Resume Writing Tips
Putting together your perfect resume can seem like a daunting task. It must be formatted, easy to follow and uniform while also demonstrating your unique qualities, relevant experience, and individualism.
Therefore, it is a good idea to get a great baseline resume ready so that you can then tweak and personalize it for each position that you apply for.
Your resume is your first point of contact between you and your potential employer, and by following these helpful tips you will be guaranteed to make a flawless first impression.
1. Use a Template
If you are unsure about appropriate formatting for the kind of position you are applying for, look online for resumes in your chosen industry.
There are a lot of helpful templates that you can find out there that have the possibility of inspiring your writing process. Once you have a ‘baseline’ resume you can edit it easier for every job you apply for.
Some universal formatting tips are as follows:
- Include your name and contact information at the very top. This includes your phone number, email address, and a hyperlink to your LinkedIn
- Try your best to keep it to one page. Hiring managers are not looking for essays, but rather concise snapshots of who you are as a person.
- Keep appropriate margins. The rule of thumb is to keep them at 1 inch at all borders, if you are looking to fill space you can increase the space between your lines to 1.5 or increase your margins in small amounts but try and keep them under 2 inches on all sides.
- Use a professional font such as Times New Roman and keep it around a 10 or 12 size. Because employers only have a short time to review your submission you should make it as clear and simple to follow as possible.
- You do not need to put your references. This will save you space and keep the privacy of your past employers.
2. Include Keywords from the Job Posting
When you find a job posting you like take note of the terms the employer has used when describing their ideal candidate. Where it is relevant, such as in your personal summary and descriptions of past roles, use those words to highlight your applicability.
For example, if the job description is looking for an ‘energetic team leader’, in your personal summary you can reuse that very phrase with reference to a position you held as president of your student council.
3. Use Action Statements
A good rule of thumb is to write your resume in third-person in an action statement that highlights your accomplishments. Action words highlight the accomplishments you have worked on, rather than providing a list of tasks you did on a daily basis.
For example, you could write:
“I set up Instagram posts for the companies page and wrote captions”
This same information can be improved by making it into an action statement such as the following:
“Managed the company's Instagram feed by posting engaging content in order to gain the attention of possible clients.”
This shows the goal you were working towards and the actions you did to accomplish that goal.
4. If you have limited or no work experience?!
It’s OK, we all have to start somewhere. Resumes are simply about showcasing your strengths, and those are not limited to professional experience.
Therefore, to demonstrate your worthiness of a position highlight your strengths by listing and describing volunteer experience and unpaid leadership positions you have held. This can include school clubs, extracurricular, or relevant school work.
It is all about calling attention to your personal achievements that make you the best candidate.
5. Edit and Save!
The final steps you should take before sending off your application include a lot of reading over. Ask your parents or friends to read over your resume to make sure there are no grammar or spelling errors.
Another helpful tip is to read it out loud to make sure your statements and structure flow naturally. Once you’re satisfied save the file as a PDF, this will make sure your potential employer sees the file the way you want them to and your hard work of formatting is not messed up!
By following these and paying attention to the small details in your resume you will be set up for success in your job hunt! Good luck!
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