Quick hit resume tips

A well-written resume tells a your career story. Having a sound strategy and thinking about the nuances of your resume is key in landing the interview to land the next step in your career journey. Here are some things to think about when putting together your resume.

Chronological is best: Make sure that their job history is clear, starting with the most recent and working back from there. It’s all about balance - too much information is overwhelming, but don’t be too scant on details.

Action words: Your bullet points for each role should include what you accomplished, not just what you did.

Templates are your friend: No need to re-invent the wheel here - don’t be afraid to leverage resume templates online. Microsoft Word has some great ones. Don’t choose anything that is too overly formatted, but having some guidance on where to put what can make a world of difference.

Be specific...and general: If there are particular tools or software that was used in a position, make sure you explicit name the type as well as the specific name. For example, if you worked within a specific customer relationship management (CRM) software like Salesforce, don’t just say “utilized CRM” or “utilized Salesforce”, be sure to say “utilized the CRM Salesforce”. As minute as it sounds, some recruiters will be scanning/searching for “CRM” while others might be looking for the specific tool, so make sure that the words of both are in your resume at least once.

Stick to what's relevant: If you’re more than 5 years out of school, go ahead and take out any part-time jobs you had in school that aren’t relevant to where you’d like to work. If they are relevant, don’t worry about having extensive bullet points of your duties, just include the title, company and dates. For example, you don’t need a bullet that as a cashier at a fast food restaurant you handled customer money and transactions. It looks like you’re adding fluff.

Add company details: For people who have worked at smaller/lesser known companies, always put a brief description of what the company does on your resume. Recruiters not only look at skills, but also at industry experience. It doesn’t have to be a dissertation, but a simple “Acme Company is leading provider of widgets in the US” or “XYZ is a full-service digital ad agency”.

Crafting your resume with these insights can make all the difference. Remember, it's your story - make it compelling! #CareerTips #ResumeWriting #CareerDevelopment