What To Add To A Resume

Additional Relevant Accomplishments And Volunteer Work

The last section to consider adding to your resume is a shortlist of any other relevant accomplishments or volunteer work. Only include those that are relevant or that may help create a better picture of who you are as an individual as related to the position youre applying for. If youre not sure what information may be a fit for this section, re-read the job descriptions that interest you. Consider if you have any experiences outside of the professional history you already added which may help employers understand your qualifications.

Here is an example of what your accomplishments and volunteer work section could look like:

Volunteer firefighter, 20102012

What Metrics You Can Include

Even if you dont work in sales and marketing, you can still find relevant metrics to add to your resume!

Depending on your current role and industry, your performance will be measured in a variety of ways.

A writer, for example, can still quantify how many articles he wrote or how much web traffic his content was able to drive.

A teacher can quantify how many students she taught or how much her students improved their standardized test scores as a result of her efforts.

To help you brainstorm metrics and KPIs that you could add to your resume, take time to reflect on the following questions, as relevant to your role.

Sales & Revenue

• Revenue Growth: By how much did you increase revenue on a month-over-month or year-over-year basis?
• Conversion Rate: By how much did you increase conversions?
• Frequency: How often did you execute sales campaigns?

Profitability

• Company Net Profit: By how much did you improve the companys net profit?
• Departmental Profit: By how much did you improve departmental profitability?

Costs

• Project Costs: By how much did you decrease project costs?
• Operating Costs: By how much did you reduce operating costs and in what areas?

People

• Recruitment: How many people did you interview or hire?
• Team Leadership: How many people did you lead? How many teams did you oversee?
• Retention: By how much did you improve customer or team member retention?
• Engagement: By how much did you improve employee engagement?

Partnerships & Deals

Performance & Operations

Analysis

Relevant Social Media Handles

LinkedIn

Many companies nowadays ask for a Linkedin profile when you apply for a job.

Your chances of getting hired will be greater if you as your resume.

In very specific cases, you can also include your Twitter profile .

Some marketing jobs ask for an existing social following, for example. In others, you could use it to display your witty, under-20-characters writing skills.

Quora

Quora questions and answers cover a wide range of business topics nowadays.

Are you an expert at giving business advice with 100+ answers on the topic? You can show your authority by linking your Quora page.

StackOverflow

Mainly relevant for developers,coders, computer scientists.

Having a very active Stack overflow profile can give you a big boost if you code.

Github

Only for developers, coders, data scientists, etc.

Github is a great way to showcase your projects. Whether its a website you developed, or a mobile game, make sure to include it!

Medium

Freelancers, writers, bloggers, and entrepreneurs.

A rich medium profile can help you showcase your writing skills and personality before even getting to the interview or trial task.

Make sure to only put the relevant social media handles on your resume. If you are applying for a software development position, for example, your StackOverflow profile will be more relevant than your Twitter account.

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How To Write A Resume Skills Section

Ran Zheng / The Balance

What’s the best way to write a skills section for your resume, and highlight your qualifications for the job? The skills section of your resume includes your abilities that are related to the jobs you are applying for. In this section, you should list skills that are relevant to the position or career field that you are interested in, such as computer skills, software skills, and/or language skills.

Review The Job Description And Research The Company

Though you may have several different areas of strength, include only those that are relevant to the job. Recruiters often have limited time when reviewing resumes, so its best to keep your skills section specific and concise. Once you move on to the interview phase, youll have the opportunity to elaborate on additional skills not mentioned on your resume.

Start by reviewing the job description and making note of any required skills or abilities that match your own. In addition to job requirements, consider the description of the company and its culture.

For example, a job description for a medical assistant may require proficiency in electronic medical records software and scheduling programs. It may also share that the company values teamwork and patient satisfaction. In this case, the best skills to put on a resume might include the following:

• Electronic medical records systems
• Interpersonal communication
• Customer service

If you dont see any clues about company culture listed in the job description, check out Indeed Company Pages or review the employers website for additional information.

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Example Of An Ats Skills Report

Depending on the program, the ATS scan also gives weight to your core skills. Based on the words you use and the frequency of each, the computer will parse your resume and generates a report that briefly explains to the employer how skilled you are. The screenshot below was pulled from our in-house ATS softwareâthe same tech big companies use to parse your resume.

