Education is behind you, or at least well on its way there, and now it’s time to sell yourself. But you probably don’t want to make yourself look too much like a product in a magazine, and since everyone searches Google these days, you won’t find much to help you stand out there. Don’t worry, though, I’ve got you covered with several great tips for how to write an outstanding resume that gets results. If you follow them, you’re sure to get noticed by the right employer!
1. Use Bullet Points
You probably know that people don’t read long paragraphs much anymore, especially on a computer. Employers scanning resumes for talent won’t be looking to read an essay. They need something short, sweet, and to the point. You want them to be intrigued and eager to learn more about you. Make them aware of your qualifications and leave the rest of the personal information for your interview.
Use those bullets! No periods, few words, and plenty of white space make for an easy-to-scan document that’s sure to attract attention. Also make sure that your resume can fit on two pages (even if that means deleting some old experiences). You need to remain very “pointed” for this document.
2. Make Outcomes Evident
Your resume should highlight your skills, but what hiring managers really care about is if your skills get results. When you make a bullet for a skill you learned or a task you completed in a job, make sure to include the end result. For example, instead of saying “Wrote blog posts,” I might say “Crafted compelling blog posts that increased customer traffic.” Notice how I include what effect the blog posts had? This is the best way to make sure that your resume actually means something to your prospective employer. Instead of just another list of skills, make it a list of successes.
One last tip on that is to stay away from the first person narrative. Don’t make your bullets all about you with statements like “I wrote a book.” Instead, focus on the action verb. “Wrote and published a bestseller” would be a lot more effective for emphasizing the importance of your accomplishments.
3. Organize Everything
Summary
Start with a simple header that includes your name, email, and phone number. If you’d like, you can also include your address and any social profiles (such as LinkedIn) that might be relevant. Below that, you can add a summary paragraph or a few bullet points that highlight the “thesis” of your overall resume. Emphasize who you are as an individual and summarize your past job experience in a single sentence. This is what I have:
An accomplished writer experienced with blogging, freelance writing, editing, communicating in English and French, and facilitating successful customer experiences in various positions.
Skills
Following this, you’ll lay out your top skills, specifically tailored to the job at hand (more on this below). These could be anything from customer service skills to computer programs you know to the ability to work well on a team.
Education
Next is the education section, including any relevant coursework that you have taken. Include your school, the years you studied, any certificates you have, and, if you think it relevant, your GPA or a Dean’s List/Honor society award (again, this depends on the job).
Experience
Finally, create your work/experience history, starting with your most relevant and recent jobs. For this section, include your job title, the company, the dates employed or serving, and then a few bullet points highlighting your relevant work and successes. For example, in my resume, I include the following:
Freelance Copywriting and Blogging, May 2020 to the present
- Marketed and sold posts for several clients on a freelancing website
- Edited articles into compelling newsletters
- Designed and started a blog to help college students succeed
- Gained experience in sales and marketing that resulted in further requests for content
Also make sure you use good headlines to separate sections so they don’t all run together and keep your font easy to read, but not too big.
Pro tip: don’t use a template for organization. You can look at one for pointers if you want, but what I have found is that using a template squishes your content and makes it ridiculously hard to edit. I have wasted hours trying to edit a template before, and it really isn’t worth it. Do your own work and you’ll be much better off.
4. Target Your Resume
You should definitely have a “working resume” where you keep a complete list of your skills and experience. However, you don’t want to send that to every employer. There are certain things that will be relevant to some jobs and not to others. If you want to write a truly outstanding resume, it should have targeted information drawn from the job description. For example, if the description calls for someone with “customer service experience” and “Microsoft Office proficiency,” make sure you include those skills at the very top of your skills list. Include relevant coursework, if you have any, and only the job experiences that you think would be relevant to this position.
A great way to do this is to use keywords pulled from the job description. Look it over to see the skills desired and the duties that will be assigned and try to add some of those key elements in your bullet points. Many companies use an online program to filter through resumes, and employers have probably programmed specific words into the scanner to ensure that they only receive relevant resumes. For this reason, you should do your best to include words you find in the job description or specific phrases that would describe your duties.
5. Write Professionally
If you’re like me, you probably enjoy designing and adding images and colors to really make your work beautiful. Unfortunately, a resume just isn’t the time to do this. Employers may or may not care about colors, but if they print it it will likely be in black and white anyway, which means colored ink would only add problems. To emphasize certain points, you can use bold or italicized fonts or try underlining significant words.
Adding in images and photos will detract from the main message of your resume: explaining why you are perfect for the job. For this same reason, there is no need to include references, hobbies, or an objective statement (a statement of the professional goals you want to accomplish with this job) unless specifically requested. Keep the focus on why you fit the job perfectly and wait for the interview request to come rolling in!
So, there you have it. Five basic tips to write an outstanding resume. Always remember, this is your life. You have the chance to make it wonderful, so don’t waste time on jobs you know you’ll hate. Choose one that fits you and do everything you can to succeed at it. If you do, you’ll go a long way towards winning not just a position, but also a good life.
About the author, sariahvb:
I’m always learning, always loving, always dreaming. Writing is the one thing I’ve wanted to do since I was eight. I’ve spent my life reading books in every genre, writing to build my family’s libraries, and studying wordsmithing in my spare time.
When I work with clients, I tell the stories they need their customers to hear. I’ll do my research, craft the message, revise the message, and complete the message. I will tell your story with as much passion as I tell mine, because every voice deserves to be heard.
Writing is my gift, and I want to give it to the people who need it most. I’ve earned my degree in Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Communication, but it’s not about the title, it’s about the people I work with. You tell me what you want the world to know and I will do everything I can to help them hear it in a way that makes sense to them.
Reach out any time–if I’m not writing, I’m probably enjoying wine and chocolate behind a good book. I’m excited to meet you.