How to write a
resume?
One of our best resume tips is customizing your resume
for every job application. Before applying, try to understand a company's
values and core competencies. Analyze the key responsibilities of the job
description and include key words and phrases in your work experience and cover
letter to show that you are the perfect fit for the position.
Know your audience
Human resources, hiring managers and recruiters scan resumes first and
read them later. They have dozens or even hundreds of resumes in their inbox,
and the ones that get chosen from the stack are usually those that the hiring
manager or recruiter can scan and determine to be a skills fit. Make the first
cut by writing a scannable resume.
Layout basics and header
Your resume should be chronological. Begin with your name and contact
information, highlight your accomplishments, detail your complete work
experience and education, make mention of additional skills and interests and
end with your reference statement.
Your contact info
Personal data should include your name, address, phone number and email
address, but be sure that your age, gender and marital status do not appear.
Work experience
Career highlights
Quickly replacing the more traditional
"objective" statement, "career highlights" is a bulleted
section that provides a summary of the career accomplishments a potential
hiring manager will find most attractive on your resume. If possible, use data
points that prove your value, such as "grew revenue by 87%...",
"cut costs by 90% in first year..." etc.
Work experience
Detail all of your relevant work experience in this
section. Each new job in your work history should begin with your job title,
the name and location of the company where you worked and employment dates.
Below each title, detail your accomplishments and duties, highlighting wins,
tools used and other relevant work experience gained.
Quantify for scanning
Where possible, try to quantify the accomplishments
and results of your work experience. Remember that hiring managers and
recruiters are likely scanning your resume, so make it easy for them to pick
out your accomplishments. Use the numeric form of numbers (90%) instead of the
written form (ninety percent).
Periods of unemployment
When you have been out of work for two years or more,
it's important to include information that explains the employment gap. If you
spent any time during the period performing volunteer work, be sure to include
it. Otherwise, you may decide to include titles such as "full time
student", "family management" or "personal travel". It
is not advisable to mention injuries, rehabilitation or other details that
could allow an unscrupulous hiring manager to discriminate against you.
Education
Degrees and certifications
Be sure to state dates of attendance, majors, minors,
degrees and honors for every degree or certification you have earned. Place
more relevant degrees higher in your list, even if they are out of place
chronologically.
GPA
One of the most asked "how to write a resume"
questions is whether or not to include your GPA. List your GPA if it is 3.0 or
higher, or include your major GPA if it's higher than your overall GPA. A lower
GPA could be included if you are in a very challenging program. As you progress
in your career, GPA becomes less important and can be withdrawn.
Layout
For more experienced job seekers, education is usually
not as important as work experience (unless you work in academia) and can be
placed below it in the resume layout. For workers with fewer than five years of
work experience, education is more important to hiring managers and should
therefore be placed higher up in the resume layout.
Skills, awards and references
Skills and applications
Not every tool you use at work can find its way into
your work experience section, so listing out additional skills, tools, software
applications, spoken languages or software languages can fill out your resume.
In addition, the presence of these skill sets can make your resume appear in
search results when recruiters and hiring managers conduct candidate searches
on resume databases.
Interests and awards
In addition to work experience, company culture is
also significant to hiring managers. The interests and awards section is where
you can show on paper who you are personally. Be sure to highlight relevant
personal and professional accomplishments. Be different and specific.
References
A references section is not necessary for most
resumes, but if you choose to include one, say that your “References are
available on request." Be sure to actually prepare a list of references
with names, titles and contact information. Being able to quickly send a
requested references list to a prospective employer will demonstrate your
responsibility. Be sure your references are aware that they may be contacted.
...and don't forget...file
formats
Choose the appropriate file format for presenting your
electronic resume. It is important to format your resume for electronic use to
ensure it appeals to the reader when viewing on screen or when printing,
proofing and editing. For heavily formatted resumes, be sure to save the file
in PDF format to ensure the resume is presented as you intended. Have a trusted
friend or family member proof-read and suggest edits. If your resume contains
industry specific terms, have a peer take a look.
The worst fonts for
your resume ranked
With so many applicants clamoring for jobs, it’s
tempting to want to do something to stand out from the crowd: a creative cover
letter, a recommendation from an influential friend, maybe even a retweet or mention in social
media. But the one place you should avoid exotic creativity is in your resume
font.
Before you make the unfortunate choice of a passé or
obnoxious font, here’s a list of the 10 worst resume fonts, and why they just
don’t work in the professional world.
