Working through stacks of resumes, hiring managers and recruiters only spend seconds deciding whether to save you resume or delete it. You need to know how to write resumes employers will want to read.
The best resumes show why you are the most qualified candidate for the job. ~ www.jaywren.com
Thirty Years of Reading Resumes
I based the following information on feedback I have received from hiring managers, staffing managers, and other recruiters. I have also discussed resumes with hundreds of applicants. These are suggestions only, but the layout is a working format.
A resume is a job application. You list the jobs you have had. Additionally, you list where you performed those jobs and when you had those jobs.
If you replace the information below with your information, you will have written a resume.
Sample Resume
CONTACT INFORMATION
Your name
Street address City, State Zip
Phone
Email address
OBJECTIVE AND SUMMARY
Stating an objective or a giving a summary at the beginning of the resume is common practice. However, stating an objective or providing a summary is optional.
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
There is no sentence structure in a resume. The wording in a resume is simply a series of statements of actions and accomplishments.
For example, this is a sentence: “I doubled the company’s sales in 6 months.” However, this is resume wording: “Doubled company’s sales in 6 months.”
The history in a resume includes more than employment periods. Additionally, you must show that you have the skills, education, and experience to qualify you as a leading candidate.
(Most recent job first)
Company Name, company Location, From–To
Most recent title, location, From–To
Use bullet format.
• List things you have accomplished. Do not waste space on your just giving a job description. List things that showed that you made a difference in the positions you held.
• Use facts—for example, exceeded assigned sales goal by 30%, reduced costs, promoted people, saved time, increased productivity, etc.
• Employers and recruiters search their databases for specific words, so list successes with specific industry words or functions. Include the actual name of your product categories, product names, sales accounts, functions (e.g., Profit & Loss, Market Research or Software Names, New Product Development, Market Insights, Innovation), etc.
Next list previous titles at this company and again list successes and accomplishments in bullet format.
Then include Previous Companies going back in time from most recent.
EDUCATION
Normally, education goes at the bottom of the resume. However, people who have recently received a degree or a credential might consider putting education at the top of the resume.
Here are other items that might go at the bottom of the resume:
- Awards
- Extra skills
- Volunteer work
- Relevant college employment.
You Must Have Keywords for Resumes
What are career keywords? Career keywords are names of skills, experience, tools, places, and companies.
To find information on the Internet, search engines look up words or keywords.
Hiring managers use keywords to find matches between the words in job specifications and the words in resumes and online profiles.
Here are some examples of names that might help a hiring manager find you and, therefore, you might want to include in your resume and in your online profile.
-
- Names of companies where you have worked, especially names of prestigious companies in your field
- Names of schools you have attended
- Names of academic achievements: cum laude, dean’s list, first in graduating class
- Names of clients or key accounts
- Names of brands, products, or services you have developed
- Names of fields in which you worked
- Names of computer software or online applications you know how to use: Word, Excel, Google Docs, Google Sheets, LibreOffice, QuickBooks
- Names of computer languages that you know: PHP, Java Python, Java, C++, Ruby, SQL
- Names of certifications or credentials: Certified Public Accountant, Certified Marriage and Family Counselor, Credentialed Teacher, Project Manager, Licensed Driver of Commercial Vehicles
- Names of hard skills: Foreign Languages, Typing Speed, Graphic Design
- Names of Soft Skills: Team Builder, Inter-departmental Facilitator, New-hire Mentor
Google.com/trends ranks words based on how often they appear in Internet search. You can test the effectiveness of keywords you are using in your resume and online profile by entering them into Google Trends.
HOW TO SHORTEN YOUR RESUME FOR READABILITY
Hiring managers only spend seconds looking at each resume. They are going through stacks of resumes, often in documents that have to be opened one at a time.
Avoiding the following items might make the difference as to whether your resume even gets read.
- Objective
- Summary
- Hobby References
- References available on request
- Compensation
- Long paragraph formats
- Long-winded discussions of core responsibilities
- Too many details on jobs with well-known functions
- Details on jobs that date back in time
- Paragraph formatting
- Third person reference
- Compensation
- Long paragraph formats
- Long-winded discussions of core responsibilities
- Too many details on jobs with well-known functions
- Details on jobs that date too far back in time
- Paragraph formatting
The tools and systems thousands of people have used to find the best jobs and to build the brightest careers. You don’t have to do everything right to find success, but you do have to do the right things. This book will tell you how.