Youâll see our ATS pulled information about computer systems , foreign language proficiency, and problem solving skills in addition to the industry and the core skill .

This information was generated from a resume submission, as opposed to a ZipJob professionally written resume, so other IT-related computer programs, degrees, and so on were not optimized for the ATS. Weâll talk about how to optimize your resume for ATS scans next.

Curious about what your resume says to an ATS? Try ourfree review.

Why Should You Include Communication Skills In Your Resume

Communication is a soft skill that takes a considerable amount of time and practice to master. If youve become especially skilled in areas such as writing, speaking, active listening and presenting, highlighting them on your resume will help you show a potential employer that you embrace teamwork and likely work well with others. These types are especially important in fields such as marketing, advertising or sales, but they can benefit you in a variety of different industries.

1. Name and contact information2. Summary or objectivec. Description of role and achievement4. Education

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How To List Education On A Resume

Another essential part of your resume is the Education section. Here, you describe your academic career with any relevant achievements.

Heres how youd format your education section:

And heres how this would look on a resume:

Keep in mind that you should mention your education in reverse-chronological order. So, the most recent thing goes on top.

When writing your education section, heres a couple of things you should keep in mind:

Who To Use As A Reference

Many people struggle to decide who to list as their references on their resume.

To help break it down, here are the best people to include on your reference page in order of importance:

If possible, list your current or former boss at the top of your references list. Most employers view supervisors or bosses as the most valuable references, because they have the greatest insight into your work ethic, skills, and professional strengths.

Additionally, consider the following details when choosing the other references on your resume:

• Which of my references are most relevant to the job Im applying for?
• Do I have references that work in the industry Im applying to?
• Which potential reference would best highlight my relevant skills?
• Who is not suited to give me a reference for this particular job?

Can you use a friend as a personal reference?

Generally, you shouldnt include friends as a reference on your resume. The exception is if theyre former colleagues, are currently employed at the company youre applying to, or are a former supervisor. In these cases, listing your friend as a reference is acceptable.

Who to use as a reference if its your first job

For a student or recent graduate, finding an appropriate set of professional references is difficult. So if you lack work experience and have no references, you can list a:

• Teacher
• Guidance counselor
• Family member or friend youve done work for

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Final Step To Gain An Unfair Advantage: Tailor Your Resume To The Job Description

I recommend tailoring your resume to match the job description before sending it out for each job. Look at the skills and keywords listed on the job description as youre writing your resume, and include matching information as much as possible.

Recruiters are always evaluating your resume relative to the job opening, so the more you can include skills and professional experience from their job posting, the more interviews youll get.

Customize your career summary statement, work experience, and even skill list. You can use the job posting to discover new ideas of what to include. You can also reorder your content and even remove one or two areas that arent relevant to the jobs you want next.

Heres a full article on how to easily tailor your resume for each job.

It will take you slightly longer to customize each job application, but youll get far more responses.

Would you rather apply for 50 jobs and hear back from one? Or apply for 25 jobs and hear back from four?

Thats the type of difference tailoring your resume can make.

Now you know what goes on a resume and how to make each section attractive to employers.

If you follow the steps above youre going to have a great resume that grabs attention and shows recruiters and hiring managers why they should interview you immediately.

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 some hard skills 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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How Do I Figure Out The Right Combination Of Skills To Include On My Resume For A Particular Job Application

Check the answer key! That is, print out the job description of the role youre interested in and take a highlighter to it , marking any skills you see listed that you have. Then, make sure these skills are listed on your resume. For example, heres a job description with some of the key skills bolded:

Email Marketing Manager

• Manage email marketing strategy and calendar
• Monitor, analyze, and report on campaign performance
• Improve campaign success throughconversion optimization, A/B testing, segmentation,and more
• Collaborate with the design and editorial teams to maintain consistent brand and voice across platforms
• Work cross-functionally with sales, product, product marketing, and data teams

Requirements

• 3+ years in email marketing
• Experience withcontent management systems and email service providers such as MailChimp or Constant Contact
• Experience withGoogle Analytics, HTML, CSS, Photoshop, Microsoft Excel, and SEOa plus
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Team player with strong interpersonal, relationship-building, and stakeholder management skills
• Excellent problem solving and time management skills

And heres a list of skills you might include in your skills section if you were applying to the job:

Conversion optimization, A/B testing, segmentation, MailChimp, Constant Contact, Google Analytics, HTML, CSS, Photoshop, Microsoft Excel, SEO

Statistical Analysis And Data Mining

According to statistics, by the end of 2017, there were 2.7 zettabytes of data in the digital universe. And by the end of 2020, 1.7 megabytes of data will be created per second per person on the planet.

