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What Should Be On Resume

Executive Assistant Resume Objective

How Many Pages Should Be in a Resume?

Looking to work in a fast-paced and challenging executive assistant role that allows for the application of strong organizational, support, coordination, scheduling and communication skills.

To obtain a position as an executive assistant to provide outstanding support to executive-level professionals by coordinating schedules, meeting deadlines, working effectively as part of the team, managing communications and overcoming all challenges.

Tips On Word Choice In Resumes

Be specific. You do not want to appear vague in your resume. Hiring managers are tired of hearing clichéd words like team player and hard worker. Avoid these phrases at all cost. Include words and phrases that explain specifically what you accomplished in your previous jobs.

Use action words. Hiring managers also like to see action words in resumes because they demonstrate that you took a leadership role that produced results.

Include power words. Along with action words, other power words include popular skills, words specific to your industry, and keywords from both the job listing and the company website. Use these to make your resume stand out as the hiring manager skims through it.

Use values. Also, when possible, use numbers to demonstrate how your efforts benefited your employers. For example, instead of simply saying you added value to Best Practices PR by saving money, you should say that you administered a public relations budget of $500,000 and, by developing and implementing an innovative and efficient cost-saving marketing program, saved Best Practices PR over $10,000 a year for a period of three years.”

Focus on the job. By focusing on the skills, results, and accomplishments most aligned to the job you’re applying for, you’ll have a much better chance of getting called in for an interview. Again, using keywords from the job listing will help align your resume with the job. This, coupled with word choice, will get you closer to your next job.

List Of Relevant Skills Tools And Certifications

Your skills section should include relevant technical or hard skills and soft skills. You can include any tools youve mastered or certifications youve obtained as well.

The skills you include should be relevant to the job that interests you. For example, you may have excellent hard skills in different areas, but all of those skills may not be applicable to the job. If you are a skilled violinist, that may not be a good skill to put on your resume when applying for a job in construction.

You can learn what skills potential employers are looking for by reading the job description. As you read through job posts, write down keywords that match your skills and include them in your skills section as appropriate.

Your skills section might look something like this:

Technical skills: Welding Electrical Systems Modern safety equipment Knowledge of major OSHA safety regulations OSHA Certification SMAW Welding Tools

Additional skills: Willingness to learn Attentive Organized Effective communicator Safety-conscious

Related: The Best Job Skills to Make Your Resume Stand Out

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How Many Pages Should A Resume Be: The Golden Rule

If you have been in the workforce for a number of years, you’re entitled to a maximum of two full pages of resume real estate. This rule applies to most senior professionals, whether you’ve been in the workforce for seven years or 27 years.

The reality is that most recruiters spend less than 10 seconds reviewing a resume before deciding whether the applicant should receive further consideration. With so little time to make the right impression, it’s important to present a succinct document that highlights the recent and more relevant parts of your professional experience, skills, and education.

How To Structure Your Resume

How to Write a Resume

No two resumes will look exactly alike , but generally, resumes should have the following sections.

Header & Contact Info: At the top of your resume, always include a header containing your name. Your contact info should be close by as well. After all, you dont want there to be any confusion over who the resume belongs to, or make it difficult for recruiters or hiring managers to reach out to you. However, you may want to avoid putting your contact info in the header or footer of the document itself the headers and footers can sometimes be overlooked by the software that scans your resume.

Professional Summary: The professional summary is a brief, one- to three-sentence section featured prominently on your resume that succinctly describes who you are, what you do and why youre perfect for the job. In contrast with the largely out-of-date objective statement a line that describes the type of career opportunity youre looking for professional summaries arent about what you want. Instead, theyre focused on the value you could bring to a potential employer. Its worth noting that a professional summary isnt an absolute must-have if your resume is missing one, it probably wont be a dealbreaker but it can be a nice way to give time-pressed recruiters and hiring managers a quick, high-level overview of why youre the right person for the job.

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What You’re Great At

Your “competencies” section should list the skills and areas of proficiency you can bring to your next role. List your professional skills that are in line with the position for which you’re applying, and that are relevant to the experience you’ve listed in your résumé.

TIP: Take a look at the job responsibilities of a position to get a sense of the type of skills you should be highlighting in this section.

What To Put On A Resume

What to include in a resume? Which resume sections to keep off? This complete guide outlines exactly which things to put on your resume to make it shine.

In 5 minutes you’ll learn what to put on a resume, but first think about this

You have years of skills, goals, work history, and education.

Youve only got an 8×11 piece of paper in front of you .

How can you squeeze all that into such a limited space?

Which resume sections are a must? Which to leave off? Where do you put what?

Well, the first thing to put is your mind at ease.

