Resume 101
The world moves fast. Employees must keep up and communication is everything these days. There is no better way to communicate your message to your future employer than a good and well-thought-out resume. But what are the components of a good resume?
First and foremost, we must learn and come to terms with what a resume is. The resume is, simply put, a document used in a hiring process. It includes personal information and qualifications and should communicate the most important messages about a person. To create a good resume that will catch someone's attention, you can follow some simple steps.
Here are some tips that can help you make a better resume
Formatting
The first step in creating a good resume is to choose one of the formats that best suit your needs. There are 3 different formats you can use to display information about yourself. The Chronological, Functional, and Combination format.
The chronological format is used for individuals who have a rich history of work experience, and people who are proud of specific accomplishments in their field of work.
The functional format can come in handy if you want to display your skills first. It is a good suggestion for those without a lot of previous experience. This format is also good for workers who are switching industries.
The combination format in our opinion is the best one because it allows you to balance out information. You can present all your experiences and skills in a good manner by selecting this particular format.
Add your personal information and contacts
This one seems pretty straightforward and unnecessary to mention, but your name is the first thing the person reading your resume should see. Provide a phone number and an email address to increase your odds of getting contacted. Including your address can also help increase the odds of getting selected for an interview. Optional extras would be to include a LinkedIn profile or a link to your portfolio or website.
Add resume summary
State what you want in that summary, be confident and decisive. Explain your career goals and briefly mention what skills do you possess. Do not overexplain them though, because you will talk about them in the next steps. 2 brief sentences at most.
List your skills
Put some thought into this step. List both technical and social skills you have. You should consider only listing the skills that you believe can be used in the position you are applying for.
List short professional history
Very important to list the history in chronological order with your most recent job at the top and your older jobs at the bottom. Be very specific when writing your experiences. Write the name of the company, the period that you have spent there, your role in the company, and some key achievements. Bonus points if you can include numbers you helped manage or increase.
Try to include an educational section
Education is very important when hiring new personnel. People make assumptions about you based on the college that you attended. Let's use that to our advantage and list the top achievements you had during the time you spent there. Lastly, make sure to briefly mention any volunteer work or workshops you attended that can relate to the job you are applying for.
Format the resume
You should spend some time formatting your resume. Chose a font style, font size, margins, etc. This can help your resume look more professional. Some basic things we recommend are to make the font size 12, choose an easy-to-read font style like Helvetica, make your name and contact info a different size than the rest of the resume to help it stand out more, use bullets when you are listing different information.
The last and most important tip!
Make sure to build and customize your resume every time you apply for a job because there will be specific people who will be reading it. This way you can add value by highlighting only the specific info you want them to see to make your resume stand out.
Take your time and research the company. Learn more about them by looking at the specific skills they need in their job posting. Lastly, keep your resume simple 1 page if you have less than 5 years of work experience. Do not have a resume with 3 plus pages!
Heather Austin is a Academic Dean, who has hired hundreds of faculty members. Over the last 13 years, she has helped thousands of students build their personal brands so they can land their dream job and succeed in the marketplace. At Alic Consulting we review hundreds of resumes and suggest improvements so even if they don't land a job with us they can improve their chances elsewhere.