Just to put things in perspective, there are 31,536,000 seconds in a year, and more than 7.5 billion people on the Earth.

The amount of data is gigantic, and there arent enough skilled people on the planet to take advantage of it.

Modern techniques like data mining, text mining, sentiment analysis, and statistical analysis are becoming popular to make use of the enormous amount of data available.

You can use data mining and statistics for so many essential things, including:

• Analyze data and current trends
• Study customer mindset
• Take the right decisions for the business

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Answer The Job Description

Use the job description to figure out what the employer wants to see in terms of skills on resume submissions. Look for phrases such as ârequired skills,â âtechnical requirement,â and âmust have experience withâ¦â The words that follow are usually necessary qualifications and keywords.

Make sure all required skills appear on your resume at least once. Use the exact word or phrase as the job description. Mention your top skills multiple times, such as in a professional summary, skills section, and while describing your work experience.

Reminder: use a combination of soft skills and hard skills for a resume.

Letâs break down the list above to detail exactly how to incorporate the right resume skills. Here is an example of some good skills a Director of Finance might want to put on a resume:

Your first step to identifying the right skills to put on your resume will follow the same process. Use the list of vital skills to identify your own talents that are valuable to employers.

We have more information about how to use them, and more examples of each skill further down on the page. First, though, we need to quickly go over why skills are the most valuable words on your resume.

Don’t Lie About Your Skill Set

Be honest when choosing the skills to list on a resume. It’s tempting to include an in-demand skill to get the keyword in your resume, but you could be asked to prove your claim during the interview process or after youre hired.

You dont need to include a competency level for each skill on your resume, but calling out your skill level is an option. Use this as a guide:

• Beginner: A novice understanding of the skill. You have exposure to the skill and understand basic concepts, but you lack experience. For transparency, theres nothing wrong with writing beginner in parentheses next to the skill.
• Intermediate: Between a beginner and an expert. You have experience with and can carry out the skill, but you don’t understand advanced concepts. For this level skill, you normally wouldnt need a qualifier.
• Expert: A highly developed skill level. You have solid experience and training with the skill and understand advanced concepts. To draw attention to a crucial skill, write expert in parentheses next to the skill. If youre an expert in your entire skills list, call the section expertise.

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Weave Your Skills Into Your Professional Experience Section

While many job seekers may list skills in a separate section of their resume, its also important to weave them into descriptions under each of your previous positions. This is where you have an opportunity to strengthen your skills section with additional context and specific examples.

For example, if you include the skills project management and time management, you could illustrate this by providing a real-life example, such as: Successfully managed six projects across three separate teams during the first half of 2018, and delivered all completed items by the deadlines.

Ten Things To Add To Your Resume

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Most people don’t like their resumes. I don’t blame them! Most resumes are weak. They are boring, and they all sound alike.

Most resumes are lame because they are written in an awful language that’s only used for resumes and company policy memos. I call this language Corporate Zombie Speak. It is dry and formal. It sucks the power out of your story.

Watch on Forbes:

You are not a “results-oriented professional with a bottom-line orientation.” You are a unique, amazing person but your power will never across in your resume as long as you brand yourself like every other battle drone in the fleet.

To put your power into your resume, you have to get rid of the Corporate Zombie Speak language in it and replace it with your own human voice.

Here are ten things to add to your resume and ten things to take out immediately!

Ten Things To Add To Your Resume

1. LinkedIn profile URL

6. Explanation for every job change

7. Framing statement for every employer

8. Framing statement for every role

9. Dragon-Slaying Stories

10. Your human voice

Your LinkedIn profile URL will look like this: www.linkedin.com/in/lizryan. Log in to LinkedIn and go to the Edit Profile page to set up your unique LinkedIn profile URL. Then you can add it to your resume and include it in the signature line of your job-search-related email messages.

Here’s how that will look:

They tell their story, simply and powerfully.

You need to explain why you left each job. You can accomplish that this way:

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