In this resume guide, youll learn:

  • What should be on a resume, where to add it, and what not to include.
  • How to structure a resume by using the best resume components.
  • Other things to include in a resume and with your resume.
  • How to write a resume for a job correctly using just the right resume sections.

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Fastest Ways To Obtain New Skills

Are you looking for your first job? Are you missing some of the required skills on a job posting? If so, dont worry. There are a range of ways for you to obtain the needed skills quickly.

If you are in need of a hard skill, this task is much easier. Hard skills are learned, so you can typically find an online resource, school, or curriculum to pick up the needed skills.

If you dont have enough time to attend class in person, there are a number of online learning platforms with courses that you can take online, in your spare time. Some examples of popular eLearning platforms include Lynda, Udemy, and Skillshare.

Learning soft skills are a little trickier. These interpersonal and personality traits are hardwired into humans, so the only way to get better at them is to practice, practice, practice.

If you cant practice soft skills while on a job, try to find some day-to-day activities that you can practice these skills during.

For example, if you need to work on punctuality, set a goal to arrive 5 minutes early wherever you need to be, no matter if it is for class or for coffee. Or if you need to work on your professionalism, pick up a volunteer job based in a professional, office setting.

How To Write A Great Resume Objective

What Should You Include on a Resume?

Consider your resume objective the introduction to your resume. Your resume objective may be the first thing your potential future employer ever reads about you, so you want to make sure its both powerful and to-the-point.

Keep these items in mind when writing a resume objective statement:

  • Keep it concise. In most cases, a recruiter or hiring manager is sifting through several resumes at a time to determine which applicants have the skills and experience necessary to move on to the next step in the hiring process. By making your resume objective short and strong, you will be more successful in holding their attention. Try removing filler words, such as a, the and like, to help keep the reader focused on the most important parts of your resume.

  • Tailor it to the position. Instead of writing a general objective statement, adapt it specifically to the job youre applying for. Start by reading the job description and highlighting skills or requirements that align with your strongest attributes or experiences. When you include an objective thats specific to the job role, the recruiter is more likely to dig deeper and learn more details about your professional experience.

  • Lead with your strongest attributes. Consider strengths that are not only relevant to the job role, but also attributes youre proud to share. For example, Organized and driven, Dedicated and experienced, Motivated team player or Accomplished leader.

  • Related: How To Write Strong Bullet Points

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    Polish Up Your Grammar And Formatting

    Resume writing is a unique style. It can be tricky to remember which tense to use or when to omit pronouns. How can you use language to tell a more compelling story? Which fonts and formats are ATS-friendly? Lets take a look.

    Resume Fonts

    Its important to use a font that is easy to read on screen, ATS-compatible, and commonly available. A few traditional resume fonts to consider include Helvetica, Garamond, or Georgia. Avoid using script fonts or custom fonts unless you are a designer. Dont use a font size below 10.

    Tense and Pronouns

    Use past tense when talking about jobs in the past, and present tense when describing the work you are currently doing. Traditional resume writing leaves out personal pronouns and gets right to the action. Ex. Spearheaded a new email marketing initiative that increased revenue by 10 percent.

    Resume Action Words

    Action verbs help liven up your writing, making your resume more readable for recruiters and hiring managers. Consider beginning each bullet point on your resume with an action verb and replacing generic verbs like managed or led with more engaging words like mentored or accelerated.

    Highlight Your Key Skills And Experience Earlier

    Your resume should be clear and easy to read. If you have extensive experience, your resume may seem bulky or complex. A summary section can help reduce the complexity for those who have a wider range of experiences down to the most relevant, important points. It may also encourage the hiring manager to give your resume more attention if they find what theyre looking for in your resume summary.

    Also Check: Example Software Engineer Resume

    Sort Skills By Relevance

    If you are applying for a sales job, your prior experience as a car mechanic is not the most relevant. You will want to emphasize experience that can be applicable to a sales role. However, if you lack the experience, search through your existing positions for relevant skills.

    For example, if you were responsible for providing customer service as a mechanic, that is something that can be transferable to a sales role.

    What You’re Passionate About

    Writing Your Resume

    The “additional experience” section should showcase the ways you prefer to make positive impacts in your community and/or your professional industry. Describe the volunteer roles and responsibilities that have sharpened your professional skills and led you to acquire new ones.

    TIP: Include things like: involvement in a student organization, volunteering with local organizations, mentoring/advising a student/group. The key here is to think of skills you have gained that are transferable to the position.

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    Keep Your Resume Short And Direct

    The No. 1 rule of writing a resume is to keep it short and to the point. The general rule is no more than one page unless you have a very good reason for it to be longer, like an extensive career or a lot of highly applicable work experience.

