How to write a resume, is one of the most popular search terms on google and I can personally say that I’m one of those searches. After searching for jobs and applying there is the process of waiting …and waiting and .. waiting …. and still no call backs. It might cause you to question your career path and wonder if you should have taken up sheep farming in New Zealand instead. But never fear I have some good news and bad news for you. The good news, it’s not you. The bad news, it’s your resume, all hope is not lost because there are ways to fix common resume issues.
How to Write a Resume tip #1: There is no such thing as a general resume:
Hate to be the one to break it to you but sending out generic resumes will not help you in the job market. So, you will have to edit your resume and tailor it to each job you apply for. This increases your chance of getting called for an interview. Is it tedious? Yes. Do you want a Job? (I’m guessing you do)…. so do it!
How to Write a Resume tip #2: Focus on keywords:
ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS read the job description and pick out keywords. Imagine someone reading a stack of 160 resumes every day, chances are they are just skimming it until a relevant word pops up. You need to model your experiences to the requirements you think are ideal for the position or to those listed in the job posting. For example, if the job position is a student mentor and you’ve worked at a camp before. Instead of just writing down “experience working at children’s camp”. You can write “experience working in with children and leading small/large groups”.
How to Write a Resume tip #3: Be Specific
Be specific about your work experiences. Do not simply list some of your skills and leave it at that. While you might think that it’s a common knowledge that a person with X set of skills should be able to work with X type of software you have to keep in mind the person who will read your resume. Again if someone has a stack of 160 resumes they are not going to sit down and take the time to figure out if you can do X or Y. To fix this instead of simply writing: “Experience working with Image editing software or Experience using Social media“, (p.s image editing software also includes paint. So, that doesn’t say anything about your expertise). You can be more specific: ex.“Experience working with image editing software such as Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop.
How to Write a Resume tip #4: Focus on Fundamental Skills
Make sure your resume centres around three sets of skills
- Employability Skills e.g. Communications, Problem solving etc.
- Personal Skills e.g. a Positive attitude, Adaptable, Responsible
- Team Work Skills e.g. Working well with others,
How to Write a Resume tip #5: Always Check for Grammatical errors:
Last but not least always check for grammatical errors. It might seem annoying to do this over and over again but how sad would it be if you lost your dream job because you mixed up Your and You’re… Tragic! don’t be that person.
comment: what are some tips that have worked for you?/what do you wish you’d known when writing your first resume