By: Emily Tran
The first hurdle in applying for a job is usually building a resume. Resume designs have gotten more creative over the past years and even more websites have popped up offering resume templates. It can be confusing to choose the right template and to write out all of your experiences, especially since each hiring manager has their preferences. But there will always be a set of expectations in the job-seeking industry. Here are five tips to help you build a resume that’ll impress even the harshest employer:
1. When in doubt, keep it simple.
Black and white resume templates are the simplest and the standard of every industry. Many people will choose a colorful template to stand out, but they often choose a template that looks too distracting and flashy to recruiters. A colorful resume may also be distorted on different computers and can even make the text on your resume illegible. Minimalism is key when choosing a resume template.
You can create a custom resume template at Canva or get resume templates at flowcv.io. There are also resume templates in Microsoft Word; however, there are limited options.
2. Stick to the basic formatting rules.
Unless you’re really good at designing resumes, it’s better to stick to the basic formatting rules:
Make your resume one page. People will often list all of their work experiences and projects, even ones that are unrelated to the job position. Keep it simple and list the 3-4 most relevant and impactful past work experiences that show off your skill sets.
It’s best to make your resume one column. There are resume templates that have two columns, but make sure you don’t have more than two columns.
Keep most of your resume left-aligned and avoid centering your whole resume.
Pick a font that’s size 10 or bigger. This makes it way easier for recruiters to read your resume.
Always send in your resume in a PDF format so that your resume doesn’t accidentally get distorted.
3. Follow the usual structure of a resume.
The first thing that should be on the top of your resume is your name, followed by your email, location, and possibly a portfolio link. A portfolio usually applies to people in the design field, where they have a collection of their works. You can also include your Linkedin and other links you think are important.
Next, you can write an objective summary at the top of the page under your name. An objective summary is a quick introduction to the skills you have to offer. For example, if you’re applying for a social media intern position, an objective summary would be “A high school student with two years of experience creating graphics and outlining growth marketing strategies”. If you want, you can elaborate more on soft skills you have. This next section is definitely optional and is typically recommended for those who feel that their resume is a bit empty.
The next section is the education section. Include your degree, the school, graduation date, and your GPA if it’s higher than 3.0. If you’re in high school, add your expected graduation date such as “Expected Month Year” and list any relevant coursework. State the name of your class and list the most important things you learned in bullet points under the class name.
After the education section is the experience section. List any past and current positions, as well as the dates that you have been working in this position. Under the position name should be the company name. You can also include the location if you want. Under each position should be bullet points listing your responsibilities and achievements while working for the company. Internships also count as work experience.
After the experience section, you can have an extracurriculars section for school clubs or a projects section for side projects. Like the experience section, remember to write about the specific clubs and list your responsibilities or achievements in bullet points under each extracurricular.
After the experience section is the skills section. Try not to include soft skills because employers are typically looking for hard skills. Soft skills are personality skills such as “leadership” and “cooperative”, while hard skills are technical skills such as “proofreading” and “digital marketing”. The skills section can also be after education if you would like employers to see your list of skills first.
4. Follow the XYZ formula.
When describing your responsibilities and achievements for your past work experiences, make your bullet points memorable by following this method: Accomplished X as measured by Y, by doing Z.
For example, you were a content marketing intern at a company and you want to show your future employers that you impacted the company in a positive way. You begin to write “Boosted site visits”. However, the employer will want to see more than that. They want to see Y (how much you increased it by) and Z (what method you used to increase it). By following the XYZ formula, the bullet point is changed to “Boosted site visits by 200% by creating over 50 high-quality infographics”. By using this method, your future employer will get a much better idea of how you made a positive impact and the skills that you can provide.
5. Personalize your resume to each job description.
One mistake most people make is to send the same resume to multiple different job openings. Instead, choose 3-5 companies you would love to work for and read through their job descriptions carefully. Personalize your skills section so that it would match with what the employer is looking for. Similarly, you can also emphasize on certain work experiences and extracurriculars on your resume. Switch out experiences that don’t seem related to the position you’re applying for with experiences that may seem more fitting for the position you are currently applying for.
Some companies use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), a software program that scans resumes for keywords they want. This is why it’s crucial to include job description keywords in your resume.
After you finish your resume, ask for feedback from friends and family members. You can also use resume scanners to test how strong your resume is such as http://ResyBullet.io and https://resumeworded.com.
I hope that these 5 tips can help relieve some of the stress that comes with writing your first resume. Writing great resumes just comes with experience, so the more that you write and edit your resume, the better you will get!
Sources:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/16/google-recruiters-share-the-3-part-formula-for-stronger-resumes.html