    An easy way to keep your resume concise is to include only recent, relevant experience. While that yearlong first job might have taught you a lot about the field, its not always necessary to include every detail from your entire career history.

    Most experts recommend including jobs from the previous 10 or 15 years only, although this time frame may be shorter if you are new to the workforce. Including too many unrelated work experiences can make your resume appear too busy and draw attention away from your relevant qualifications. Your resume should be focused, clear and concise.

    Tip: If you are an older job seeker, here are some things you can do to condense and age-proof your resume.

    New Graduate/entering The Job Market For The First Time:

    Highly driven recent business school graduate seeking a full-time position in finance where I can lend my knowledge of market analytics to help your organization improve profitability.

    Motivated team player and aspiring fashion buyer with proven communications skills seeking to grow my knowledge of the couture industry and use my conversational skills as a junior retail associate for your womens formal wear boutique.

    Read more: How to Write a Career Objective on Your Resume as a Fresh Graduate

    Read Also: What Should You Include In A Resume

    A Resume Should Be Specific To The Job You Are Applying For

    A resume is a concise, informative summary of your abilities, education, and experience. It should highlight your strongest assets and skills, and differentiate you from other candidates seeking similar positions. Although it alone will not get you a job or internship, a good resume is an important step toward obtaining an interview.

    There are three types of resume formats: chronological, functional, and combination. Chronological resumes list your experience in reverse chronological order, with your most recent experiences first. Functional resumes highlight your skills and accomplishments rather than listing your work history chronologically. Combination resumes are a mix of the chronological and functional formats.

    No matter which resume format you choose, keep in mind that the goal of your resume is to get you an interview. To do this, your resume must be clear and concise, and highlight your most relevant skills and experience.

    Should You Include A Photo On Your Resume

    How To Write An INCREDIBLE Resume: 2022 TEMPLATE INCLUDED!
    • In general, avoid putting a photo on your resume.
    • Studies show recruiters spend less than seven seconds looking at a resume, so you dont want to distract them in any way. Resume photos can be a distraction.
    • If you work in real estate or are a performer in the entertainment industry, it is appropriate to have a photo on your resume. Certain countries also welcome having photos on resumes.
    • If you place a photo on your resume, it should go in the top right- or left-hand corner near your contact information.

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    Stick To A Consistent Date Format

    The dates on your resume should follow a consistent format. For example, most job seekers state the month and year they began employment somewhere, followed by a dash and then the end date . Like this:

    Content EditorMay 2019 August 2020Big Software, New York, NY

    However, its important to make sure you stick to the same formatting throughout your resume. If you start stating only the years you were employed halfway through your resume, its likely to confuse employers and negatively impact their perception of you.

    Your Resume Is The Key Piece Of Your Job Application Here’s How To Get It Right

    • Employers look at resumes for an average of only six or seven seconds.
    • Youll get the best results if you send your resume between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. within the first four days of a job being posted.
    • Your resume should be clear, concise and tailored to the job for which you are applying.
    • This article is for job seekers who want to improve their resumes to increase their chances of getting an interview.

    With the current labor shortage and low unemployment rate, job seekers are at an advantage when it comes to applying for jobs. However, thats not to say that you dont need a professionally written resume. Employers still want to find and hire the best employees for each open position, and resumes are the first step in that search. There are several strategies you can use to make your resume stand out and demonstrate that you are the best candidate for the job.

    Read Also: How To Write A Resume With No Experience Example

    Set Up Your Resume Formatting And Style

    Start your resume by opening a new document in your preferred word processor . Then use the following resume formatting:

  • set ½1 inch margins on all sides
  • make sure your page is set to US Letter size and portrait orientation
  • select a professional font for your resume, such as Arial or Helvetica
  • adjust your font size between 10 and 12 points
  • This formatting is the default in Microsoft Word, so you shouldnt need to adjust anything if youre starting with a new document.

    Keep everything on one-page so you dont overwhelm the hiring manager. Only write a two-page resume if all of your information is relevant to the job, or youre applying for a senior leadership role.

    Adding style to your resume

    After formatting your resume, you need to land on a style.

    Your resumes style includes all the aesthetic details like:

    • whether or not you use a sidebar
    • how you set up your headers

    For formal industries like law, finance, or politics, you should stick to a simple, traditional resume style. Clean lines, no graphics, and dark colors like navy blue or burgundy are most appropriate.

    However, if you want a job in a more creative industry like tech or marketing, you should use a more modern resume design. Modern resume designs include brighter colors, sans-serif fonts, and graphic details like visual skill levels or sidebars.

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