Resume Dos: Writing A Resume That Gets Interviews
By Carl Mueller
Here are some tips and considerations when
putting your resume together and as you continually
update it.
1. Keep your resume up to date in case that
perfect job comes along and you don’t have
time to write your resume from scratch.
2. Ensure your resume has no spelling or
grammatical errors. Typos can be an instant
turnoff for hiring managers as they indicate
a lack of attention to detail.
3. Include a short statement at the
beginning of your resume stating your
career objective and include a brief mention
of what type of job you are looking for.
4. Structure your resume’s bullet points
by describing a problem, the action, and
the result whenever possible ie. improved
an under achieving division by upskilling
a group of employees and increasing their
work output by 25%.
5. Tailor your resume for the specific
job you are applying for. You don’t necessarily
have to list a specific job title but
at least tailor it to the job you are
applying for.
6. Type your resume using fonts such
as Arial, Times New Roman or another popular
font that is virtually guaranteed to be
viewable by the person you are sending
your resume to. Using obscure fonts only
increases the chance that your recipient
might not have that font installed on
their computer.
7. Print your resume on plain white paper
or off-white paper. Don’t bother with
the fancy paper.
8. Use action words in your resume bullet
points that describe your job tasks rather
than just listing your tasks. When describing
your role, consider using words like managed,
maintained, saved, directed, supervised,
achieved, improved, etc.
9. Keep your resume focused on the job
you are applying for. Having unrelated
job functions and skills can quickly make
a hiring manager believe you are unqualified
for a job and cause them to stop reading
your resume.
10. Clearly highlight the special skills
and experience you have that the hiring
manager is looking for.
11. Prioritize your skills and experience
and ensure that the most important information
is visible at the top of your resume not
at the bottom. The person reading your
resume might skim resumes and not make
it past the first page.
12. Explain gaps in your resume if you
were between jobs for a significant period
of time ie. more than several months.
If you were traveling, taking courses,
on maternity leave, etc then state this
in your resume along with the specific
dates when this occurred.
13. Clearly show your educational achievements
including the date you graduated. If you
are one or two credits short, you don’t
have a degree. Lying about your educational
achievements is normally a very serious
problem if you get caught.
14. Include "Mr." or "Ms." in front of
your name on your resume if you have a
first name that could be male or female
ie. Mr. Robin Jones, Ms. Pat Jones.
15. "Protect" the exclusivity of your
resume. Mass emailing your resume to recruiters
and employers either through a resume
distribution service or on your own is
a low impact job search method unless
you really believe putting your resume
in front of thousands of people who don’t
know you can somehow be effective. Plus,
if you’re planning on using a recruiter
to assist with your job search, they generally
won’t work with you if your resume is
plastered all over the Internet already.
Carl Mueller is an Internet entrepreneur
and professional recruiter who wants to
help you find your dream career.
Visit Carl's website to separate yourself
from other job searchers: http://www.find-your-dream-career.com
Sign up for The Effective Career Planner,
Carl’s free 5-day course: http://www.find-your-dream-career.com/effective-career-planner.html
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