44 Resume Writing Tips

(Courtesy of www.dailywritingtips.com)
Having a solid and effective resume can greatly improve your chances of landing
that dream job. That is beyond discussion. How does one make sure that his resume
is top notch and bullet proof, however? There are several websites with tips around
the web, but most bring just a handful of them. We wanted to put them all together
in a single place, and that is what you will find below: 44 resume writing tips.

1. KNOW THE PURPOSE OF YOUR RESUME

Some people write a resume as if the purpose of the document was to land a job. As
a result they end up with a really long and boring piece that makes them look like
desperate job hunters. The objective of your resume is to land an interview, and the
interview will land you the job (hopefully!).

2. BACK UP YOUR QUALITIES AND STRENGTHS

Instead of creating a long (and boring) list with all your qualities (e.g., disciplined,
creative, problem solver) try to connect them with real life and work experiences. In
other words, you need to back these qualities and strengths up, else it will appear
that you are just trying to inflate things.

3. MAKE SURE TO USE THE RIGHT KEYWORDS

Most companies (even smaller ones) are already using digital databases to search
for candidates. This means that the HR department will run search queries based on
specific keywords. Guess what, if your resume doesn’t have the keywords related to
the job you are applying for, you will be out even before the game starts.

These keywords will usually be nouns. Check the job description and related job ads
for a clue on what the employer might be looking for. You can read more about
resume keywords on the article Tapping the Power of Keywords to Enhance Your
Resume’s Effectiveness.

4. USE EFFECTIVE TITLES

Like it or not, employers will usually make a judgment about your resume in 5
seconds. Under this time frame the most important aspect will be the titles that you
listed on the resume, so make sure they grab the attention. Try to be as descriptive
as possible, giving the employer a good idea about the nature of your past work
experiences. For example:
Bad title: Accounting
Good title: Management of A/R and A/P and Recordkeeping
5. PROOFREAD IT TWICE
It would be difficult to emphasize the importance of proofreading your resume. One
small typo and your chances of getting hired could slip. Proofreading it once is not
enough, so do it twice, three times or as many as necessary. If you don’t know how
to proofread effectively, here are 8 tips that you can use.

6. USE BULLET POINTS

No employer will have the time (or patience) to read long paragraphs of text. Make
sure, therefore, to use bullet points and short sentences to describe your
experiences, educational background and professional objectives.

7. WHERE ARE YOU GOING?

Including professional goals can help you by giving employers an idea of where you
are going, and how you want to arrive there. You don’t need to have a special section
devoted to your professional objectives, but overall the resume must communicate
it. The question of whether or not to highlight your career objectives on the resume
is a polemic one among HR managers, so go with your feeling. If you decide to list
them, make sure they are not generic.

8. PUT THE MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION FIRST

This point is valid both to the overall order of your resume, as well as to the
individual sections. Most of the times your previous work experience will be the
most important part of the resume, so put it at the top. When describing your
experiences or skills, list the most important ones first.

9. ATTENTION TO THE TYPOGRAPHY

First of all make sure that your fonts are big enough. The smaller you should go is 11
points, but 12 is probably safer. Do not use capital letters all over the place,
remember that your goal is to communicate a message as fast and as clearly as
possible. Arial and Times are good choices.

10. DO NOT INCLUDE “NO KIDDING” INFORMATION

There are many people that like to include statements like “Available for interview”
or “References available upon request.” If you are sending a resume to a company, it
should be a given that you are available for an interview and that you will provide
references if requested. Just avoid items that will make the employer think “no
kidding!”
11. EXPLAIN THE BENEFITS OF YOUR SKILLS
Merely stating that you can do something will not catch the attention of the
employer. If you manage to explain how it will benefit his company, and to connect
it to tangible results, then you will greatly improve your chances.

12. AVOID NEGATIVITY

Do not include information that might sound negative in the eyes of the employer.
This is valid both to your resume and to interviews. You don’t need to include, for
instance, things that you hated about your last company.

