TOP TEN TIPS FOR A POWERFUL RESUME
1. TOOL Remember, your resume is a marketing tool, not a literary masterpiece. It should give the reader enough information to want to call you; not so much detail they will not need to.
2. FORMATTED Use a design that is visually appealing and appropriate. Your industry or professional association will have title-specific samples. Bullets and white space are appropriate, and minimizing the use of italics, bold, underline, graphics and colors will keep it easy to read and to download. 1” side and 0.5 to 1” top margins are suggested with standard 10 to 12 point fonts. In addition to an MS Word format, you will likely need an .rtf, .txt, or PDF version. Test out your new formats by emailing them to a friend’s computer. http://www.quintcareers.com/e-resume_format.html
3. PRIORITIZED List your contact information, objective or summary statement, and then bulleted key accomplishments. Tell the rest of your story in an order that makes sense to the reader; if credentials, languages, or technical skills are important; do not push them to the bottom of the page. Experience, skills, and education are other major areas to place with care.
4. FOCUSED You have 10 seconds and one to two pages to focus on accomplishments, not generic responsibilities. Utilize resume keywords specific to your industry to get your resume noticed.
5. RELEVANT Solve the employer’s hidden needs by honing in on relevant accomplishments. If something does not support your search objective, leave it out. Speaking of, use an objective statement for cold submissions. Summary statements should be used (if not customized) for targeted submissions.
6. POWERFUL Use numbers to quantify the scope and results of your accomplishments. Action verbs and power words set you apart: http://www.resume-help.org/resume_action_words.htm. Use MS Word’s File Properties feature to add keywords and comments to improve your resume’s searchability.
7. CORRECT While sentence fragments are accepted, syntax, spelling and punctuation errors are not. Never overstate your accomplishments or education, but you may wish to understate a bit at times in order to avoid appearing overqualified. Be prepared to thoughtfully address gaps in time.
8. SAFE Protect your privacy and confidentiality by taking advantage of those job board features. If age-related bias is of concern, consider removing your graduation date and only going back 15 yrs.
9. VETTED Get a second opinion, we recommend from a professional or networking contact, recruiter, or a resume writing service. Ask your tax professional if you are eligible to deduct job-seeking expenses!
10. FRESH Refresh your resume every 14 days on the job boards with recruiter or network feedback, keyword learnings, etc. Create a job search-marketing plan to focus your version distribution.
