest but avoid writing anything negative in your resume.Make your resume error free. Have someone proof read it for you.Use a simple, easy to read font style, 10-14 point.Use high quality paper.;

How Can I Save My Resume As A Pdf

While nearly every firm offers Microsoft Word or Google Docs, which makes accessing a.doc or.docx file simple, storing your CV as a PDF has some important advantages.

The downside is that it may not be readable by the employers application tracking system.

Squiggly lines appear under misspelled words or grammatical faults in Microsoft Word and other word processing applications, but many of these mistakes are not errors at all for resumes.

Even if a word processing programs dictionary does not contain a lot of industrial jargon or company names, that does not mean they are spelled wrong.

Those squiggly lines, which can be annoying to hiring managers when viewing a paper on a screen, will not appear if you save your resume as a PDF.

Furthermore, while both Macs and PCs can run Microsoft Word, documents opened on a Mac often appear differently than documents opened on a PC.

If hiring managers use a different operating system, some of your careful formatting may not show up appropriately. This isnt the case with PDF files.

A PDF is frequently the best option for delivering a resume directly to a contact or hiring manager through email.

Follow the procedures for submitting resumes through an application system.

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When Should Your Resume Be Three Pages

Your resume should rarely be three pages or more. Most of the information for a three-page resume is better suited for a LinkedIn profile or a comprehensive CV.

âThough we generally advise against a resume length beyond two pages, sometimes itâs necessary,â says Jennifer. âSome professions and industries have a different set of standards when it comes to resumes and therefore require more information.â

Why Your Resume Should Be Two Pages

Your resume will most likely need two pages to show your career progression. If you have more than 10 years of experience, youâll also want to include a professional summary and possibly a career highlights section. These are both excellent opportunities to fit in more keywords.

For highly skilled applicants, a two-page resume will also fit all your relevant experience, education, certifications, and additional training.

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Format Your Resume Properly And Write A Cover Letter

Here are some other essential items to consider when writing a resume:

• Section Headingsfor each of these resume sections, use distinct formatting on the section heading to separate it from the rest of the text. Make it 24pts larger and bold.
• Resume Templatesa professional resume shouldnt look as if it was styled in the 1980s. Choose a modern and professional resume template to be taken seriously for a present-day job.
• Resume Formatreverse-chronological, functional, combination, or technical? Formatting a resume right ensures that the most relevant and important information is just where it needs to be for the hiring manager to find it.
• Resume Fontsthe legibility of your resume is crucial if you want the HR manager to read it and the ATS to be able to scan it. Read the full guide about resume layout for more on this topic.
• Cover Letterhalf of all employers wont accept a resume without a cover letter. And that other half? Most of them still prefer it. So dont forget to include a resume cover letter.
• Resume Emailyouve learned how to write a great resume, but sending it correctly makes sure it gets delivered, opened, and read.
• Portfolioif you have projects, photography, or other work to show requiring a separate entity, by all means, include it! All you have to do is add a link in your contact info for personal projects.

Double your impact with a matching resume and cover letter combo. Use our cover letter builder and make your application documents pop out.

The Most Popular: A Reverse Chronological Resume

As previously mentioned, a reverse chronological resume is preferred by many coaches and HR experts, mainly because its super readable. When everythings in a clear order, its easy to skim and even easier to draw lines between experiences.

Who its good for: Just about everyonefrom students applying to internships all the way up to senior-level executives

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Focus On Your Most Recent Experience

Your potential employer wants to see your most recent skills and experience. You donât need to include an internship from 15 years ago! If you havenât used those skills since then, they are not going to help you land this job.

This applies to your work experience descriptions, as well. If you had the same responsibilities under multiple entries, consider including it only under the position you held most recently.

Put the focus on your most recent professional experience. In general, you shouldnât include any jobs from over 15 years ago. This will help you keep the focus on what youâre capable of now, as well as minimize age bias.

Exception: education. Your hard-earned degrees are almost always relevant, no matter how long ago you earned them.

A Guide To Crafting A Perfect Resume Objective And Summary Statement

Ask one person about including an objective statement on your resume and theyll say its paramount. Ask another person and theyll say its outdated. Who knew a couple of sentences could be so polarizing? Youre bound to find conflicting information about this topic, making the objective statement, well, subjective.

A resume objective is a short statement that outlines your career direction. Objective statements were once the standard on every job seekers resume. A decade or so ago, you wouldnt have sent out a resume without one. But times change, and what recruiters look for in a standard CV has changed, too.

Read on to learn about resume objectives, why they are important and how to distinguish your resume objective from thousands of other job seekers.

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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.

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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