Quick and easy tips to writing an impressive resume

by Gowtham Kumar Digital Marketer

For a growing career, irrespective of the type of industry, the importance of a resume and the role it plays cannot be underestimated. Throughout your career, you will need an impressive resume during transitions to keep moving forward. It is after all the first impression an employer has on you.

To write an impressive resume, you need to very effectively summarize the details of your prior work experience, skills, strengths, qualifications, and achievements. It is a summary that describes what you do for a living and how good you are at it.

Here are some quick resume tips that we highly recommend for your resume writing,

Contact details:

Avoid using personal accounts here. Create a new professional email id and use it for official purposes only. Having a weird email address on the resume gives the employer a bad impression. Also, make sure you provide the contact details that are active and in use.

Font size:

Using an Edwardian script or a curlz MT might seem tempting, but we advise you refrain from doing so. Instead, use a decent font with about 10-12 point font size. The aim is to give the resume a professional look and to avoid any kind of distractions.

Order:

Let’s use the concept of reverse chronological order. Suppose, you are listing out the details of your qualifications, you start off by placing the highest degree first and descend to the lowest one. And, while listing out the skills, experience, and achievements, you start off with the current or most recent ones.

Focus on job description:

Before applying for a job, consider reading the requirements and job description displayed by the company. The keywords in this can be used to structure your resume. So that, when the employer goes through your resume, he finds relevance and considers you as a better suit for the job compared to other applicants.

Usage of font style:

Be careful while using a certain font style. If you chose to make a side heading bold then be sure to do the same pattern for the other subheadings too. Over usage of bold, italic and underlines can make your resume look messy and unprofessional.

Easy headings:

Avoid using complex terms in headings. Keep it simple so that the reader finds it easy to understand and locate.

Work sample:

Attaching a file or a link of your work in the resume is always a plus point. It helps the employer understand your familiarity and experience with the field.

Emphasizing:

Resume acts as a tool that sets your value and builds an image of you that gives the employer an idea about your capabilities. You should take this opportunity to emphasize traits that could give you an edge over the other applicants and qualify you for future work. By doing this, you will make a good impression on the employer and have better chances at grabbing the job.

Understanding the transition:

If you are a freshly out of school and looking for a job, the transition you are making from school to work is like a new start. In this case, you are advised to focus on showcasing your theoretical skills and qualifications on your resume. But, for those with work experience, the transition is different and requires them to focus primarily on the practical applications of the skills and theories.

Addressing career gaps:

Although seems like a drawback, this point is worth acknowledging in a resume. Give a brief explanation of the career gap and list out the positives in it. This should sound convincing and not sympathetic.

Highlights:

Application of your skills at the workplace and its outcomes should be the highlights under the achievements and skills section in your resume.

Naming the file:

We are used to naming the files as asgetfifjtkt. Okay, if not that extreme, we surely use very common terms like resume or myresume to name a file. Avoid this and add your name before the word resume while naming the file. It’ll avoid confusion and helps the employer find your resume easily. Plus, if several applicants have named their files ‘resume’ then yours will surely stand out from the rest.

Effective explanation:

In your career, to move from one position to another, you should be able to effectively explain your responsibilities, roles, and contributions from the previous job. It shows how well you understand the role you are expected to play in a team and how you align these responsibilities with the goals of your career and that of the organization.

Writing skills:

The way you present yourself in a resume and the words you choose to frame it says a lot about your comprehension skills. Be sure to use proficient vocabulary and avoid using layman terms while writing a resume.

Formats:

Research thoroughly and choose the format that suits your requirements well. The types of resume formats are,

1) Reverse chronological

2) Skill-based

3) Combination

4) Targeted

Templates:

If resume making is not your cup of tea, get a template. It is a great way to save time and efforts. You don’t need to worry about the layout, margins, font size and other such details. Pick out a good template and edit/alter it to suit your requirements.

Prioritizing Sections:

Deciding the order of sections in a resume is imperative and should be done with attentiveness. After the career objective section, you have an option of putting education or experience as the next one. Find your strong points and pick accordingly. Let’s say you are a student, it would be wise to go with the education section as you lack experience. And for those who are well experienced, the experience section would be a better option.

Spacing:

Do not forget to balance the resume with proper spacing. Skipping this step can make you look unorganized and presents a bad image of you to the employer.

Relevance with cover letter:

This is one of the most important things to remember while writing your resume. The content written in your cover letter should be relevant to that provided in the resume.

It is like telling a strong story through two pieces of information; where the connection must not be lost.

Using numbers:

Have you helped the team achieve targets and raised the sales by a certain amount of percentage? Go ahead and add to the resume. Using terms like improved returns by 19% gives a natural touch to the resume. It makes the achievement look more real and effective.

Limit the content:

The first rule of writing an impressive resume is to not overdo it. Overdoing things or emphasizing on points more than what is required can have an opposing effect. Try limiting the content to the standard limit and delete the points that seem repetitive. Keep it short, simple but precise.

Bullet points:

Using too many bullet points can clog the resume layout. It takes up too much space and gives a monotonous look to the resume. Instead, limit its usage to certain sections only.

Follow these tips and keep an eye for small details for they can’t be ignored. Ultimately, be genuine and only add things to your resume that are true. Being honest about your capabilities and experience is the best way of writing an impressive resume.