When a company is recruiting, the hiring managers will first look at a person’s resume before deeming them worthy enough to invite them for an interview. As such, the candidate’s resume, not the candidate himself, will make the first impression on the hiring managers. Because of this, it is essential that your resume be created in a way that can convince the company to give you a chance at an interview.
Unfortunately, many new graduates do not have a good idea of how to create a stellar resume. In this guide, we will provide you step-by-step directions on how to create a complete — and dare we say — beautiful resume.
Picking the Right Format
Typically, resumes are written in reverse-chronological style, where you begin adding your education and relevant work experience from the most recent position and working your way backward. This is the most common format and is a good choice for new graduates, though it does not leave much room for creativity. However, it is the easiest type of resume for hiring managers to scan.
If you want to bring some excitement to your resume, you can create a combination resume that is a hybrid of a skill-based and chronologic resume, with a focus on a professional profile added to the top. This style is more suited for experienced workers.
Adding Personal Details
When creating a resume, you need to be smart about what information to add and what information to leave out. Usually, you will be required to add:
- Your full name
- Your phone number
- Your email address
If you have social media profiles or a blog that you think may be relevant to the job, you may add them as well, but this is completely optional. Most of the time, though, you do not need to add your photo to the resume. In addition, you do not need to add your date of birth or your personal home address.
The main purpose of adding your contact details is to make it as easy as possible for the hiring manager to reach you if they are interested in meeting you.
Listing Relevant Work Experience
This part would most likely make the major portion of your resume. Typically you want to format it in this order:
Job Title: This should be at the very top of every entry in the work history section.
Company, City, State: The second line will include the previous employer’s company name and where it is located.
Dates Employed: You can add the duration of the time you have been with each company either in the third line or right-align the dates with the “company, city, state) information.
Key Responsibilities: Focus is the key here. Do not add every single one of your responsibility but focus on the duties that are most relevant to the new job you are applying to.
Key Achievements: This is one of the most overlooked but super-important parts of your work experience. If you have achieved milestones, rewards, and accolades, be sure to add this to the resume.
In a reverse-chronological resume, you will need to add your most recent job experience first, followed by older experiences in reverse order.
Adding Academic Qualifications
Your education is an essential part of your resume, so you must not skip this section. Here’s how to format this section.
- Place your highest degree first in the section.
- Add lesser qualification after this in reverse-chronological order.
Add any honors, awards, thesis, studies abroad, or extracurricular activities and if you have a great GPA, you should add this as well to impress your hiring managers. Don’t add your high school information if you have a university degree.
Listing Skillsets
The skillsets section is another section that is underestimated. However, if you want your hiring manager to find out at a single glance if you have skills that align with the company’s objective, creating a list of skillsets is crucial.
You will want to add any hard skills you are familiar with like SEO, Excel, Photoshop, JavaScript, to name a few examples. It is also a good idea to add soft skills like excellent communication, public speaking, and time management — but only if they are true.
It is also not a bad idea to scrap skills that have nothing to do with the job you are applying for.
Including Extra Sections
If you want to personalize your resume, it is always a good idea to add extra sections that showcase your interests and strengths. Some additional sections include:
- Volunteer Work
- Interests
- Certifications and Licenses
- Languages
- Publications
- Projects
However, make sure your resume does not become overlong. A hiring manager has to go through a sea of CVs and they would not want to browse four or more pages of a resume.
Refining and Proofreading
Once your resume is complete, do not be in a hurry to send it off. Instead, double-check the draft for syntax errors and typos from a reliable online tool like Grammarly.
If your resume is too long, you should also cut out some parts that may not be relevant to the job.
Also, make sure the fonts and formatting of the resume are consistent and legible. Do not select extra-fancy fonts but choose clean and professional-looking options like Helvetica, Arial, Calibri, Cambria, or Times New Roman.
If there is a bit of formatting in your resume, it is a good idea to save it in PDF format so that it is maintained.
The Wrap
Your resume has the potential to get you your dream job. Even though it may not be your first time writing a resume, it is important that you think about all these steps when updating your document for your next career step. If you give your resume the care and attention it deserves, you can set yourself up for success from the get-go.
Now that you have covered all the basics, it is time that you write your own resume!
Happy Job Hunting!
Contact Us
APN Consulting is a premier staffing recruitment agency with over 16 years of experience working in the field. To get in touch with our expert team of recruiters, you can contact us directly online or email us at contactus@apnconsultinginc.com. Be sure to also visit our job portal for the latest job openings.