Is This How You Are Writing Your Resume?

Nancy Anderson
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Whether you're applying for a job as a top-tier manager or for an entry-level position right out of college, your resume should have specific elements included in it. These items make your document stand out, allow human eyes to scan it easily and demonstrate you're the right person for the job. Find out what to include in a resume to impress a hiring manager.

Heading

The heading of your resume belongs at the top of the page. This is where your name and contact information go. Include a cellphone number, email address and any social media information such as a LinkedIn profile and Facebook page. Double-check your information to ensure it is accurate. A phone number with one wrong digit means you might miss a call.

Education

Whether you earned a degree, or are currently attending college, proves you have what it takes to stick with a project over the long term. Make sure to list the highest degree you obtained, any trade schools you attended and any educational certificates you earned in the Education section of your resume. List your most recent degree first and work backward in reverse chronological order if you have more than one degree.

Experience

Relevant and recent experience on your resume should prove beneficial to the position at hand. Order your experiences with the most important ones or the most recent one first. Listing the most relevant experience at the top of the list demonstrates you have the skill set for the current job. This highlights your knowledge and shows your skills are sharp, fresh and ready to go. Achievements, volunteer work, leadership positions in organizations, internships and memberships in professional groups portray you as a well-rounded individual.

What Not to Include

Try to avoid templates and cookie-cutter resumes. Tailor each document to each employer and position. Some items are the same for every resume, such as degrees earned and previous experience. Keep these items organized in such a way that you can easily move them around in your saved document for the next job application. Don't overdo different fonts, italics and bolding. If you feel the need to make some elements stand out, bold your top-level skills and achievements to make scanning the page easier on the eyes.

There's no need to say "References available upon request." Employers expect you to have references. Likewise, you don't need to include a photograph on the document. Your LinkedIn profile probably has a professional headshot.

Avoid typos, grammatical mistakes or errors on the resume. Read over it thoroughly several times once you input all of the information. After you edit the page a few times, have a friend look it over with a fresh set of eyes just in case you missed something. Hiring managers may throw your resume in the Delete pile if they see typos or grammatical mistakes because it shows a lack of attention to detail on your part.

Knowing what to include in your resume gives you an advantage during a job search, and it should lead to more callbacks and interviews. Do you have any tips for what should go in a resume?


Photo courtesy of everydayplus at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

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