13. ACHIEVEMENTS INSTEAD OF RESPONSIBILITIES

Resumes that include a long list of “responsibilities included…” are plain boring, and
not efficient in selling yourself. Instead of listing responsibilities, therefore, describe
your professional achievements.

14. NO PICTURES
Sure, we know that you are good looking, but unless you are applying for a job
where the physical traits are very important (e.g., modeling, acting and so on), and
unless the employer specifically requested it, you should avoid attaching your
picture to the resume.

15. USE NUMBERS

This tip is a complement to the 13th one. If you are going to describe your past
professional achievements, it would be a good idea to make them as solid as
possible. Numbers are your friends here. Don’t merely mention that you increased
the annual revenues of your division, say that you increased them by $100,000, by
78%, and so on.

16. ONE RESUME FOR EACH EMPLOYER

One of the most common mistakes that people make is to create a standard resume
and send it to all the job openings that they can find. Sure it will save you time, but it
will also greatly decrease the chances of landing an interview (so in reality it could
even represent a waste of time). Tailor your resume for each employer. The same
point applies to your cover letters.

17. IDENTIFY THE PROBLEMS OF THE EMPLOYER

A good starting point to tailor your resume for a specific employer is to identify
what possible problems he might have at hand. Try to understand the market of the
company you are applying for a job, and identify what kind of difficulties they might
be going through. After that illustrate on your resume how you and your skills
would help to solve those problems.
18. AVOID AGE DISCRIMINATION
It is illegal to discriminate people because of their age, but some employers do these
considerations nonetheless. Why risk the trouble? Unless specifically requested, do
not include your age on your resume.

19. YOU DON’T NEED TO LIST ALL YOUR WORK EXPERIENCES

If you have job experiences that you are not proud of, or that are not relevant to the
current opportunity, you should just omit them. Mentioning that you used to sell
hamburgers when you were 17 is probably not going to help you land that executive
position.

20. GO WITH WHAT YOU GOT

If you never had any real working experience, just include your summer jobs or
volunteer work. If you don’t have a degree yet, mention the title and the estimated
date for completion. As long as those points are relevant to the job in question, it
does not matter if they are official or not.

21. SELL YOUR FISH

Remember that you are trying to sell yourself. As long as you don’t go over the edge,
all the marketing efforts that you can put in your resume (in its content, design,
delivery method and so on) will give you an advantage over the other candidates.

22. DON’T INCLUDE IRRELEVANT INFORMATION

Irrelevant information such as political affiliation, religion and sexual preference
will not help you. In fact it might even hurt your chances of landing an interview.
Just skip it.

23. USE MR. AND MS. IF APPROPRIATE

If you have a gender neutral name like Alex or Ryan make sure to include the Mr. or
Ms. prefix, so that employers will not get confused about your gender.

24. NO LIES, PLEASE

Seems like a no brainer, but you would be amused to discover the amount of people
that lie in their resumes. Even small lies should be avoided. Apart from being wrong,
most HR departments do background checks these days, and if you are buster it
might ruin your credibility for good.
25. KEEP THE SALARY IN MIND
The image you will create with your resume must match the salary and
responsibility level that you are aiming for.

26. ANALYZE JOB ADS

You will find plenty of useful information on job ads. Analyze no only the ad that you
will be applying for, but also those from companies on the same segment or offering
related positions. You should be able to identify what profile they are looking for
and how the information should be presented.

27. GET SOMEONE ELSE TO REVIEW YOUR RESUME

Even if you think you resume is looking kinky, it would be a good idea to get a
second and third opinion about it. We usually become blind to our own mistakes or
way of reasoning, so another people will be in a good position to evaluate the overall
quality of your resume and make appropriate suggestions.

28. ONE OR TWO PAGES

The ideal length for a resume is a polemic subject. Most employers and recruiting
specialists, however, say that it should contain one or two pages at maximum. Just
keep in mind that, provided all the necessary information is there, the shorter your
resume, the better.

