If you are looking to write a perfect resume, you should make sure you write it in a way that displays your USP (unique selling point) to the prospective recruiter within a short time.
Creating a résumé is the first task in securing a job. Before applying for a job, perhaps on a site such as Jooble, adequate research needs to be done on how to write a perfect resume. Generally, resumes are as good as the information supplied on it. You should ensure you write to show your strengths, your qualifications, and expertise that will get you the job.
Here are tips that will guide you in writing a perfect resume for your future job:
1. Think of your resume as a marketing tool
A resume is a summary of you, work experience, and what you plan to bring to the job.
But, it is a great disservice to think of a resume as only a summary of the professional story.
Instead, it should be an avenue for you to market and brag about yourself in a positive manner. It is a way to convince the recruiters why they need to hire you.
Most times, recruiters are on the lookout for someone who meets the job need and will provide value to the organization.
According to research, the average time recruiter uses to check the resume is less than ten seconds.
If you are looking to write a perfect resume, you should make sure you write it in a way that displays your USP (unique selling point) to the prospective recruiter within a short time.
2. List your Education
Many people don’t take this particular session serious when creating a perfect resume, which is not supposed to be so.
The right way to put education on your resume is:
- Put your highest qualification first.
- Add other qualifications after in reverse-chronological order.
- If you have a university degree, don’t put your high school information.
- Add any pertinent coursework, honors, the post held or awards you received in school
It is generally advisable for you not to put your GPA on your resume because it not ideal and can work against you.
3. Create A Header
Whether you are outsourcing your resume writing to a LinkedIn profile writer or you are doing it on your own, it is vital to be careful while writing your resume.
A header should contain details like your name, phone number, and email address. You can also add your mailing address if you are not posting your resume online.
You should use a mobile line that is always available to you and tone your voicemail to a more professional tone where necessary. Also:
- Ensure your email address is professional enough.
- Recruiters don’t check email addresses like slimmybeauty@hi.com simply because it is not professional. You should change your mail address to a combination of your first name, last name/or numbers. Example is karenscript19@gmail.com.
4. Personal interests
Recruiters want to meet you in every sense. When I was writing my first perfect resume, I added my interests as watching soccer, going on road trips, and writing content.
Then, I was called to come over for an interview, what formed most of my interaction with my interviewer were my personal interests in my resume.
We talked at length on them and how some are a good way to relieve stress at the workplace.
When you list your interests and hobbies, it explains to the recruiter you can function well in a team or group, and your leadership and management capability can be trusted.
5. Write out your Technical skills and proficiencies
Gone are the days where you can secure a job with your certificate only. Recruiters now go for candidates that have relevant skills related to the job.
You should try as much as possible to list out your skills. A firm recruiting for a Digital marketer will also need someone skilled in content creation and SEO. If you have these and you didn’t put it where your recruiter will see it, you are shooting yourself in the foot. You should make a clear distinction between the different kinds of skills you have for the recruiter to understand well.
Technical skills can be high expertise in a particular feed. For example, in Digital Marketing, Google Adwords, SEO, SEM, or running ads are all examples of technical skills.
Soft skills have to deal with personality and can be empathy, teamwork, professionalism, and the likes.
Hard skills tend to be more straightforward and could be how you use basic tools and communicate well.
6. Put your work experience
You should start this section with your latest job and then take it to the last. If you check other resume summary examples, you’d see it lists out all the work experience swiftly accumulated in the past decade.
Try to fill this space more as much as possible, as it is one of the most critical sections.
You should include the following in any role you list:
- Company Name and Link
- Job Title: The titles of the job, essential if it has to do with the current one you are applying for.
- Start and End Dates: put the start and end date on the job you listed.
- Job Description: list out the job description and link them with the new ones you are applying for.
- Achievements: List out your achievements as much as possible. And how you helped the previous company achieve its corporate goals. Amplify these achievements to convince your prospective recruiter. You should explain how you helped saved some money or how you improved your team’s morale to achieve your targets.
7. Set up Your Contact Information
You should put enough information about how a recruiter can contact you.
You should have these on it:
- Name: First name, last name (middle name optional).
- Phone Number: Personal mobile number instead of a home phone number.
- Email Address: the modern way of communication.
It is advisable to add your LinkedIn profile link to your resume to emphasize your professionalism.
You should try to avoid putting your date of birth (unless otherwise stated), alternate phone number, or photo as all these don’t count much.
8. Language skills and Third-party feedback
Language skills can be an advantage, a unique selling point for you on your resume. If you speak more than one language, you should list it as part of your resume information with your skill level.
If you have gotten a recommendation, testimonial, or a useful review before on your previous job from a client, employer, or supplier, you should include this on your resume. You can use this to emphasize your proficiency level in one of the related skills you listed.
9. Proofread several times
Go through your resume more than once after drafting it. No one is an island, and we are all prone to mistakes.
You can make use of a Grammarly premium account to check for errors. You can send it to a friend or family member for review also as two heads are better than one.
In conclusion, writing a professional, engaging, and perfect resume takes many efforts. But what you should always remember is that:
- You should always write a resume to win, and all your efforts should be geared towards this.
- Always write your resume in a way that will meet the job specification of the company you are applying for. One resume is advisable for one job.
- Write in a good way. Use the right keywords to write a professional heading for you and don’t add ambiguous statements to your resume.
- You should maintain consistency in your writing styles, fonts, colors, and pattern all through.
- Always cross-check more than once after writing your resume and give it to friends to edit for you.
- Make use of online tools to build your resume the easy way.
- Draft a killer cover letter
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