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What to Include in Your Resume Tips

We'll walk you through what goes into creating an effective resume and how you can use this information to create your own professional-looking document.

By Courtanae HeslopPublished 4 years ago 5 min read

So you’re looking to apply for a job. Whether it’s your first time or the tenth, writing a resume can seem like a daunting task. But don’t worry! We've got everything you need right here in this post: we'll walk you through what goes into creating an effective resume and how you can use this information to create your own professional-looking document.

Create a clear summary of your skills and qualifications

Your resume should be clear and concise. A resume is not a place to tell your life story; it’s where you highlight how your skills and qualifications match the job description.

If you don’t have a lot of experience, or if you want to show off some skills that aren’t as relevant (but still awesome!) consider including a portfolio instead of your resume. If that isn't possible, build out an additional page in either Word or Google Docs where this information can live.

The best way to ensure that employers can easily find what they want on your resume is by using keywords from their job postings (which they may make available on their website). This also makes it easier for them recruiters who review resumes before passing them along for interviews — because if there are no commonalities between an applicant's skillset and what an employer needs, why bother interviewing?

Create a professional-looking resume

Resume fonts and formatting make a big difference in how your resume is received. To look professional and give the impression that you know what you're doing, go with a font like Times New Roman or Arial.

Another way to make your resume look more polished is by keeping the design simple and clean. This means no fancy or distracting graphics, no color beyond black or white (unless you have an artistic flair for this), and no unnecessary text that can be cut out of the final version. Your goal should be to create a document that's easy to scan through quickly so hiring managers can find what they need quickly.

What about font size? It's important to use a readable font size so hiring managers don't feel like they have to squint at each line just because it makes everything fit on one page better! If you've got too many details going on in each section, try breaking things up into multiple pages instead of trying too hard to fit everything into one page—that'll only distract from your purpose: getting hired!

For body text use sans-serif fonts such as Helvetica Neue Light or Segoe UI Light; these types tend not to strain eyesight as much as serifs (fonts with little tails). For headings use serif fonts like Georgia Italicized Transitional Regular; they're more formal than sans-serifs but still readable enough for most people’s tastes

List your most relevant work experience

  • List your most relevant work experience in reverse chronological order, with the most recent experience first. If you have 10 years of experience and are looking for a new role, consider listing your most recent five years first (i.e., starting with 2016).
  • Include any education or training that has helped to prepare you for this position or career path, as well as skills gained while pursuing an unrelated interest (such as karate). This shows that not only do you have relevant skills, but also that they were developed through completion of formal courses or on-the-job training.
  • Include accomplishments such as awards received at past jobs, high performance ratings from previous managers and direct reports, success meeting sales goals during times of economic difficulty, or achieving personal bests based on customer feedback. The goal here is to show prospective employers what makes you stand out from other applicants—what sets their minds at ease about hiring someone who might otherwise seem like an unknown quantity?
  • List affiliations that reflect positively on your character: membership in professional organizations; religious affiliations; civic groups like the Chamber of Commerce (if applicable). Your employer will want to know what kind of person they're getting when he hires someone like this—and these associations offer evidence about how he likes to spend his free time away from work.* Finally: Interests! If there's anything else about yourself besides these items above worth mentioning because it's relevant information about who YOU are - whether hobbies outside work hours; artistic pursuits; sports teams etcetera - include them too!

Focus on your accomplishments at your previous jobs

When writing your resume, focus on what you've done. A company hiring for a position is looking for someone who can deliver results. You need to show how you delivered results at previous jobs, and not just what you were responsible for or tasked with doing.

When using numbers in your resume, make sure they really represent the impact of your work. For example: "Initiated five new marketing campaigns that generated $3 million in additional sales" sounds better than: "Managed five marketing campaigns that generated $3 million in additional sales." The first sentence shows how much value was created by these campaigns and quantifies it as well!

To emphasize the impact of your work on the company's bottom line, describe how each project contributed directly or indirectly to a specific goal (e.g., increased revenue). For example: "Increased website traffic by 50%, resulting in an increase in sales of 10%." If you're applying for a job as an accountant or analyst but lack specific experience working with accounting software packages like QuickBooks Pro or Excel spreadsheets full of complex formulas, it may be helpful to include relevant courses taken during college so employers know where their investment will go once hired!

Include information that is most likely to be relevant for an employer.

When you write your resume, focus on including information that is most likely to be relevant for an employer.

Generally speaking, your work experience should go first, followed by your education and lastly any other information about yourself or skills that are relevant to the job you're applying for. If you have volunteer work or other activities on your resume, include these after your employment history but before any education-related items. Finally, include any awards or honors at the bottom of the page in reverse chronological order (most recent first).

Conclusion

We hope that by following these tips and advice, you will be able to create an effective resume that can help you stand out from the crowd. Remember, don’t be afraid to ask for feedback on your application. A recruiter or hiring manager who has been through hundreds of resumes may have some good suggestions on how to improve yours!

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About the Creator

Courtanae Heslop

Courtanae Heslop is a multi-genre writer and business owner.

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Comments (1)

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  • Amanda Davydsom12 months ago

    To write a good resume, you need to focus on the main facts of a professional autobiography. When creating a resume, the very first thing you should do is correctly formulate the title of the position you are applying for. This will be the title of the resume. And if you do not know where to start writing, I advise you to use this online tool https://www.gotresumebuilder.com/

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