29. USE ACTION VERBS

A very common advice to job seekers is to use action verbs. But what are they?
Action verbs are basically verbs that will get noticed more easily, and that will
clearly communicate what your experience or achievement were. Examples include
managed, coached, enforced and planned. Here you can find a complete list of action
verbs divided by skill category.

30. USE A GOOD PRINTER

If you are going to use a paper version of your resume, make sure to use a decent
printer. Laser printers usually get the job done. Plain white paper is the preferred
one as well.

31. NO HOBBIES
Unless you are 100% sure that some of your hobbies will support you candidacy,
avoid mentioning them. I know you are proud of your swimming team, but share it
with your friends and not with potential employers.
32. UPDATE YOUR RESUME REGULARLY
It is a good idea to update your resume on a regular basis. Add all the new
information that you think is relevant, as well as courses, training programs and
other academic qualifications that you might receive along the way. This is the best
way to keep track of everything and to make sure that you will not end up sending
an obsolete document to the employer.

33. MENTION WHO YOU WORKED WITH

If you have reported or worked with someone that is well known in your industry, it
could be a good idea to mention it on the resume. The same thing applies to
presidents and CEOs. If you reported to or worked directly with highly ranked
executives, add it to the resume.

34. NO SCATTERED INFORMATION

Your resume must have a clear focus. If would cause a negative impression if you
mentioned that one year you were studying drama, and the next you were working
as an accountant. Make sure that all the information you will include will work
towards a unified image. Employers like decided people.

35. MAKE THE DESIGN FLOW WITH WHITE SPACE

Do not jam your resume with text. Sure we said that you should make your resume
as short and concise as possible, but that refers to the overall amount of information
and not to how much text you can pack in a single sheet of paper. White space
between the words, lines and paragraphs can improve the legibility of your resume.

36. LISTS ALL YOUR POSITIONS

If you have worked a long time for the same company (over 10 years) it could be a
good idea to list all the different positions and roles that you had during this time
separately. You probably had different responsibilities and developed different
skills on each role, so the employer will like to know it.

37. NO JARGON OR SLANG

It should be common sense, but believe me, it is not. Slang should never be present
in a resume. As for technical jargon, do not assume that the employer will know
what you are talking about. Even if you are sending your resume to a company in the
same segment, the person who will read it for the first time might not have any
technical expertise.
38. CAREFUL WITH SAMPLE RESUME TEMPLATES
There are many websites that offer free resume templates. While they can help you
to get an idea of what you are looking for, do not just copy and paste one of the most
used ones. You certainly don’t want to look just like any other candidate, do you?

39. CREATE AN EMAIL PROOF FORMATTING

It is very likely that you will end up sending your resume via email to most
companies. Apart from having a Word document ready to go as an attachment, you
should also have a text version of your resume that does not look disfigured in the
body of the email or in online forms. Attachments might get blocked by spam filters,
and many people just prefer having the resume on the body of the email itself.

40. REMOVE YOUR OLDER WORK EXPERIENCES

If you have been working for 20 years or more, there is no need to have 2 pages of
your resume listing all your work experiences, starting with the job at the local
coffee shop at the age of 17! Most experts agree that the last 15 years of your career
are enough.

41. NO FANCY DESIGN DETAILS

Do not use a colored background, fancy fonts or images on your resume. Sure, you
might think that the little flowers will cheer up the document, but other people
might just throw it away at the sight.

42. NO PRONOUNS
You resume should not contain the pronouns “I” or “me.” That is how we normally
structure sentences, but since your resume is a document about your person, using
these pronouns is actually redundant.

43. DON’T FORGET THE BASICS

The first thing on your resume should be your name. It should be bold and with a
larger font than the rest of the text. Make sure that your contact details are clearly
listed. Secondly, both the name and contact details should be included on all the
pages of the resume (if you have more than one).

44. CONSIDER GETTING PROFESSIONAL HELP

If you are having a hard time to create your resume, or if you are receiving no
response whatsoever from companies, you could consider hiring a professional
resume writing service. There are both local and online options are available, and
usually the investment will be worth the money.