Alicia LimWhether you’re a student seeking your first job or a seasoned professional ready to start a new chapter in your career, these tips can help you polish your resume and create an impression! These guidelines show you how to write compelling content, package it with apt arrangement, and ensure pleasing presentation for potential employers.
Compelling Content
Your resume is literally nothing without content. However, not just any content will lead to an interview! Write a resume that depicts your experience as one accomplishment after another; reduce repeated words; and list any relevant experience (even volunteer work you didn’t get paid for, if necessary).
Everything an accomplishment
In general, my most important tip is centering each list item on your action and the value therein. Then, provide detail about the scope/magnitude or frequency of what you did and your results. A quick search for “resume power words” can give you ideas.
Example:
| Instead of…. | Try… |
| Watched and cleaned the store | Oversaw the security and cleanliness of the store |
Reduce repetition
An easy way to bore your reader is by using the same words repeatedly. Instead, vary your vocabulary to reduce repetition and communicate a stronger message. A thesaurus can help. Additionally, it’s always wise to get someone else to proofread your resume, to check for word usage as well as other errors you might miss.
Example:
| Instead of…. | Try… |
| Reported weekly to head office, reported statistics and other information | Wrote weekly reports to head office, recorded statistics and other information |
List relevant experiences, paid or not
Is this your first job application, or is your work experience mostly unrelated to the job you seek? Never fear: combining volunteer with work experience can demonstrate you have skills relevant to the job, and tell future employers that you take initiative in your community!
Apt Arrangement
Other than your cover letter, your resume is the first introduction potential employers get with respect to who you are. The layout should walk them step-by-step through every reason why you’re the right choice for the job! Do this with a targeted or tailored resume that follows a logical order and has an area of focus for each bullet point.
Tailor-made
Tailor or target your resume to your job application with a specific objective statement, relevant skills profile, and work experience that shows you’re just the person employers need! Use key words from the job posting to inform your writing.
Example:
| Instead of…. | Try… |
| A student intending to be a beneficial addition to your workforce | An attentive problem solver and people person ready to innovate, take risks, and work with an inspired team |
Order in the CV
Decide how to order your experiences on your resume, and stick to that rule. For example, a common way to organize your work history is reverse chronological order: your most recent job comes first, then your previous position, and so on, with your oldest experience at the end. Otherwise, you could write a functional resume that lists skills and past work in order of relevance to your job application. Another option is the combined resume, which features relevant skills you want to highlight at the top, and proceeds with your employment history. Whatever your format is, make it easy for your reader to follow!
Focus your bullets
The number of sections you include in your work history or skills profile will determine how many bullet points you can include under each one. Make sure each bullet point is focused on describing one project or area of your responsibilities.
Example:
| Instead of…. | Try… |
| Counselled children and recruited youth volunteers | – Counselled children with questions or needing support – Recruited youth volunteers to join a provincial organization that serves children in low-income communities |
Pleasing Presentation
They say looks aren’t everything… but when you apply for a job, managers have no choice but to judge a book by its cover! Highlight your skills and experience in an attractive document. If employers don’t like looking at your resume, they may not bother with its contents. Beautify your resume by reducing white space, formatting your text to be as legible as possible, and using headers and footers to help track pages.
Don’t draw a blank
Large white spaces on your resume communicate to a hiring manager that there’s not much to say about you. Demonstrate your resource management abilities to future employers by maximizing space on the page(s)!
Make it legible
Choose a font face that is easy to read. Limit the number of different font faces you use, if at all, to two. Moreover, you can prevent the need for your reader to squint by using a minimum of size 10 text (12 being ideal).
Use headers and/or footers appropriately
If your resume is more than one page long, headers and footers can be a useful tool! Insert your name and the page number so hiring managers don’t lose a page. You can also include how many pages the document contains in total.
Try it out
Put these tips into practice, proofread what you’ve written, and apply! Good luck with your future interview(s), friend.