Read through these suggestions to write a
better resume.
1. Be neat and error free.
Catch all typo's and grammar errors. Make sure to have someone proof read your resume,
preferably someone attentive to details. Even the smallest error could land your resume in
the electronic recycle bin.
2. State specific objectives..
Form a solid, clear objective that will help you carry a focused message throughout the
resume. The objective summarizes your skills and emphasizes your strengths.
3. Why does the employer need
you? Focus on highlighting accomplishments that will arouse the interest of employers
who read resumes asking themselves: "What can this candidate do for me?"
Remember that the goal is to get the interview.
4. Make a good first
impression. On average, employers spend less than 30 seconds scanning each resume.
Most employers are more concerned about career achievements than education. Place the most
interesting and compelling facts about yourself at the beginning, such as a list of
accomplishments in order of relevance.
5. Emphasize your skills. Use
a skill-based resume format that is organized around the main talents you have to offer.
Prioritize everything.
6. Use keywords. Include
specific key words and phrases that describe your skills and experience, such as Product
Launch, Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Sales, Account Management, C++, Visual Basic,
Word Processing, MS Excel, Adobe Illustrator, Graphic Design, and Advertising.
7. Use buzzwords. Use
industry jargon and acronyms to reflect your familiarity with the employer's business, but
not to the point where it makes your resume hard to read or understand. Spell out acronyms
in parentheses if they are not obvious, such as TQM (Total Quality Management).
8. Use action verbs.
Portray yourself as active, accomplished, intelligent, and capable of making a
contribution. Examples: Managed, Launched, Created, Directed, Established, Organized, and
Supervised.
9. Avoid Personal Pronouns.
Never use personal pronouns such as 'I' or 'me' in your resume. Instead of complete
sentences, use short action-oriented phrases: "Coordinated and published a weekly
newsletter concerning local community events."
10. Highlight key points.
Although most formatting such as bold, italics and underlining is lost in an
electronic resume, you may use capital letters, quotation marks, even asterisks, to
emphasize important words or section titles.
11. Summarize information.
While electronic resumes may exceed the traditional one to two page limit of paper
resumes, in most cases, it should not exceed three pages.
12. List only recent
information. The general rule of thumb is to show your work experience only for the
last 10 to 15 years.
13. Quantify your
experience. Numbers are a powerful tool. Instead of saying "Responsible for
increasing sales in my territory," use "Increased sales in my territory 150% in
6 months. Managed 30 accounts for annual revenues of $2M."
14. Be organized, logical
and concise. In addition to reviewing your experience, employers also use the resume
to get a sense of whether you are organized, logical and concise.
15. Just communicate.
Abandon the utilization of exorbitant, exquisite vocabulary. In other words, dont try to
impress employers with the depth of your vocabulary. Use words everyone can understand.
16. Omit salary
information. Never make reference to salary in your resume.
17. Sell yourself. Do
not under-emphasize your strengths and experience. Portray yourself in the best possible
light. Skills that come naturally to you, others may never grasp.
18 . Personal traits. If
you decide to include personal traits, such as "Dependable, Highly-Organized,
Self-Motivated, and Responsible," make sure they are applicable to the position
desired. Will the employer consider them valuable?
19. Be balanced and neat.
The effective resume is balanced, neat, visually appealing and flows consistently.
Clearly separate sections and emphasize section titles. Leave sufficient blank space
between sections for easy reading.
20. Stick with common
section headings. Use common section headings. Examples: Objective, Experience,
Employment, Work History, Skills, Summary, Summary of Qualifications, Accomplishments,
Strengths, Education, Professional Affiliations, Publications, Licenses and
Certifications, Honors, Personal, Additional, and References.
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