Resume Tips
A well written resume is vital to your career success
The fact that you are reading this page suggests that you would agree that a well written resume is paramount to landing the right job in the right career.
How can you make your resume stand out? Employers are short of time, so as far as your resume is concerned, less is more. The ideal resume is perfectly tailored to fit the role, is accurate and honest but, perhaps most importantly, it will be succinct and easy to read. Above all, it must demonstrate that you are a commercially astute person who would be an asset the business.
The fact that you are reading this page suggests that you would agree that a well written resume is paramount to landing the right job in the right career.
How can you make your resume stand out? Employers are short of time, so as far as your resume is concerned, less is more. The ideal resume is perfectly tailored to fit the role, is accurate and honest but, perhaps most importantly, it will be succinct and easy to read. Above all, it must demonstrate that you are a commercially astute person who would be an asset the business.
Below we have suggested an example of a credible resume and offer some guidelines on how to prepare and present a document which will grab the reader.
So here are some tips on how to write a better resume:
So here are some tips on how to write a better resume:
1. Objectives
- Your resume has two objectives:
- To secure an interview by quickly showing that you fulfil the job requirements as described in the job advertisement or by the recruitment agency.
- To act as a prompt for the interviewer by providing the details that back your claim to be a preferred candidate.
- Remember: Your resume does not get you the job - just the interview.
2. Attributes
- Your resume should enable the person screening a pile of them to quickly ascertain the salient points that will decide whether you are a potential candidate.
- At the same time, it should also contain the detail that will interest an interviewer. To fulfil these attributes, it must be easy to read.
3. Layout
- The standard way to layout a resume is as follows:
- Start with your personal details: name, address, phone numbers and email address.
- Continue with your educational qualifications, professional qualifications and skills including software and methods.
- Follow this with your experience in reverse chronological order. List employers, dates and your title. Describe the skills and methods you used and your achievements.
- It is vital that you are conscious of the skills and experience required by the position for which you are applying and weave your own experience of them into your narrative.
- End with interests and hobbies but be careful: candidates with a consuming hobby that could interfere with the business day, might be avoided.
- Cover letters for resumes should be one (excellent) page, or two if you have to. They are your opportunity to sell yourself and to explain why you would be good for the role. This is best done by matching your experience and competencies to the criteria. Resumes should be no longer than 4 pages, or you can run to 6 if you have to. Anything longer and you are not presenting your information efficiently and commercially.
4. Important points to remember
- Thoroughly research the company, the job requirements, the competencies and the commercial requirements of the role. Remember that in presenting your written information and at interview you must match your background and personal presentation to the criteria the organisation seeks to fill. The key to getting a job is looking, sounding and reading like the organisation’s ideal candidate.
- The ideal resume is perfectly tailored to fit the role, while presenting your background accurately and honestly. It must be commercially orientated, succinct and display your experience clearly so that the reader can match it to the recruitment criteria. Never rely on just one generic resume, but tailor each application for the position you are hoping to get.
- Resumes must be proof read several times as they should be perfect. If you have worked for an organization, that company’s name must be in full and there must be no spelling or grammatical errors in the document. Many companies will reject any resume with an error in them – believing that a slip in such an important document shows poor attention to detail.
- Keep the formatting of your resume simple and use an easy to read font for the main text, for example, 12 point Arial or Times New Roman. Use section heading in bold capitals to clearly delineate them.
- Use only plain white paper. Remember what it will look like once it has been printed
- Don’t use colour or patterns in your resume. It probably will attract attention but for all the wrong reasons. Companies will consider this a sign of immaturity or commercial naivete.
- Put your name on each page, and number each page.
5. Golden rules
- Pertinent, compelling and concise cover letter (1-2 pages).
- Resume of between 4 and 6 pages.
- The first page of the resume should be a ‘snapshot’ of you.
- The resume starts with the most current or last position you held and works back chronologically.