Everything you need to know about writing a resume

Everything you need to know about writing a resumeYour resume is the first piece of any job hunt. Its the foundational document for your job searchthink of it like your own personal Constitution. But what if youre just starting out, and dont yet know the ins and outs of what a resume is for, what its supposed to achieve, and what youre supposed to put in it? We got you. And if you just want a refresher on resume basics, youre welcome to join in too. googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1467144145037-0) ) What is the Purpose of My Resume?Your resume is a snapshot of you as a professional. When youre applying for a job, you dont have the benefit of being able to introduce yourself in person, answer questions about what you do, or make a personal impression. So your resume has to do that talking for you. It includes basic contact information, information about your skills, a summary of the work experience you have, and usually an indication of what youre seeking. It takes this information and organizes it in a straightforward, easy-to-read format for someone who likely doesnt know anything about you. Thats it.What a resume isnt Its not a long, conversational story about your life. Its not a place to give opinions about your last boss. Its not a place to list every class youve ever taken. Your resume is a very focused, targeted version of youthe best version of your professional self, for the job opportunity youre seeking.How Should My Resume Look?Traditionally, resumes have been very strict, templated affairs. Your contact info goes here, your experience comes next, your skills go here, and a neat musiknote about references wraps it up. That rigid idea of what a resume should look like has loosened up a little, mostly thanks to the digital informality that seems to be affecting all aspects of our lives. (Think emails replacing letters, and text-speak popping up, well, everywhere.) But while things are getting a little mora flexible in the hi ring world, things havent gone too crazy. After all, your resume still has to have the same base information includedContact info.This includes your name, address, phone number, and (professional-sounding) email address. (Sorry, hotchick1989aol.gov.)Summary/objective information.This is a leading sentence or two summarizing you as a job candidate, what makes you well-suited to this job, or why youre seeking this particular job.Skills.These are bullet points listing out the hard skills (easily quantifiable skills like specific software expertise, typing speed, etc.) and soft skills (mora general skills like communication, organization, attention to detail, creativity, etc.) relevant to the job.Experience.These are bullet points (no more than a sentence or two) showing what youve done in your career so far, or related volunteer/extracurricular work.Education.These are brief bullets related to your education. Here, youd list any degrees or certificates you haveand, if relevant to the j ob itself, information about your major/course of study.Then there are optional elements which are nice to include if you have them and have enough room, but arent necessary to complete the resumeA headline that summarizes your overall resume in a succinct one-linerRelevant hobbies (key word here relevant)Languages you speak (if youre multilingual)Volunteer workAnd then there are things that you shouldnt include in your resumeInformation about your gender, age, or marital status. Its illegal for potenzial employers to ask about those, so dont even open the door.A photo of yourself. Same rationale as bullet 1. You want your accomplishments and skills to speak for themselves.Lies or exaggerations. It can be tempting to innocently boost some skills you dont really have, or throw in a job responsibility that you didnt have, but remember that you may always be called upon to prove anything in your resume.As long as you include appropriate information in these basic areas, you can change the format up a bit in order to emphasize the information you most want the reader to know, or to deprioritize something you dont want to emphasize (like an employment gap, or a lack of experience). However, some parts shouldnt changefor example, your contact info should always be centered at the top, for easy reference, and your headline/objective/summary statements should go right under that to avoid confusion. But think of the other sections as moveable blocks that can be moved around for maximum impact. You can find a format that works best for you.A Sample Traditional ResumeIf youve got a lot of work experience in your field under your belt, then the traditional format might work best for your job search. In this reverse chronological resume, you put your work experience bullets up front, working backwards starting with your current or most recent job. This is followed by skills, education, and any other relevant information. Your resume would look something like this exampleST ART RESUME EXAMPLETerry Perkins 101 Main Street New York, NY 12121 111*222*3333 TerryPemaildomain.com LinkedIn T.Perkins.linkedin.comQUALIFICATIONS SUMMARYExperienced leader guiding a large team of customer service managers and representatives.Proven track record of providing top-notch customer service and support for more than 20 years.Specialize in implementing customer feedback systems to improve service and boost customer relationships and provide better service.Consistently positive and dedicated attitude in working with customers and internal stakeholders, forming strong relationships both within the company and with external customers.WORK EXPERIENCEGlobal Communications Inc.Director of Customer tafelgeschirr (2014 present)Senior Customer