How to Write a Resume

A resume is such an important document. It is a summary of your professional accomplishments and a note to employers showing your success. But there are so many conflicting messages on how to write one and what it should look like. Here are some guidelines that will help you land an interview and (hopefully) clear up some of the confusion.

Cater Your Resume to Each Application

You can have one base resume that you edit each time you are applying to a new job. However, you do not want to be sending the same resume to every position you apply for. Every time you apply to a new position you want to make sure you are editing the resume to include information that is in the job posting.

This will help you get past applicant tracking systems and show employers how you are specifically qualified for THIS position.

Summary

In your resume you want to create a summary that connects you to the position you are applying for. It should be curated for this company. Let them know what about you will bring value to the company and what makes you uniquely qualified for the position.

Skills

Under your skills section you want to match the skills that are in the job posting that you possess. Adding these key words will help the employer see that you have the skills they are looking for, that you thoroughly read the job posting, and it will help your resume get past any electronic applicant tracking systems.

Avoid Words Like:

Hard worker
Self-motivated
Team player

These words are generic and over used because of this they no longer hold the same sway they once might have.

Work Experience

You want to include your relevant experience. For each bullet point of your work experience make sure that you are using examples that match the roles and responsibilities in the job posting. When possible try and quantify your examples.

You want to start your examples off with strong action words. Some options include:

Managed
Achieved
Resolved
Trained
Mentored
Created
Developed
Established
Engaged
Initiated
Improved
Increased/Decreased
Influenced
Implemented
Launched

Use these words as the starting point to describe your responsibilities. Then explain the results your responsibilities held as a way to quantify your work.

For example:

Created a product database that was used for analyzing consumer data. Using the information from this database resulted in 25% more sales over the next 6 months.

Education

Here you want to include your education or any relevant certification. If there are specific courses that are relevant you can describe them here.

Resume Examples

Below is a breakdown of the format for a resume. This explains the components that are usually in a resume and what kind of information to include in each section.

Here is a resume example. This person is applying for a job as a Student Experience Coordinator. The job posting emphasized organization, problem-solving, and meeting deadlines several times. Throughout the resume these values are mentioned repeatedly to demonstrate their qualification for this position.

Resume Styles

All these resume styles are beautiful but you want to make sure that you are keeping your resume style simple especially if you are not sending it directly to someone.

Most resumes now go through applicant tracking systems (ATS) before they are seen by human eyes. If they are even the slightest bit complex the ATS will not be able to read it and get the information. This will lead to your resume never being seen. (More information about ATS)

In addition to individual sessions, I offer resume writing services. For more information feel free to contact us for resume reviews and critiques.