Getting a job might be a very difficult task, but one of the things that can make it easier is a good Resume. A lot of factors should be considered when trying to create your Resume to help get the needed result. Pay attention to these points

• What is a Resume
• Why you need a Well Written Resume
• Characteristics of a Good Resume
• Sections of a Good Resume
• Good Resume Writing Tips

This is a complete guide on how to write a resume that can land you a job. It is important to note that a recruiter doesn’t spend more than 5-8 seconds on a particular resume.

That means the magic has to be created in the initial 5 seconds. Moreover, most of the companies employ Applicant Tracking System (ATS) which pre-filters the resumes and reject a bulk of them- even before they reach human hands.

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While there are a few commonly used resume styles, your resume should reflect your unique education, experience and relevant skills. You might consider having multiple versions of your resume tailored to the jobs you’re applying for. 

Many of the applicants fail to build an effective resume because they do not understand the true sense of Resume. Before designing your Resume, you need to understand the meaning and importance of the resume

What is a Resume

A resume is your publicity where you market and sell yourself to the recruiter. So it definitely has to have the best of you. It is a brief documentation of a candidate’s skills, abilities, qualifications, work history, and educational background.

Why you need a Well Written Resume

In today’s job market, the resume has become the number one requirement potential employers request. Before an employer will take valuable time to interview you, he or she wants to meet you – on paper. How you impress that employer with your resume can, and will, make all the difference.

Without a resume, you can’t even begin to compete, and an inferior resume will quickly eliminate you before you even have a fighting chance. That is why it is imperative to have a superior resume, one that effectively lets employers know what you can do for them

Characteristics of a Good Resume

A Professional Resume should be specific in defining a candidate’s characteristics and it should match the company’s profile or the profile of the vacancy.

In order to design a successful resume, take a pen and paper and list all the things you wish to add on to your resume. Then start filtering your list with the best of the best things that would glorify you and matches the required profile.

Sections of a Good Resume

These are basic resume section headings that you should have in resume. Again all may not be necessary. See what is relevant for you.

• Career Goals / Objective /Summary: Brief summary of about you and your goals.
• Employment History / Work Experience: In reverse chronological order with including skills required for job
• Education / Educational Background: Schools, GPA, can include internships etc.
• Extra Circular Activities: Any extracurricular activity and may include hobbies.
• Skills and Expertise: Usually technical skills, knowledge that helps you do well in job.You may separate them into soft and hard skills and mention
• Achievements: Could include publications, grants, presentations in conferences.
• Awards and Recognition: Any certifications, scholarships
• Below details are part of resume though they are not section headings , however, included here to make it complete. Usually, these details will be mention on the top of the resume along with name.
• Email: Professional email to contact.
• Phone number: Phone number to contact.
• Social Proof: LinkedIn or any personal website.

Good Resume Writing Tips

Contact Imformations to Add

Your full name in the resume should be written on the top of your resume. Your name is the title (heading) of your resume written in bold and clear font size. This has to be followed by the job title or job positioning that you are targeting. Remember the font type and font size should be significant and attention grabber.

You are most likely to be contacted via email addresses. So add a professional email address first while listing your contact details.

Next, add your phone number. Your contact number should be the one which has an efficient network and is available to make calls. At last, you can add the link to your personal homepage or portfolio website.

Look for keywords in the job postings

The best place to start when preparing to write a resume is to carefully read the job postings that interest you.

As you apply for different jobs, you should study each job description for keywords that show what the employer is looking for in an ideal candidate. Include those keywords in your resume where relevant.

For example, if you’re applying for a job as a medical billing coder, an employer might list keywords like “coding,” “claims submission,” “compliance” or “AR management” in the job description.

Pay particular attention to anything listed in the sections labeled “Requirements” or “Qualifications.” If you have the skills that employers are looking for, you can add these same terms to your resume in the experience or skills sections

Review resume examples for your industry

When crafting your resume, you might study examples of resumes from your industry for inspiration and best practices. While there are many ways you can use resume samples, there are three main takeaways you should look for:

• Make it simple and easy to read. Resume samples are simple and straightforward. This is because employers have a minimal amount of time to review your resume, so readability is key. This also means selecting a professional, clean font.
• Make it brief. You’ll notice that each section of the resume sample is short and to-the-point, including the summary and experience descriptions. Including only the most key and relevant information means employers are able to consume more information about you, and more quickly understand your fitness for the role.
• Include numbers. You might also notice that there are often metrics included in the experience section of resume samples. This is because employers are highly responsive to measurable proven value. Numbers allow them to better understand the value you may bring to the position. For example, one bullet point under the experience description for an administrative assistant reads, “Executed processing of vendor contracts and implemented a standardized process, reducing contract discrepancies by 90%.”

