Your resume is one of your most powerful tools for getting employment. Unfortunately, some people seem to have a hard time writing good resumes. They either use very generic bullets or very specific ones that do not apply to their field.
The first type of bullet point used in bad quality resumes is the general one. A general bullet point does not describe what job position the person putting together the resume was applying for. It also may be too vague. If you are looking for a position as a Senior Manager, using a general bullet like “Manages project teams” would be confusing because it could mean many different things.
A more appropriate way to use a general bullet would be to emphasize how well you managed similar projects before. For example, if you were a senior manager at a company, then emphasizing your leadership skills by listing off positions such as Director of Operations, Team Leader, etc., would look better.
The second kind of bullet point used in poor quality resumes is the overly-specific one. These types of bullets only include the position being sought after. This looks worse than the previous one since it does not tell anyone anything about you. You will need to take extra steps to prove yourself beyond just showing that you can manage a team.
This article will go into detail on how to prepare an effective resume.
Organize it
When you are ready to organize your resume, make sure to use an easy website template or create your own using Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or another similar program.
Many career coaches and recruiters suggest using the “functional” format for your resumes. This includes listing off your skills, work experiences, education, hobbies, etc., under different functional groups. Make sure to mix up how you order these pieces of information to appear natural and flow well.
Your personal profile and photo can also be inserted into the header section at this time! The goal is to match each group with a corresponding box so that employers can quickly scan and see all important details about you.
In addition to taking your time to edit and update your resume, it is very important to do some research on what positions are needed at your top choice employers and what their typical interview questions are. You should also check out their websites and social media pages to get a sense of the whole enterprise.
Make it concise
It’s easy to add empty, clutter bits to your resume, but this can hurt you instead of helping you. Your job search will be hampered if employers have to go through lots of documents to find what they are looking for!
Some people start with the hard way by including everything under the sun, but this is usually not the best approach.
Your career will vary so having different experiences that relate to each position will help show employers how you would contribute.
Keep it tight, focus on the key points, and leave out the rest.
Proofread it
After you have made yourself look great with your resume, what do you do next? You proofread it! This is one of the most important things you can do before sending it out into the world for a possible opportunity.
When people review resumes, they will spend a few minutes reading through each section and looking at how well organized the documents are. If there are too many typos or errors, this would matter to the reviewer.
By using good grammar and spelling, and making sure everything makes sense, your potential employer will only see positive things.
Ensure it's up-to-date
It is very important to make sure your resume is up-to-date. Your resume should be the most recent version, with no missing or outdated information.
It is hard to get a job if you don’t have a strong employment history. Therefore, it is essential to keep yourself current by updating as needed.
Don't just put off changing your resume until right before you apply for a position. In fact, we recommend making small changes every now and then so that your resume stays up-to-date.
Practice resume writing
Even if you have no experience, there are ways to prepare your resume for employment. You can take some professional career services website or YouTube channels as free resource to learn how to make your resume look better and be more effective.
Practice makes perfect! You can do this at any stage in your career changes – whether you are changing jobs or industries, or if you are just breaking into the employment scene. The best way to learn how to create a strong resume is by doing so often.
That means going through at least three resumes per group of people (for example, employers) before you decide what format and content works best for you.
There’s no wrong way to put together a great resume, but there are ways that will help you shine more effectively. By practicing more regularly, you'll know how to structure your resume in the most effective way.
