Writing a resume is a dreaded task for most people, who have no idea how to format their resume, or what information to include. The basic resume tips offered in this article will help you craft a resume that will impress a potential employer, giving you increased odds of securing the position. While the industry makes a slight difference in how you approach writing your resume, most are very similar.
What you want to avoid
When writing your resume, you want to keep your information as brief as possible and emphasize your strongest assets. Never go in to too much detail, and avoid using fancy fonts, artwork, graphs and other things that can be distracting.
Use a simple font such as Arial, Verdana or Times New Roman when writing your resume, and use a size of 11 or 12 points. This makes it possible for a potential employer to scan your resume in seconds, picking up on the essential highlights that make you an ideal candidate for the job.
Here are a few basic resume tips that will help make your efforts easier:
1. Include your name, address and contact information at the top of your resume, either left justified or in the center of the page.
2. Next, you want to state your career objective. This information should convey why you are interested in the position, and how your interest relates directly to the needs of the company.
3. The next step is listing your qualifications, or those talents and skills that qualify you for the job. Many people list their qualifications as a bulleted list, so that it is easily noticed. Include achievements, skills, talents – anything that you’re good at, that relates to the job. Are you a good motivator? Do you possess excellent leadership skills? Perhaps you have an analytical mind, or are good at organizing. State these strong points, and quantify them.
4. Work history. Include the name and address of the employer, the position you held, and years worked. Go on to describe your duties and responsibilities in a brief manner, emphasizing those areas that relate directly to the job for which you are applying.
5. The next area concerns your education background. Be sure to include information regarding high school, college, years attended, degrees, awards, honors and any other achievements that may pertain to the position. Also include workshops or internships if they are related to the job you are interested in.
Always remember that employers are interested in what you can do to benefit their company, not what they can do for you. Keeping this in mind, you want to write your resume in a way that focuses toward the employer while demonstrating those skills and talents that make you the ideal candidate for the job.
Show your enthusiasm, use action verbs, and let an employer know that you are truly interested and excited about