When using resume samples, you should keep in mind that these are not meant to be copied exactly. While you should avoid using them as a template, samples are useful as examples of high-quality resumes in your industry and job title.

Only include subheadings and sections you need

Whether you’re using a resume template or creating your own, you may find there are some recommended sections you do not need.

For example, you may need a resume summary or a resume objective, but you should not include both. If you are just graduating from college or high school and have not yet held a professional position, do not include an empty work history section.

Instead, you might replace the experience section with relevant coursework, academic achievements and other experiences like internships or extracurricular projects.

You may also find it useful to combine sections if you are having trouble filling a section with more than two bullet points.

Call attention to important achievements

Instead of listing your job duties under the experience section, select your top three or four most important achievements in each role you’ve held. Where possible, include numbers that measure your success for that particular goal or achievement.

You might also consider including a separate “Achievements” or “Skills” section to specifically highlight relevant achievements in your education, career, volunteer work or other experiences.

Most Important Skills to include

It is always said that your resume should stand out from the crowd. So, I would suggest being very selective and unique while deciding your skills for the Resume. Some of the most used skills for Resume which goes parallel with all kind of jobs are:

It is always said that your resume should stand out from the crowd. So, I would suggest being very selective and unique while deciding your skills for the Resume. 

• Some of the most used skills for Resume which goes parallel with all kind of jobs are here, and we cover more detail later in this blog.
  • Communication skills
  • Ability to work under pressure
  • Decision making
  • Time Management
  • Self-motivation
  • Leadership
  • Adaptability
  • Teamwork
  • Creativity

Include Career Objectives in your Resume

Career objective is the first thing that catches a recruiter’s attention after your full name. The magic has to happen in this part only.

Writing a good objective for a resume is what is going to stand distinctively about your resume. The best career objective is a precise statement that mentions your objectives and goals to opt for a particular job or company.

It gives information about the kind of career you are choosing, your important skills and prominent experiences. This statement can be very generic or can be specific at times- from a few words to a few sentences.

There is no rocket science to write an appealing career objective. You just need to break the monotony and try something original of your own. Follow a few tips to design your career objective:

• Stop using the cliché style of writing resume objectives and make your own. This is where you can explore some creativity in you and play with words. Try using words that are least used and are unique.
• Write the honest depiction of yourself. Don’t try to fake your objective. Materialistic objectives are always boring and distract the recruiter.
• KISS- Keep it short and simple. Always remember that the space on a resume is precious. So think twice before you pour out your words. Ever section in your resume should be like a surprise package, telling employers something new and significant about you.

Use active language

Your resume should be written using active language without extraneous words. This means using power words, such as “achieved,” “earned,” “completed” or “accomplished.”

If your resume is too long or seems hard to read, you might consider making sentences shorter or ideas more concise.

For example, you may have a job description that reads:

“During my time at Freedom Inc., I ran multiple team-based projects and helped each team member with various tasks associated with each project.”

This example could be shortened and strengthened in the following way:

“Led multiple team-based projects and effectively coordinated group tasks.”

The revised version communicates the same ideas about your accomplishments while reducing the number of words and including more active language

Include only the most relevant information and put the most important information first

While you might have extensive work or educational experience, it’s important to keep your resume as brief as possible without leaving out key information.

Hiring managers don’t spend a lot of time reading each resume. Research has shown that hiring managers tend to spend only 6 seconds per resume.

If your resume includes old or irrelevant information, such as jobs held over 10 years ago or minor degrees and achievements, it may distract from key information.

Try to include only work experience, achievements, education and skills most relevant to the employer. You can find the most relevant attributes by closely reading the job posting. You should prioritize important information higher on your resume to draw attention to key skills and achievements.

Match resume with the company description

Your resume should be aligned with the company’s description and required vacancy. Imagine writing cooking skills for an IT job? Or writing software skills for a school teaching job? Doesn’t go parallel. Right?

So be attentive while finalizing your skills and proficiency for the job. These above two are extreme examples.

Even in some cases for same job titles the skills required may be different. Read the job description carefully and optimize resume for ATS and human reading accordingly.

Proofread and edit

Typically you should use a one-inch margin size on all sides of your resume with single spaces between the lines. If you have too much white space, you might consider making your lines spaced by 1.15 or 1.5.

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You can also increase your margins if you find it is difficult to fill your resume, but they should stay below two inches.

Decide whether you need a unique resume for different jobs

Before submitting an application, you should ask yourself, “Have I made it as easy as possible for this employer to see that I’m qualified?”.

If you’re applying for a job that has unique requirements, you may need another version of your resume to fully demonstrate your qualifications. Decide on a case by case basis which resume to use.

Your resume is often the first step to getting an interview with an employer. Make sure you include the most relevant information on your resume, organize it to highlight the most important information and carefully review for errors.

Once your resume is polished and finalized, it should help you get more callbacks, interviews, and job offers.