A well-written resume gives you a significant advantage in your job search. We have broken down the steps to perfecting your resume so that you can write a professional, effective and impressive resume, easily and quickly.
Resume writing - 7 important steps:
- Major principles
- Where to create a resume
- General looks and design templates
- Resume structure
- Content
- Personal details
- Introduction
- Professional experience
- Expertise
- Education
- References
- Recruiters and recruitment systems
- Resume for relocation positions
Major principles
Many candidates send resumes to a variety of positions but do not get a response, while others
receive a response each time they apply – so why does this happen? Sometimes it can be a
result of a well-connected network, other times it can be just pure luck. Regardless of the
reason, having a strong resume will make a positive impression on hiring managers and recruiters
and set you apart from other candidates.
A resume is a self-marketing tool that is essential in any job search. Not only does it showcase your skills and achievement, but also with the right template and guidance, can help you stand out from other candidates and get you through the first screening stage. Research shows that in the job market, most resumes do not pass the initial screening stage.
Recruiting agencies receive hundreds of resumes daily for each open position, and this number heightened following the Covid-19 pandemic. These resumes undergo an initial screening from the agency, and then passed along to in-house recruiters to screen for their internal positions. However, the screening process does not end there. Recruiters use additional screening methods, such as interviews and assessment tests, to ensure they are finding the right fit for their open positions. Given this lengthy process and the large amount of resumes received for each role, an experienced recruiters take only 5-10 seconds to screen a resume. If a resume is not impressive and professional, the likelihood of the resume moving past the initial screening stage is slim.
To help make sure your resume stands out and moves past the initial screening stage, we have outlined the three major parts in a resume- - look, structure, and content - and we will discuss them in detail.
Where to create the resume?
The first step to landing your next career opportunity is to create the resume – but where
should you create it? It is not recommended to send a resume in a Word format, text or
image, as it looks unprofessional and may also lead to:
· Problems in receipt of the resume format by
recruiting systems of recruiting agencies.
· Recruiting agencies can edit the file without your
knowledge.
· The file can be viewed differently on a phone,
tablet or computer.
· Such formats store personal information, including
the name of the last person who saved the file, date and time of creation, and location of file.
These details are unnecessary and make the file look unprofessional.
So what should you do?
You should submit your resume in PDF format. This is also the format we use in our platform,
for a number of reasons:
· The design is final and looks the same in any
system.
· There are professional designs that save you
valuable time.
· The file cannot be edited.
· No personal information is stored in the file
properties.
General look and design templates
A resume should be neat, grammatically correct, clear, and concise. Sloppy writing will leave a
negative impression on the recruiter, as they may think you are not professional enough, and
therefore reduce your chances of continuing to the next stage in the recruiting process.
It is important to invest in your resume’s format, as a professional format will greatly increase recruiters’ interest in your resume. Although an impressive resume does not automatically get your foot in the door, it does give you a competitive advantage that will set you apart from competing candidates.
The good news is that you don’t need to have fancy graphic design skills to achieve the impressive resume you are looking for. With our platform, you can easily choose from several templates that were designed by recruiting experts to emphasize your strongest skills. These designs are available on our website, so you can focus your time and energy on your job search.
Resume structure
Now let’s discuss how your resume should be structured. This is an important element to
creating your resume as it will help recruiters get straight to the details that matter.
Specifically, a logical order will give recruiters an accurate picture of the various stages of
your career, regardless of content at this point.
The most common structure worldwide, which is the foundation of our resume writing platform, is to list your personal details, introduction, work experience, courses, education, hobbies and references.
You should write your resume in reverse chronological order - Each category should start with your most relevant experience (job, degrees, courses), while your first job, degrees or courses should appear last. This order is particularly useful as it presents your most relevant skills at the very beginning, therefore allowing recruiters to use their 5-10 seconds of screening into good use. It will help them understand your experience without having to go through other roles that may not be relevant to the position you are applying for.
This structure is incredibly dynamic, and you can make some changes in ways you see fit. For example, if you are a recent college graduate with no professional experience, and the main skill you possess is the degree you have successfully completed, you may want to move the education section under the introduction and before your work experience (if there is any).
Content
The content of your resume helps recruiters decide whether or not you are suitable for the
position. Here are some of the fundamental elements that should be included, followed by some
‘nice to have’s.
Mandatory parts:
· Personal information (phone number, email
etc.)
· Introduction (not required but recommended)
· Experience
· Skills
· Education
Optional parts:
· Additional personal details
· Volunteering work
· Certificates of excellence and participation in
research
· Hobbies
A resume should not include all the positions you have held since the start of your career, but it should spark the interest of recruiters and help them understand your experience. In an interview (telephone or frontal), you will be able to further elaborate on your experience that was briefly discussed in your resume.
A useful tip is to create several versions of your resume to tailor the requirements of each role you are applying for. You want to be sure that you are not sending out a generic resume to roles that differ in their scope of responsibility, rather highlight the content that is relevant for each role. For example, you may be just the right candidate for the position of ‘sales manager’, as well as ‘sales representative’, but you should present a different toolbox for each position.
