A resume is an important piece of personal marketing material, and one of the most vital when you’re applying for jobs. Whether it is for your first job or your fiftieth, you will always need to supply a resume for the employers. If done properly, it will represent you accurately and positively, highlighting your proficiencies and skills for employers to read.
When composing your resume, remember that employers only have time to give each resume a quick scan for pertinent facts. So if your resume has pages of information, with detailed paragraphs describing skills and capabilities, it is likely that they will cast it aside as too much trouble. So, keep your resume short and to the point. Get the facts across, promote yourself, but don’t be self-indulgent. As a guide, try to keep your resume down to two sides of A4 paper, but less is better.
Things to remember are:
- Promote yourself. There’s no point submitting a resume if you describe your abilities as okay, not bad, or pretty good. Use strong adjectives like capable, sufficient, developed, and competent. This is your marketing tool – use it!
- Do your research. Know what the employer is searching for, and try to provide information that best covers these areas. Consider whether the information is relevant, or whether your resume would be more suitable without it.
- Use keywords. In this age of electronic job sites, enabling you to submit a resume online, ensure that your resume contains job specific keywords throughout, so that they show up in an electronic search.
- Keep it simple. Don’t include colour, fancy fonts or experimental layout on your resume. If you choose to use bullet points, stick to the one kind. Keep it simple and easy to read.
- Be honest. An employer will soon learn that you lied on your resume. Exaggeration is fine in order to promote yourself – but keep it truthful.
- Differentiate yourself from other applicants. Give the employer a reason to hire your over others.
Now, how do you actually structure a resume? There are a number of different ways, but the most common is one that employers in most areas will recognise, called reverse chronological. This is the best format to use when looking for part-time work along with your studies, or if you are looking for a job after high school. Generally resumes become more complex after undergraduate and postgraduate studies. The tertiary institutions you attend can provide you with resume writing information on their website or upon request. In this article, we will be looking at the most standard form of resume.
Here are some step-by-step instructions on what you should include,
Personal details
It is not compulsory to include age, nationality, or marital status. This information can be used to discriminate against applicants. Also, if your email address is off topic, like naughty_devil@ change it to something more professional.
Under personal details, you will need to include:
- Full name
- Address
- Contact details
Career objective/ Personal statement
A brief sentence or two about your goals for the future, either immediate or long term. Try to make this relevant to the position you are applying for, if possible.
Education history
Begin this section with your most recent education, and work backwards through past study. For each form of education, include:
- Name of qualification
- Name of institution
- Time frame of qualification: year began – year completed
- Secondary school results (optional)
Employment history
Begin this section with your most recent job, and work backwards though past employment. This can include both paid and voluntary work experience. For each position, include:
- Position title
- Name of employer
- Location of employer
- Time frame of employment: year began – year completed
- Responsibilities/ Position description
- Achievements
Key Skills
If relevant to the job position, list key skills that you possess. Include:
- The type of skill
- Brief description of how you have implemented the skill
Personal affiliates
(Optional) If you are a member of an organisation or volunteer group, list them here. Although these should be relevant to the position you are applying for, it can promote your personal qualities to list your affiliates even if irrelevant.
Achievements
List any awards, certificates or other achievements that you have gained. Be sure to include:
- The title of achievement
- The source of achievement (e.g. name of school, sporting club)
- Date of achievement
General Information
This is not usually required, but if you are applying for a first job and your resume looks a bit bare, then include a few brief statements about yourself and your interests, if possible, relating to the job position.
Referees
It is preferable to have at least two referees on your resume. For each, include:
- Type of referee (professional, academic, personal)
- Name
- Position or relationship
- Contact details
We hope that this helps you to produce that career winning position. Got any comments?Why not post a reply for your peers to read in the forum.
We at Careernav wish you all the luck in finding the career of your choice.
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