Resumes
Format and write an attention-grabbing resume that helps you stand out.
What is a resume and why is it so important?
A resume is a document you’ll use throughout the job search process. It contains an overview of your career and education, including specific work experience and skills. Most importantly, it advertises your achievements.
Why is a resume so important? Because it’s the first thing an employer will see. Like a commercial, it must gain an employer’s interest in 15 seconds or less. Its sole purpose is to get you an interview. If you follow the guidelines below, you’ll make an attention-grabbing resume. You might even learn a thing or two about yourself in the process.
Choose the right type of resume
There are three basic types of resumes. The type you choose will depend on the work experience you have available.
Functional resumes
Chronological resumes
Combination resumes
Include the right sections on your resume
While there are thousands of different resume templates available online, most resumes have the same four or five sections. If you want a head start formatting your resume, try downloading a free resume template from The Balance Careers. Then follow these tips to write each of these sections.
Header and contact information
Objective statement
Skills and technology
Work experience and accomplishments
Write accomplishment statements that show results
Avoid simply describing the activities you did when you write about your work, project, or volunteer experience. Your experience shouldn’t sound like a recap of your job description. Instead, focus on writing accomplishment statements. These types of sentences describe the impact you made and help you stand out.
To help you write, try using the CAR method to arrange your sentences. Each sentence should contain these three components:
- Challenge: a problem or opportunity
- Action: what steps you took to meet the challenge
- Results: what happened (using dollars, time, percentages, or amounts)
Your achievement statements should be brief and always begin with an action word. For example:
- Developed a new employee orientation program that 100 percent of the company locations adopted.
- Responded to over 85 customer calls daily and solved 90 percent of their concerns.
- Submitted over 500 construction bids annually and was awarded 90 percent of the contracts.
- Served customers in a positive way, receiving two customer service awards in the past year
Tip: Always be honest. The CAR method above will help your accomplishments stand out without having to inflate them.
Other resume tips to consider
Your resume should contain (and avoid) certain types of information. Here are some do’s and don’ts.
Information to include
Information to exclude
Word selection
Formatting and design
Proofreading
Tip: It’s best to avoid sending the exact same resume for multiple positions within a company. Tailor your resume based on your research of the company and the specific job you seek.