Effective Resume Writing - Part 2
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.