How to create a good resume?
All you need to know about writing a resume
Your career and, possibly, your entire future life depends on how this document is written. Learn more about what you need to know in order to create a good resume.
No matter how you seek employment, among friends and relatives, in newspapers or on the Internet, sooner or later you will be asked to provide your resume. Now everyone knows that job search may not be very effective without a well-written resume.
In this article we will consider the following questions:
- Why do we need a resume?
- The structure of the resume.
- What should not be written on the resume?
- What should be included on the resume?
- What to check when the resume is already written?
Why do we need a resume?
Resume is one of the most effective tools for job search. It is a brief description of the most important facts for your potential employer, such as your biography, mainly related to your work experience, skills, and knowledge. The average time spent on reviewing the CV by HR or employer is no more than 1-2 minutes, so it is very important to attract the reader’s attention from the very beginning, get him interested and encourage him to appoint an interview. When creating a resume, you need to remember that it will become your business card and should make you stand out from the entire crowd of job seekers.
Structure of the resume
Resume usually consists of 1-2 pages and includes the following blocks:
Contact Information
- Name and surname.
- Address (including ZIP).
- Telephone number.
- E-mail address.
Objectives: a brief description of what kind of job you are looking for and why you are applying for it (no more than 6 lines, 2-3 lines will be better). If you are sending the resume for a specific job position, the title or name of the vacancy must be written in the objectives. If you have a lot of skills and experience, you can create two or three versions of the resume. It is better to have several resumes focused on different aspects than a general one.
Qualifications: Briefly indicate the most important information for the potential employer about your professional skills, strengths, and achievements.
Work experience (the last place of work is at the beginning of the list). This is the most important part of the resume, which describes your work experience, as a rule, over the past 10 years according to the following scheme:
- Company name;
- The company’s profile;
- Years of work;
- Position;
- Official duties;
- Professional skills and achievements.
Describing your achievements, use more verbs such as developed, saved, increased or reduced.
Education (the more time passed after graduation, the less space this part should take in the resume. For example, graduates and students should put their academic qualifications foremost, since they do not have sufficient work experience. You can also mention the additional information about practical courses, seminars, internships, etc.
Additional information: knowledge of foreign languages and computers, the availability of driver’s licenses, membership in professional organizations, hobby etc. (should be mentioned only if it is closely related to the desired job position).
Recommendations. If possible, provide recommendations.
What should not be written on the resume?
Do not include on the resume:
- Your entire work experience (in fact, your potential employer is interested only in the last 3-5 job positions during the last 10 years);
- Your medical data and health information;
- Your weaknesses;
- The reasons why you left your previous workplace;
- Recommendations or references to the people who can recommend you (this list should be provided during the interview or upon request).
What should be included on the resume?
When creating a resume, remember the following rules:
Structure: All information in the resume should be set in a certain sequence and correspond to the chosen form.
Selectiveness: Thinking over your resume. First of all, determine its objective, decide what kind of job you want to get. Analyze your professional experience and include the most important information in the resume. The selective approach will protect the resume from excessive, unnecessary information.
Objectivity: Describing your experience and skills, be realistic and objective. You should be prepared to justify everything that is indicated in the resume.
Brevity. The resume should not exceed two pages, so the information should be presented briefly, with the emphasis on the most important and relevant points for the employer.
Concreteness. You need to be very attentive and accurate in the choice of language and phrases.
DON’Ts
Trained some people;
Helped to reduce some mistakes;
Catch on well.
DOs
Trained two/five new employees;
Reduced errors by 15%, which helped to saved $ 40 000 for the company;
Mastered the new methods in a record short time (in two weeks).
Activity. Do not be garrulous and avoid passive verb forms. Emphasize your achievements using the imperative verbs.
Positivity. Prefer positive information to negative.
Focus on achievements. Emphasize your achievements and extra duties.
What to check when the resume is already written?
When the resume is already written, use professional resume review to check your document by the following criteria:
- Ask someone who is good at English language grammar to verify it (it may be online resume reviewer, for example, resume-review.org);
- Use Present Tense to describe your current job position;
- Use Past Tense to describe your previous job positions;
- Be consistent: if you once used any abbreviation, continue to use it throughout the text (however it is better to avoid usage of abbreviations);
- Avoid long sentences and abstruse words;
- Clearly, highlight the necessary headings;
- Make sure that your resume is written in the one and the same style;
- Choose a format that is good for the reader;
- For a printed version, use a white paper of good quality;
- It is very important to make your resume 1-2 pages in length;
- Be sure that you will be able to confirm all the information that you included on the resume.
We hope that this article will be helpful for you in creating your CV or Resume. If you feel that you need more help, check how to create a perfect resume with free resume reviewer.