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Your resume is perhaps the most important personal sales tool you have when promoting yourself to a potential employer.
Did you know you have about 30 seconds to impress a potential employer before they decide to move onto the next application?
Accordingly, it is essential that you commit adequate time to getting it right in order to present you, your skills, and your experience in the best light.
While you may meet all the required skills necessary to succeed in a particular job position, it is of no use to you if an employer decides to reject your resume. You have about 30 seconds to impress your employer before he/she decides whether to throw your resume in the bin.
So how do you create a resume that gives you every chance of success?
First of all, an effective resume needs to be job specific. It needs to meet the employer’s stated requirements for the position posted. It is important that you recognise what skills and experiences are necessary for a particular job and highlight those in your resume.
Here is some useful information to assist you in writing a job-winning resume:
> Common Resume Misconceptions> Getting Started> Elements of a Great Resume> Resume Format
1) You can use the same resume for every job application. WRONG!
One resume that you dust off and send for every job, no matter how "good," works even less than a pair of pants labelled "one size fits all." Resumes need to be tailored for the specific position and company. Don’t use the same resume for every job application.2) Landing a job is a numbers game...so you need to blanket the earth with it. WRONG!
This is one of the least productive methods to find a job. Sure, if you send enough resumes and wait long enough, then yes, eventually you may get a job offer this way. But few people want to take those kinds of chances and wait that long.3) Using fancy fonts, pictures, bright colours and a unique layout will get you noticed . WRONG!
Always remember that scan-ability is key. All of the above may get you noticed...but for the wrong reasons.
Remember, you only have about 30 seconds, so don’t make the viewer spend 20 of them figuring out how to read your resume.
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The hardest part about writing a resume is where to start but don’t let it put you off.
Before you start actually writing your resume, think about what you want to do, what image you want to project to your potential employer and how your past experiences relate to your current aspirations.
Remember, an employer is always thinking “Why should I speak with this person? How is she/he different from all the other applicants?”Try writing some of your experiences onto a piece of paper.
Don’t think you have any experience? Then think again! Brainstorm and think carefully about your:
In each heading, think, “What did I do?” and write it down.
Once you have all that on paper you should start focusing on bits that are important to the job you are applying for.
Remember a resume's purpose is to show how well you fit a particular job and NOT to share your life story. Keep the 30 seconds to impress rule in mind.
For the list you wrote above, write short and concise sentences for each heading. Each sentence should be structured so that it is interesting and compelling with actions verbs at the beginning of each of you sentences.
Click here to view a concise list of Action Verbs
Here are some features of a great resume.
Be sure to keep this in mind when writing your own. Never let poor resume writing affect your chance of getting a job.
Targeted
The more targeted a resume is, the greater your chances of getting that interview.
Employers want to know exactly what you can do for their company. Tailor each resume to the job you are applying for (it only takes a few sentences to do this). Remove any irrelevant information.
Well Written
Well written resumes makes a positive impression with an employer. Use action words, such as, established, implemented, created and streamlined. This will add that extra boost to your story.
Consistency
Ensure your resume is logical and easy to read. Be consistent with everything, such as the spacing, margins and borders. Emphasise important points with basic text enhancements such as boldness, italics or underlining.
Summarised Qualifications
This is perhaps the most important section in your resume as it outlines your top selling points. Many people will neglect this, missing the opportunity to be noticed. Don’t make this mistake.
Self-Promotion
The job of the resume is to sell sell sell! Don’t be shy; show your accomplishments, skills and abilities.
Employers want to too see that you can indeed perform the job at hand. Show them by letting them know about your experiences and how others have benefited from your productivity.
Abbreviations
Do not use abbreviations in place of proper English. It is unprofessional and many are not universally accepted.
No Personal Stuff
Personal information such as height, weight and marital status is unnecessary and seen as unprofessional.
Grammatically Correct
Poor grammar is the quickest way for your resume to end up in the ‘rejection pile’.
Do not trust your computer’s spell and grammar check. Read every word yourself and have someone you know and trust proof read your resume.
Spelling mistakes and typos suggest that your standard of work will be of the same poor quality.
Resumes come in many different formats.
The traditional and most commonly used resume format is the chronological format- so named because the core component of the resume is a chronological review of your employment history.
The advantage of this resume format is that it is easy to read and highlights your past work experience and details performed in those positions in a sensible format.
Personal Information
Contact information should be placed on top of your resume and include your name, address, phone number and email.
Job/Career Objective
This is optional but it is good to include as it allows a potential employer to get a feel for you and indicates the direction you wish to take.
Employment History
Describe your experience in the most interesting and concise manner, ensuring the language is focussed on, and relevant to, the job you are applying for.
For each past position you have held, list the following information:
1. Dates of employment
2. Name of the company you worked for
3. Position title
4. Description of the duties you performed
5. Role achievements and awards (remembering to focus on the benefits you provided your employer and to sell yourself)
Education
Include your degrees, courses, certifications, tickets, licenses. Anything that demonstrates some level of formal training should be included in this section.
Skills and Abilities
This is the place to include core skills such as computer, communication, and role-specific skills. Remember, don’t undersell yourself. Also, don’t make this up...you will always get found out.
References
References or referees are people that can attest to what you have written in your resume.
You should have at least 2-3 people who can serve as your referees. Always let your referees know about a possible call so they are well prepared to respond positively.
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