Resume Writing Tips
Making a strong first impression
A resume is an advertisement for why you are the best choice for
the position. Essentially, it is the first impression you make
on potential employers, so you'll want to make it a strong one.
If you don't put fourth the energy that writing a resume
requires, you're only cheating yourself. The truth is, finding
the job you are looking for can be easy; getting the job you are
looking for takes effort. As you write your resume, keep in mind
that you are not the only person applying for a particular job.
You will need to set yourself apart from the rest and make an
impact that will land you the job. Young Jobs has compiled some
ways to avoid any missteps in resume-writing, as well as classic
tips that will put you in the limelight...
Getting Started
Determine Your Objective
Definition of Objective: The goal intended to be attained. The
first step to creating your resume is to determine your career
goals. What kind of job do you want to obtain? What skills do
you want to utilize? What are you looking to accomplish within
that career? Once you answer all of these questions, you will be
able to identify your main objective. You are now officially on
your way to finding the right job for you.
Highlighting Your Top Qualifications
Keep in mind, the most important goal of a resume is to obtain
an interview. For this reason, it is important to choose
powerful words to represent the qualities you feel most
confident in. Within the qualifications section of your resume
it is best to list each attribute with a single word and in
bullet point format. However, feel free to include a few words
per bullet point. Try to remember that you need to stand out
from all other contenders, so use power-words that will catch
the employer's eye. The best way to accomplish this is by
writing down all of the positive qualities you feel you embody.
>From there, put yourself in the employer's shoes and hone in on
what you think they would be most attracted to. If the position
you are looking to get is in retail, you'll want to highlight
you interpersonal skills, or if it is in the restaurant
business, you'll want to highlight your teamwork skill.
Concentrate On Related Experience
Before compiling a list that includes all of your experiences,
try to focus in on what is relevant to the type of position you
are applying for. This can include previous employment,
volunteering, internships and organizations. For instance,
someone applying for a job at a bank would want to list their
experience as student council treasurer rather than their summer
job as a swim instructor. Make sure you appeal to the employer's
needs. If you are applying for a variety of jobs that differ in
requirements, remember to tailor your resume to fit each
specific job.
Often times students and young adults worry that they don't have
enough experience to create a compelling resume. Don't be
concerned. Once you start to really think about your background,
you'll be surprised at what you have to boast about. The content
of your resume will be determined by your own unique
experiences, skills and background but as a general guideline
you should include:
Putting It All Together
Content
Once again, you are not the only resume your potential employer
will be looking at and while it is important to be eye-catching,
you also want your resume to get to the point and be as close to
a single page as possible. When employers see a resume with too
many words and multiple pages, they often find it overwhelming
and move on to the next applicant. The right thing to do is
select powerful words that will make your resume shine. The
wrong thing to do is fill your resume up with full paragraphs.
Design
In spite of the importance of content, the design of your resume
is just as important as the content. Research suggests that a
resume has less than 20 seconds to make an impact upon the
reader, so it's imperative that you put some extra effort into
showing employers that you not only intelligent but creative as
well. Variation in formatting (bullets, borderlines, headings,
etc.), fonts, font styles and sizes will draw the attention to
the most influential information.
Organization
You can organize your resume in many different ways, but the
following order is one of the most common. Use it to help you
get started. -Objective -Qualifications -Technical/Computer
skills -Experience (include tasks completed and skills obtained)
-Education (include your GPA if it's over 3.0) -Other related
accomplishments (awards, memberships, etc
Young Jobs -
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