Service Representative (2008 2014)Customer Service Associate (2001-2008)Manage a team of 25+ Customer Service Representatives.Serve as an escalation point for customers with challenging issues.Monitor and analyze monthly call volume report s, and identify trends.Refine customer service processes to improve customer experience and outcomes.Analyze and report business trends and employee statistics on a monthly basis.Manage all hiring for the department.Work closely with other departments within the company to ensure proper handling of customer service issues.BigBox.comCustomer Service Representative (1999 2001)Worked directly with customers via phone to address questions, product issues, and order issues.Developed a personal Excel tracking system to ensure comprehensive follow-up with customers.Worked with management and team members to incorporate customer feedback and improve the customer service experience.Communications ConglomerateOffice Assistant (1997 1998)Provided administrative support for the Regional Director of Sales.Tracked sales data, collating monthly reports.Prepared financial reports.SKILLSCustomer serviceComplex problem solving with diverse types of customersCommunicating with internal and external partiesTime managementDeveloping and implementing best practicesMicrosoft Office suiteCall triage management softwareSalesTracker softwareEDUCATIONAnderson geschftliches miteinander School, Leadership Training Seminar (completed May 2016)University of South Beach, B.A. in Communications, 1996END RESUME SAMPLEA Sample Skills-Focused ResumeIf youre just starting out, or trying to change careers, you might want to set up your narrative a little differently, emphasizing your skills and capabilities instead of specific work experience. In this case, you might want to go with a skill-based resume, where you emphasize your qualities before your experience. Heres an example of an internship resume based on this formatSTART RESUME SAMPLESandy Jones1300 University StreetSan Diego, CA 99999(000) 111-2222S.Jonesemaildomain.comMotivated, detail-oriented graphic plan student seeking to leverage design skills, writing skills, and social media experience into an experience-building internship in gr aphic design.SKILLSCreative visual designCompleting projects on deadlineBranded social media communicationAbility to work in a variety of environmentsWorking with clients and colleagues to complete projects on spec and on deadlineSoftware Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesignBilingual French and EnglishEDUCATIONUniversity of San Diego,Expected graduation May 2018B.A. CommunicationsB.A. Graphic DesignActivities Campus Happenings Magazine (layout and design for print and digital content)Memorial High School, San Diego, CA,High School DiplomaActivities Student Soapbox student newspaper (reporter and layout artist)EXPERIENCEFranklins Pub April 2007 August 2009Server/Social Media coordinatorHandled Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts for the restaurantActed as a brand ambassador for the restaurantServed customers and handled cash transactionsProvided cheerful, courteous service to all customersEND RESUME SAMPLEWhile your resume should formally look like a resume, that doesnt mean you need to have the same resume as everyone else. You can structure it so that it shows your strengths right up front for the reader to see. For more on how to write your resume from scratch, click here.You also dont have to work from scratch. Weve got lots of free templates you can use to get the process started.Should I Get Fancy with My Resume?Short answer probably not. You can never go wrong with a classic, well-laid-out text document. Things like video resumes and infographic resumes get a lot of hype because theyre different and seem hipper, but its important to remember a few things about your resumeThe first person reading your resume may be a robot. Online applications generally have some kind of berprfung process in place before a pair of human eyes ever reads applicants resumes. If your resume cant be screened by standard text-based software, then it likely wont move on to the next round.The average time that recruiters or hiring managers spend reading a resume is 8 sec onds. Alarming, no? That means your information needs to jump out at them. The best way to do that is to use a familiar format, but make the information pop. If they have to spend time figuring out what theyre looking and and where to get the information they need, it can definitely work against you.So again, unless youre applying for a video-heavy creative arts position or a graphic design gig, cool formats should probably be secondary to a classic format.How Do I Make My Resume Stand Out?Once youve got the basic information in your resume, you can use these elements to make it stand out in a crowd of similar applicantsDeploy action verbs. Using strong words to describe your experience and responsibilities makes it more vivid and interesting to the reader.Use stellar spelling and grammar. Always, always, always proofread your resume, and have someone trusted do it as well. Glaring mistakes could cost you, especially since you likely used detail-oriented or something similar as one of your skills.Dont overcrowd. Weve all had it drilled into our heads that a resume should be no longer than one page. One page is still a decent rule of thumb, but if you genuinely need more space than that, dont overcompensate by making the font and margins tiny to cram everything in. If your resume isnt easily readable, chances are it wont be read.Whether youre a resume first-timer or merely looking for a memory boost, we hope this info gets you started on the path to a kickass resume for your next job opportunity. Good luck