Friday 16 November 2012

Ten Tips for Writing a Professional Résumé

Resume Writing
Here are ten tips you can use to make a great résumé. These tips cover a wide variety of topics so feel free to use all of them or some of them. The more of them you use the better the résumé is going to be.

Make One Résumé for Each Employer 
You need to tailor each résumé to each employer where you are looking for work. Make each one unique to that employer to highlight skills and education for that particular job; just don’t write one standard document.

Highlight Your Strengths
You need to highlight your strengths and qualifications on your résumé. Try to show this backed up with experiences you have had in the past. The employer needs to know that your skills can help the company.

Use Keywords if Applying Online
If you’re applying online and using job boards make sure your document has some keywords in it as employers will use those to find you and if they can’t locate you through keywords you won’t get found. The words should relate to the job you’re applying for and will change with each résumé.

Proofread
Make sure you not only proofread the document one but twice or even three times. It simply look unprofessional if you have spelling mistakes or other errors in the document and it’s likely going to go in the trash and not get read at all.

Bullet Points
Use bullet points as these help to highlight sections of your paper. Employers don’t have time to read every detail and bullets make it easier to get to the moan points of your document quickly.

Put Important Data First
Make sure you follow proper résumé form when designing your document. Put your work experience at the top so the employer can find this easily. When you list skills make sure you put the ones that will be important to the employer and not you at the top.

Avoid Obvious Information
Don’t put things like “references available” on your résumé. This is just stating obvious information that the employer knows. And it wastes space for other information that is more important.

Avoid the Negative
Don’t put anything negative in your document such as “I hated my last company, so that is why I am applying with your organization.” Your document should be as professional as possible and never put anything negative on it.

Explain Your Skills
Explain not only your skills but how they would benefit the employer’s organization. If you can match your skills to the need of the company you’ll be better off.

Highlight Achievements
Don’t list long lists of your responsibilities but instead list your achievements. What did you achieve professionally that helped your organization?

Make Your Résumé the Best it Can Be
Try to make your Résumé as professional as possible. You want your employer to notice you so spend some time designing your document for each job that you apply for.