With the job market getting more and more competitive, having an impressive resume is your best chance at getting a great job. Since your resume is the first impression that a prospective employer gets about you and the main ingredient of getting your foot in the door for an interview – you need to make sure that your resume is strong and impressive!
Employers have a lot to do and they don't have time to read through a pile of trash to get to the good stuff. Don't make the mistake of sending them a long resume. A long-winded resume is likely to frustrate an employer who is already strapped for time. If the employer has a hard time reading your resume, he is likely to toss it aside and move on to the next one. Keep it short and concise. A good resume should be about one page in length, whenever possible. You may use two pages if it is totally necessary to describe pertinent work experience.
Keeping it Neat: The Appearance of Your Resume
The appearance of your resume is the first thing the employer will be considering. If it is neat and concise, the employer may assume that you will be an organized, reliable employee. Whereas, a sloppy, unorganized resume tells the employer that you are careless and not very thorough - perhaps even that you aren't capable or don't care about the quality of your work. Check and re-check your resume for proper grammar and for spelling errors. If your resume is full of errors, how can you possibly convince the employer that your work won't be full of errors as well? If possible, have a friend look over your resume to double check for any errors.
Margins, Fonts, and Color
Your resume should be aesthetically pleasing. Use one inch page margins on the top and bottom and 1.25 inch margins on the sides. Avoid overcrowding the text onto the page. Allow a few lines of space between the sections. Never use any fancy or unusual fonts or ink colors on your resume. It should be simple, but professional and easy to read. Choose either a 12 point Times Roman Numeral font or a 12 point Courier font in black ink. Don't make the employer get out a magnifying glass to read small a small sized font.
You should choose professional resume paper, which can be purchased relatively inexpensively at your local office supply store. Stay with a white or ivory colored paper, never a brightly colored one. If you are making copies of your resume, make sure that the copies are clean and presentable.
Words and Language
The language you use in your resume is highly important. The goal of your resume is to sell yourself to the prospective employer in as little time and with as much power as you can muster. Avoid using large paragraphs and large blocks of text. Employers often scan over resumes for bits and piece of valuable information. You resume has a better chance of standing out from the pack if it is written in small, informative sections that are easily read.
Use plenty of action words such as ‘developed', ‘managed', ‘produced', and ‘coordinated' to emphasize your skills and accomplishments. You don't need to use complete sentences on your resume such as, "I coordinated a golf tournament for the company," simply stating, "Coordinated golf tournament" is more powerful and more attention-grabbing.
Listing Your Skills and Accomplishments
Brag about your accomplishments and your skills! This is no time to be shy, tell them what you are capable of doing. A potential employer wants to know what you have accomplished in your past positions - it gives them an idea of what you can accomplish for them in the future!
Be specific about your accomplishments. Don't simple say that you cut the cost of office supplies in your last position - tell them how you did it and how much money you saved your company. Use numbers, figures and statistics whenever possible. Numbers can be impressive!
While you DO want to brag about what you can do - never exaggerate or lie about your abilities or accomplishments. If you do happen to get the job, you don't want to have to worry about covering your lies later on.
Why Should They Hire YOU?
Tell the employer what YOU can do for them that no one else can. Give specific examples. If you can cut the cost of their office supplies by 10% -state this in your resume instead of saying, "I can save you money." Tell them how you can save them money!
What You Don't Need to Say
Unnecessary details can take up valuable space on your resume and make your resume look unprofessional. You should never mention personal information such as your marital status, your age, height, weight, how many children you have, and other personal information that doesn't relate to your employment.
Don't list your hobbies and interests unless you can directly relate them to the position you are applying for. There is no need to say that you enjoy playing golf.
There is also no need to put ‘References Available on Request' on your resume. It is assumed that you do have references and the employer will let you know if he needs a list of references.
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