Creating your own resume template is an excellent way to re-purpose, refresh, or start from scratch with your own work! You can create a new resume every time you need one by simply changing some of the components.
Here are all the things you will need to make your perfect job hunt resume.
Times have changed
In the past, most people used pre-existing templates for their resume. But now there is a better way! Creating your own career profile or resume template is easy to do and can be done in any field or at any level.
By using good practices and giving yourself guidelines, you will know what content goes into your new resume. You can then use this information to make another one-brand name resumes!
It may seem like an overwhelming process at first, but it’s not. It’s more about creating strong introductions and developing relationships than it is about writing professional cover letters and resumes.
There are many free resources available online as well as courses you can take via YouTube or Udemy to help you develop your skills and knowledge. Many universities offer classes on resume building as well.
Look through jobs that you are qualified for
Looking at other people’s resumes can give you some great tips, but only if you look closely and critically. You should not just scan it quickly to see whether there are any things you know or can do, nor should you try to emulate what you think is a good format.
Reading through someone else’s resume does not necessarily tell you how to make your own. In fact, most of these examples are quite different from each other! This is because every person has their own style when it comes to creating their resume.
Your personal style may be influenced by several factors, such as:
- What fields or industries your skills belong to
- How much experience you have in those areas and
- Current trends in workplace styles
Whatever style you choose, however, it must speak to who you are and what you want to achieve with your career.
Try making different resumes using software programs
There are many free or low-cost resume template software applications that can be used to create your own professional looking resumes. Some of the most popular ones include Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Adobe Creative Cloud Suite (Photoshop, InDesign, etc.), and Apple Works.
By creating your own resume templates with these software programs, you will save money as well as time!
Most people use one of the above-mentioned software to make their resume. But there’s no need to if you don’t like how it looks or something about it isn’t working for you.
You can easily edit all of the information in those apps so instead of buying a new expensive version, you can just go into it and fix anything you do not like or add things you want.
There is also an easy way to get some of these free resources. You can find lots of them online.
Read up on tips for creating a great resume
Even though you can create your own career profile, it is still important to use good practices when designing yours. Starting off with an inviting and succinct title that captures their attention will help ensure they keep reading!
Your job headline is very powerful as it defines who you are and what you offer to employers. It also comes after the first-person singular pronoun, which creates a sense of authority and professionalism. A clear and concise message makes for better looking documents so be sure to invest in good quality cover letters!
It’s always best to avoid using too many numbers or statistics in your header since they may sound vague and unclear. Use familiar keywords instead. For example, if your header reads ‘Director of Marketing’ then add something like ‘Expanding digital marketing strategies through innovative campaigns’ – more detail!
After your professional heading, include your personal life information such as education, jobs, and achievements. This way, if someone does want to contact you for employment or for another position, there is already a base to work from. Make sure to update these components as needed.
Personalize it!
When creating your own resume template, first make sure you are comfortable with the way yours is now. If there are things you would like to change or improve upon, do so!
By changing what you include in your personalization, you can create a new, more effective resume template. For example, if you don’t put much emphasis on education because you feel that people who look for jobs have already done their due diligence by getting educated, then add that information into your new resume!
Or maybe you’re not including enough detail about yourself, or your achievements, or nothing at all beyond your employment history.
Test it out
Even if you are not looking for new employment, your current job can be a place to test your resume template. Find an employer who is willing to review your documents with no assignments given.
By having someone else evaluate your document, they may find something you missed or could use some re-structuring. This is also a good way to learn how different employers prefer their documents organized!
Your current job can easily become a free trial run of what kind of resumes employers want to see. Finding that ideal format will take practice, but don’t worry! You are already on the right track.
Get feedback from friends or family
It’s always better to get some input from people you know and trust. If they can tell that you’re passionate about what you do, then maybe there is an opportunity for you in this field. Or perhaps they can suggest tips or strategies to improve your career.
By sharing your resume with others, they may also offer helpful comments like “You should include more of these skills because employers look for them.” or “Your contact information seems hard to find. You might want to update it.”
Either way, take their advice seriously but don’t let their criticism scare you away! We all have different styles we feel most comfortable using so unless they clearly state that you are not good at writing, they probably just didn’t like the looks of yours.
Use online job boards
One of the best ways to create your own resume template is by using an existing one! There are many free, easy-to-use sites that feature career services or even pre-made resumes you can edit and upload yourself.
Mostly people use these for employment, but you can easily tweak them to fit other goals like education or experiences.
By editing and rebranding already successful templates, you will help spread their brand name while adding yours.
