Don't underestimate the value of a polished and effective resume! Resume writing is a skill that most don't get to practice enough to become proficient coupled with the fact that an effective resume is critical to open the right doors in your job search. We here at MTR write A LOT of resumes so we're good at it but the average job hunter may only write a couple of resumes over the course of their entire career. Here's some tips to develop a resume writing strategy and getting it all laid out:

• Use the Experts - We rewrite, revamp, polish, etc. 100% of our candidates resumes. FOR FREE. Your resume is in our best interest as much as it's in yours. Your recruiter is your battle buddy in this process. Going into battle with a buddy that doesn't have the right tools doesn't help the recruiter anymore than it helps the candidate. Your recruiter REALLY wants you to get that great job is so we put in the work (resume) to make sure you're ready to go.

• The Layout Matters - I could link the studies but just take my word for it, layout matters. Here's a basic breakdown:
• Name and Contact on top
  
• A brief summary statement (optional). No more than 4 or 5 sentences, tops. It's a summary, not a book.
• NOTE This is a summary. Do not add an Objective Statement (they all say the same thing anyway: "I want a job")
• A brief list of relevant SKILLS (optional but not a bad idea). I tend to add the SKILLS section just because it's an easy way to communicate a lot of info in a short amount of space.
• PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE in reverse chronological order - the oldest jobs on bottom and the most recent on top.
• NOTE Use bullet points and summaries when discussing responsibilities / accomplishments - summarize, not an entire paragraph. 
• Education, Training, Certifications, etc. is the last section.

• Length, Layout, Format - The entire length should not be longer than 2 pgs. Ever. Find a way. If yours is longer than 2 pgs, it means one of three things:
• 1) You're not exercising a judicious and frugal enough use of words nor focusing on the most relevant content, or
• 2) You're not exploring ways to introduce more content with less words, or
• 3) Your word usage or content is not concise enough.
• 4) These are examples of saying the same thing with increasingly succinct language.

Military service members can find resume writing extremely challenging and it doesn't help that it's happening during an already stressful event - the transition back into a civilian life. It's easy to understand why resumes can be a struggle since for most soon-to-be-civs, this will be their first real resume and it's an incredibly important document as it will set the pace for the beginning of their new career. Fear not, writing a great looking, effective resume that really stands out from the crowd is actually pretty straightforward! Here's some tips:

• Beware the Fake Experts - Look out for Fexperts, as I like to call them. Every resume writing tip is simply an opinion (including the ones listed here). Some are better than others and bad advice can be hard to recognize, but a good resume is easy to spot! Look at different resume examples (the more the better) and you'll see what I mean.

• 2 Sides of the Same Coin - Think about a resume as having two aspects to it like two sides to a coin - two distinctly different facets and both are important:

Content – Content is WHAT you're telling the reader. It's the information. It's job titles, skills, certificates or degrees achieved, dates, etc.  

Format – If content is what you say, format is HOW you say it. An easy to read, visually appealing resume that tells the story in a simple to follow format will always be more effective. Have a consistent format and make it look good (meaning don't switch fonts, ensure margins and indentations line up, keep date formats consistent, etc)

• Keep It Simple – Be concise. Resumes are all about how to get relevant content into the easiest to read format. The best way to do that is to keep it on point and concise. Don't waste real estate on fluff that could be used for better content. Exercise a judicious use of words and keep it simple. A one page resume is best though not always possible.