How to Write Your Resume the Right Way

Most job seekers believe that your resume is the ticket to winning a job offer. This belief is far from the truth. The resume will not make a difference to a hiring manager if your personality does not shine through to secure an interview. First impression is everything, and your resume can be the deal breaker between quickly securing interviews with hiring managers and your resume tossed in the “No” folder, losing interviews to another person. Help the hiring manager develop a positive impression of you through utilizing the steps below to grab their attention from the beginning to the end, influencing readers to have your phone ringing off the hook. RESUME OPENING Contact Information Center your name, postal address, and contact information at the top of the page to make sure the reader can reach you if they are interested in setting up a meeting with you. Headline Headlines are essential for resume writing. It is the first opportunity to catch the hiring manager’s attention and spark their interest in your background. Use the imperative voice in your headline, a grammatical mood that expresses a call to action that influences the reader’s behavior. Here are some examples: - Senior Programmer - Java / J2EErn- CPA - Accountant/Financial Analystrn- PR Specialist - PRSA rnSummary Paragraph After readers see a strong headline, they are hooked so create a bulleted list of key areas of knowledge, skills, and abilities. It reinforces exactly what your headline suggests about your background. This paragraph usually includes years of experience or knowledge in your respective discipline, soft skills, and technical abilities. You have exactly 10 seconds to impress the reader before they continue skimming your resume. It would look something like this: Results-oriented, detailed professional with comprehensive accounting experience. Background includes consistent promotions to positions of increased responsibility. Skilled in P&L, audits, taxation, internal controls, and streamlining procedures, effecting a monthly savings of $2,500 at XYZ Company. Recently passed the CPA exam; currently seeking a Controller position. RESUME BODY Work History Most employers are interested in learning about a candidate’s last ten years of employment history. In the interview, they will inquire about three positions which you have recently worked. If you have had a position for more than three years with the same employer, indicate the name of employer and the start and end date of employment as it shows loyalty and longevity of a candidate. If you have worked somewhere less than a year, leave the position off your resume as it raises a red flag as a job-hopping candidate. After the reader is fascinated by your job titles and longevity, they become eager to read more about your career. People like action-oriented statements rather than task-oriented sentences. Utilize action verbs such as created, designed, coordinated among others to excite the reader and engage the reader into your professional life experiences. Accomplishments Accomplishments are the most important aspect of your resume. Hiring managers have one job to fill and ten candidates want the job badly. List accomplishments that corresponds to each position that separates you from qualified candidates. It is the love and passion that made you special and unique to each position you have ever worked. Ensure that you quantify each accomplishment to have the most effect on the reader’s behavior. Examples of accomplishments include:rnAchieved a $2,500 monthly savings for XYZ Company within three months of hire by streamlining procedures. rnSpecial Skills Job seekers make the mistake of adding their special skills at the very end of the resume; and it is one of the first challenges faced in reviewing resumes. Your unique skills should always be presented upfront and close to your work history so that readers can know what you can do. Create a bulleted list of special skills including: rnComputer proficienciesrnOffice Procedures, Equipment, or Machinery You’ve OperatedrnLinguistic skills, languages learned, translation abilitiesrnIndustry-specific job skills Education Readers will pay attention to your management skills by how you prioritize your education data on your resume. Before you list your education, you need to step back and assess your unique situation by asking the following question: What is your current career level? If your answer is that you are an entry-level candidate with less than a year of experience, your education should be listed immediately after your Summary Statement. The rationale behind this placement is that your education is your most marketable asset at this point in your life. You would include a GPA that is 3.5 or higher, awards and scholarships, dean’s list, and coursework relevant to your job search. If your answer is that you are career professional with more than 3 years of experience, your education should be listed immediately after your work history. Unless you are applying for graduate school, your awards and scholarships, dean’s list, and GPA is not appropriate for your professional or executive resume. Once you have determined your unique situation, include degrees, certifications, and licenses relevant to your career. Hiring managers are interested in your degree or certification program rather than the institution you attended so ensure that the degree that you obtained is listed above the institution’s name. Note: If you are currently attending school, omit the program graduation completion dates to avoid the risk of age discrimination and your resume weeded out in the early stages of the interview appointment setting process. RESUME CLOSING By the time that hiring managers get to the end of your resume, they want to make sure that you are serious about the industry or profession, and actively involved with your professional community and in professional development. Include information on professional affiliations or organizations you are involved with, memberships, and professional industry awards you may have received. Search for keywords commonly used in job descriptions related to your profession or industry, or words that are not found elsewhere on your resume but found in job postings. It will benefit your resume greatly when your resume is found by recruiters in candidate database searches. The ultimate key to a hiring manager’s heart is a targeted, clear, and comprehensive idea of what you want to accomplish in your professional world in order to maximize the impact of your resume. Express what you love to do in writing to have readers begging to chat with you about your amazing life to get the job you want!