Another tip to strengthen the content of your resume is to remove pronouns entirely - you don't need to use 'I', 'he' or 'she' because its use is implied. After all, you're writing a CV about your skills and experience.
Personal and contact details
It is recommended to include contact and personal details that are relevant to either the
country where it is located or the position you are applying for. There are different practices
in each country (a resume with or without a photo, including country prefix, etc.). Certain
positions require you to specify the type of driving license you hold, while other places may
find this information irrelevant.
For most positions, the following details are mandatory: full name, telephone number and email. You may also include a city or country, foreign citizenship, and year of birth, but this information is optional and you should add it if you believe it can increase your chances to be considered for the position.
Summary
Based on reviews of numerous resumes, a resume summary is beneficial to the overall impression
on recruiters. Since recruiters go through many resumes and may feel overwhelmed as a result, a
resume summary helps provide clarity to the chaos. A summary that sums up your professional
experience can help recruiters regain their focus and understand quickly who you are and what
type of job you are looking for.
Also, a summary adds a personal touch to a resume. It is the place to write about your particular accomplishments or any statistics you want the recruiter to pay attention to. For example: "Proficient Administrative Assistant with over 9 years of office experience, specializing in administrative work, problem solving, planning and optimal assistance. Proven efficiency with an ability to quickly learn and navigate any computer software program, or office filing system".
You should include the position in the introduction (for example - "Sales Manager" or "Charismatic Manager"), significant achievements ("Outstanding Graduate", "PhD in Physics"), your most important skills ("Human Relations Specialist", "Specialized in Web Development ") and a focus on your search ("Full Time", "Manhattan, NY").
It is recommended to add one line to convey your motivation, energy and desire to be accepted for the position. Do not write long introduction because it can do more harm than good. Be short, clear and to the point and remember that the introduction should give the recruiter a sense of who you are as a candidate.
If you are not sure that you need to include an introduction, do not add it at all. An irrelevant introduction can give recruiters the wrong impression.
Professional experience
Your professional experience tells the recruiters whether you are suitable for the job. Be
meticulous in writing this part.
It is unnecessary to include your entire professional past, but only of the last 10 years and only the relevant positions, for example, if you worked for a while during high school as a waiter, then studied accounting and now you are looking for a job as an accountant, do not mention it. This is not about writing an autobiography, rather about giving the recruiter the relevant information to decide if you are suitable for the job. Keep your resume short, clear and concise.
As stated before, you should write in reverse chronological order, with your last or current position appearing first on the list, as it most likely will be the one to elaborate on later in an interview.
You should bear in mind that recruiters prefer bullet point writing style and not a descriptive paragraph. Each bullet point should be different and provide details about the different aspects of your role.
Examples:
· Leading a global sales team of 10 employees in NYC
and abroad.
· Developing complex web systems using Python, Java,
and Node.JS technologies.
· Store shift supervisor, in charge of
employees' shifts and inventory work.
· In charge of cross-organization projects, meeting
objectives and managing an annual budget of 25 million dollars.
It is important to include all the main aspects of the job; do not undersell yourself, but do not overstate areas you have no experience in. You may be asked about the specifics during an interview and you should feel comfortable to elaborate on what you wrote.
This is where you should state your expertise, projects you have worked on, special achievements, productivity, saving time and money for a company, professional leadership, improving a particular process, and all other points that enrich your experience.
alternative source of reference or brief your recruiter regarding the complexity of your relationship.
The contact details of the references can be stated in the resume as the last category, however, in most cases, it is not customary to specify names or contact details. Instead, you may say "References will be provided upon request".
Recruitment systems - ATS
The current technology used nowadays to scan and filter resumes is an applicant tracking system
(ATS). This system is designed to assist recruiters in the complex process of reviewing and
sorting resumes, and ultimately help them manage the process efficiently.
When you send a resume to the company's Jobs e-mail, or submit it through a company's website, your resume reaches a recruitment system that automatically analyzes, filters and processes it, as well as extracts information from it in order to decide if it should be passed to the hiring manager – all without human contact.
This is the reason why you should only work with official resume makers, such as our platform, which has the ability to go through the initial screening stage of such systems. You can also "beat the algorithm" by including keywords in your resume (if you have the relevant experience). Do not include keywords if you do not have the right experience just to "beat the system".
Resume for relocation positions
There are specific job search practices in each country, including how to write a resume. There
can be different requirements in different fields of occupation. You should conduct preliminary
research and understand how the process is conducted in a specific country before you submit
your resume to a company that is located in that country, look at examples of resumes, talk to
people who live in that country and learn the practices.
The US and Europe have different requirements, at times even within the countries themselves. For instance, some view a photo of a candidate as mandatory and some do not. Some require a cover letter and even an indication of your marital status it needs to estimate the cost of your move.
Conclusion: We have provided you with important information needed to build a professional resume that will grab any employer attention in seconds. Check out our top-notch Resume Examples and try resumaker.ai amazing resume builder which will save you time and land you an interview for your dream job!
