Job Seeker’s Journal Part 1: How to Write a Resume

Getting to the top of the recruiter’s list

Six seconds. That’s the average amount of time you have to get a recruiter’s attention with your resume.

As a job seeker, polishing your resume is perhaps the most important part of applying for a position. When thinking about the increasingly competitive applicant pool, your job search can feel daunting. So, how do you write a resume that’s sure to make it to the top of the hiring manager’s list?

Ten tips to help you write a resume

• Use keywords. Due to the large volume of job applicants, resumes will often go through an applicant tracking system that searches for keywords to determine the most qualified candidates. Do your research through the company website and position description to include relevant keywords, action verbs, and skills.

• List your contact information first. It may sound obvious, but when everything on your resume matches what the recruiter is looking for and they only have seconds to review it, you want to make sure your email, phone number, and address are easy to find. Bonus points if you have a website or LinkedIn included.

• Show your measurable accomplishments. Bullet point what you did in each job or student organization. Skip over the mundane details of “attended weekly meetings” and instead use the space to highlight the number of new members you recruited or the way your project impacted other people, using numbers and percentages to put your work into perspective. Including this level of detail when you write a resume adds credibility to your experiences that recruiters are more likely to notice.

• Stick to one page. In any given situation, it’s always best for job seekers to be clear and concise. In writing a resume, this means getting directly to the point with what you want the recruiter to know and keeping it to one page. Some will argue that a two-page resume is acceptable, but for individuals who are just out of college, anything past a one-page resume is unnecessary and risks losing the reader’s interest.

• Make headlines specific. Rather than including a section for “experience,” break out your sections to be more focused. Specify “business experience” or “leadership experience.” The added relevance helps guide the recruiter through your work and personal accomplishments. Keeping your work experience organized helps to increase the reader’s attention while reading.

• Keep it simple. While there are some creative jobs that allow job seekers more freedom in designing a resume, it’s best to stick to a standard format in most business positions. A multitude of colors and images distracts the recruiter from the content and ultimately makes them less likely to recall the important details.

• State your purpose. It’s often argued that objective statements are a waste of space and unnecessary, but it’s still important to clearly highlight on your resume what your intentions are. Either a sentence or a few bullet points is usually sufficient to explain your career goals.

• Have someone else review it. After you have proofread your resume several times, ask a friend or colleague to review it as well. A fresh set of eyes can catch a spelling error you may have missed, and they can offer suggestions to strengthen it even further.

• Always send it as a PDF. Even if your resume appears perfect on the respective design template you are using, the formatting may change when it’s sent through an email or online job portal. Sending as a PDF both presents itself as more professional and cancels the risk of the resume getting to the reviewer with a thrown-off format.

• Balance work and academic experience. As we have mentioned before when it comes to applying for business school, recruiters prefer 2 to 3 years of work experience, as well as personal growth within that work. Showing various sides of how you have stuck with a previous job for a substantial amount of time and mentioning any leadership positions you held will create value for you. Write a resume that combines academic achievements with substantial work experience and your application is sure to impress.

 

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