1. Courier new
“This is what you used when you had to write a paper
at school that was a certain length, so you chose the font that would stretch
out the biggest,” says Augustine. “Its
looks like you’re on a typewriter, and not in a hipster kind of way. For most
jobs today, that’s not the brand you want associated with your profession.”
2. Lucinda console
It seems innocent enough (it is legible, after all),
but the wide spacing and squat formatting just don’t say “I’m serious about
getting a job.” With so many other sophisticated fonts to choose from, give
this one a pass.
3. Comic sans
This poor font is the brunt of a lot of jokes for good
reason. It tries to be casual, but just comes off as sloppy, not to mention
horrendously dated. This one doesn’t work, even as a joke.
4. Bradley hand ITC
“This font looks like a scribble,” says Augustine.
“Your font is supposed to represent the professional you, not look like
something you’d leave on your friend’s locker.
5. Brush script
Most people know that any form of script is a no-go
for resumes, but that doesn’t stop the occasional job-seeker from trying one
out. Don’t. No one can read what’s on the page, and it says you’re fluffy,
unsubstantial and possibly a bit out to lunch.
6. Chalk duster
This makes a statement, but probably not the one
you’re hoping for. Not only is it hard to read, it looks like something your
4th grade teacher would have mimeographed.
7. Apple chancery
This font would be wonderful if you were requesting
our presence at the nuptials of your cover letter and resume, but since you
aren’t, avoid it. This is the paper doily of fonts.
8. Mayalam MN
Another font that seems at first to be “modern” or
“stylish,” this one is actually narrow and squished, making it hard on the
eyes. Don’t make recruiters squint. Their eyes are tired enough.
9. Harrington
Save this one for a role in a Fairy Tale Theater
production or as court jester, not for your ordinary resume.
10. Braggadocio
Need we say more?
How your resume should look so that you look good
Your resume format is the first thing a potential
employer will notice. Follow these tips to make sure it’s a positive first
impression.
However, from a recruiter’s perspective, your resume’s
look is just as important as its content.
Resume design matters. Think about it: When you have
to evaluate hundreds of resumes each week, you’re going to spend more time on
the ones that are both easy on the eyes and better for your attention span.
For example, if your resume format features
wall-to-wall with text, uses several different fonts, and is peppered with
dozens of bolded, italicized, and underlined words and phrases, it’s probably
not going to get the attention it deserves.
So what makes a resume visually appealing? When you
can quickly scan the document because it makes good use of white space,
features clear and consistent section headings, and uses bullet points to make
important items stand out.
As you get your resume ready for a job search, take a
look at our library of resume templates, and make sure to follow our design
tips below.
Use white space liberally
Create at least one-inch margins on your resume. Also,
leave some blank space between various sections of the resume's text, so
several distinct chunks of information can be seen.
Stick with two fonts at most
It's tempting to use all of the typefaces at your
disposal, but having more than two fonts in any document only lessens its
readability. One font is all you really need. If you use two, make sure they
complement each other. For example, use one font for the headings and the
second font for the body text.
Keep in mind, though, all fonts are not created equal.
Check out our list of the best fonts for your resume.
Use bolding and italics sparingly—and avoid
underlining
It's OK to use some bolding and italicizing in your
resume text. Many resume writers may bold their previous job titles and
italicize subheadings within each section of the document. As for
underlining—just don't. Multiple studies have shown that most readers find
underlined text difficult to read.
Use bullet points to emphasize skills and
accomplishments
Bullets make it easier for employers to scan your
resume quickly since they're intended to grab the reader's eye and lead it to
the key points you want to make. Use them when you can, especially when you're
highlighting skills or accomplishments. For example:
Increased student organization membership by 25%
Trained five new employees in restaurant operations
and opening/closing procedures
Be consistent
If you use all caps to present the name of your most
recent workplace, for example, use all caps to present the names of your
previous workplaces, as well. Or, if you use bold, centered text to present the
first section title of your resume, use bold, centered text to present the
remaining section titles, too. If you're consistent throughout your document,
you'll subtly establish a reading pattern for potential employers that will
help them follow your resume easily.
Get a resume review
In the end, you'll still need solid resume content to
really sell yourself to employers. Even the most well designed resume won't
pass the employer's screen if the information it presents isn't first-rate. Not
sure how yours fares? Get a free resume evaluation today from the experts at
Monster's Resume Writing Service. You'll get detailed feedback in two business
days, including a review of your resume's appearance and content, and a
prediction of a recruiter's first impression. The experts at Monster will help
you create a visually appealing and quickly scannable resume so that instead of
passing it by, employers will give it the attention it deserves.
Effective Free Resume Templates:
You can download 26 English CV templates from that link
please, click on the photo to enlarge it
