How can you use a resume template to your advantage?

Many resume templates prioritize graphics over content -- leaving little room to tell the story. Aim for a template with maximum space for bullets that showcase your achievements.

This is one place where you don't want to be creative and be as "boring" as possible. 99% of the focus must be in the actual content of your resume and only 1% on the template. Use a single-column, word template that is easy to edit and doesn't use any icons or images.

Using a resume template can be a valuable tool to help you create a professional and visually appealing resume. It's essential to customize templates to suit your specific needs and highlight your unique qualifications. Avoid using generic templates without personalizing them, as it's crucial to tailor your resume to the job you're applying for and showcase your individual strengths and experiences. A resume template provides a pre-designed layout, which can save you time and ensure that your resume is well-organized. It typically includes sections for contact information, summary, work experience, education, and skills. By following the template's structure, you can present your information in a clear and logical manner.

In today's competitive job market, your resume is not just a document - it's a marketing tool. A resume template can streamline the process and elevate your personal brand. Here's why: 1/ Consistency: Templates ensure formatting consistency, setting the stage for your professional narrative. 2/ Efficiency: With pre-defined sections, you can ensure all critical information is included and easily found. 3/ Adaptability: Templates cater to different industries, roles, and experience levels. Choose the one that best suits your career goals. 4/ Time-Saving: With a template, you no longer need to start from scratch. You can focus on the content, ensuring it is compelling and relevant.

Tailoring your resume can help you focus on highlighting the most relevant qualifications for each role. Before diving into edits, spend some time reflecting and documenting your experience as well as reviewing active job postings of interest to better understand what and how to position your experience.

I highly support using resume templates, as there is no harm in doing so. However, I have noticed that some companies sell flashy templates with unusual graphics, colors, and designs in an attempt to stand out from the competition. To all job seekers: if you truly want to make a lasting impression, remember that your resume's content is the most crucial aspect. Everything else is secondary. Here are a few important considerations: - Ensure that your CV is in a readable format, avoid strange fonts. - Before sending it out, run a spell check (highly advisable). - Make sure that your dates, job titles, and company names are all properly aligned - Add your achievemnts and skills

It's easy to go along in our careers and put off updating our resumes. The problem is that an opportunity comes up, or we get laid off or let go and suddenly we need them updated yesterday--and if it hasn't been updated in years, it can be hard to recall every accomplishment we've had. I recommend having a Word doc on your desktop with your accomplishments. If the thought of continually adding to your resume is daunting, have a doc where you can quickly write down what you did. Every time you've contributed something, or had a work win, jot it down on your Word doc. That way, when you need to update your resume quickly you have all of your highlights gathered and ready to go.

Please: don't stress about picking a fancy resume template. Make it easy on yourself. Choose an easy-to-use template with no/minimal graphics and use the bulk of your time in writing the best content that you can. Recruiters are not grading you on a fancy template - they are looking to see if you can do the job. Spend your time on quantifying those results and showing how you can solve problems.

If you don't have metrics that reflect your work, you should still give yourself as much credit as possible for your contributions. Position your contributions in terms of outcomes and/or achievements by using verbs like "Improved," "Increased," etc.