A well-written resume is your gateway to success. While a lot of aspects in your career depend on your day to day output, for you to have a shot at that career, you need to have a neat, precise and accurate resume. It is not an option to undersell or oversell yourself in resumes since both things can do harm to your long-term career. If you are just graduating from college or it would be your first time to write your own resume, then you need to read the steps below so that your resume will follow what is commonly expected and at the same time, showcase your talent and skills.
Materials that you will need:
clean sheet of paper
updated photograph of you (in full color)
pen and paper or your favorite word processing tool
Get yourself a modern resume template. Most word processing applications have built in resume templates that you can choose from. Choose one that best reflects your style while still adhering to the principles of good resume writing. The format should be easily readable, with font size set between 10 and 14. If you are not satisfied with how the templates look, you can alter their format and style further.
Writing down the basic information – your contact details. Every resume is only as good as the contact information attached to it. All of your achievements will be useless if the recruitment arm cannot contact you. You need to place your complete and updated contact information on the upper portion of the resume for easy spotting. Make sure that the phone number is written in international format so that if your resume will be forwarded to international recruiters, they can easily contact you.
Setting your goals and objectives for the job search. This section of the resume shows your goals and why you are applying for a job now. It can read, “a fresh college graduate seeking a challenging training experience in the field of industrial psychology” or something like this, “a passionate product manager looking for a competitive environment where he can use his 5 years of product and brand management experience.” This opening part of a resume sets the tone on how you can potentially fit the company’s family. A good technique is to slightly change the objectives section by looking at the job description of the spot you are applying for, and placing the keywords in your own goals description.
Providing a summary of your work and educational background. As an added help to the resume reader, which can spell the difference between an interview appointment or your resume going straight to the trash bin, you can place a short enumeration of your past work experience and educational attainment. In this section, you need not say more than the duration of your stay in the school or company, covered dates and the name of the school or company, followed by your designation.
Enumerating your work experience, starting with the most recent. You then need to enumerate in detail your work experiences, with your most recent work at the very top. Write your job title along with a brief description. Key points are the main accounts that you handle, who you report to, how many you are in the team and how you interface with the rest of the team. You can also place how you take part in decision making in the company, as well as achievements and awards that you received. A very useful tip is to include your salary range while you were still working and the reason why you left that group. This is very important so that your interviewer will already have a clear view of your work experience even before your interview.
When you have listed all of your job experiences and schools you have attended, list a couple of professional references and then proofread, print and send.
