How to Write a Professional Resume
Everyone knows a resume is an important step in the job search process, yet most don’t take the time to really perfect their own. It can be a daunting task summarizing a few years of a job in just a few short lines, but having a standout resume can make all the difference in whether or not you land the job!
We’ve written a few of our favorite resume tips below to help kick-start your job search!
Research First
Before you even start to lay out your resume, take the time to research first. Get to know the job, company and field you’re applying for. This research will allow you to get insight into the type of skills you’ll want to highlight, the verbiage you can use to stand out, and most importantly, whether or not this is a job you really want to apply to.
Use Your Words
Recruiters and hiring managers see tons of resumes each day, and when staffing similar fields, the resumes tend to start to look the same. Your word choice is what can really help you stand out in a pile of resumes.
Not the best writer? No worries! There are a couple easy ways to perk up your resume. Ready a list of action verbs to describe your accomplishments. Action verbs are more authoritative, allowing you to highlight the tasks you can do while painting an easy picture for hiring managers on what you accomplished in your previous job; and as an added bonus, they take up less space than passive voice. Another easy trick that helps repetition is to use a thesaurus in order to keep your word choice exciting and fresh.
Know What Makes You Stand Out
The job search isn’t easy, even for some of the most qualified candidates. Your resume is the first step in describing what will make you the best employee and why you should be chosen over the 100 other resumes that day.
Really think about your past jobs and present experience, what made you stand out? What value did you bring to your team and boss? What is interesting or unique about you?
We’re often told in life not to boast or brag, but a resume is one of the places where that is 100% okay! Focus in on your fundamentals and be ready to put those accomplishments in writing.
Don’t Forget to Proofread
Anyone reading your resume is going to take the time to ensure it’s clean, concise and error-free. You don’t want your first impression to stand out for the WRONG reasons and a resume with mistakes will stick out like a sore thumb. Don’t forget to proofread your resume a couple times over, to ensure that there are absolutely no errors (don’t rely on spell-check alone) and to ensure the format is consistent throughout (a common oversight, yet critical too!). And then, just to be safe, have a friend or mentor check it as well. The second set of eyes is always a good idea!
