Tips for Writing Resumes
Most people are proud of their careers, and they would like to show that off when they are building their resume. It’s easy to overwhelm employers with too much information, though – you should take care to include only relevant information on your resume. Be judicious, and think about what you would want to know about a person if you were a prospective employer. If you’re applying for a management position then the pizza delivery job that you had during the summer at university will not really matter.
If you’re struggling to trim down your resume, then talk to a professional career advisor, or get a senior colleague to look over it. They will be able to tell you with more clarity what really matters.
Tips for Keeping a Resume Concise
1 – Don’t repeat yourself: If you have had a similar job for more than one company, then instead of laying out the responsibilities for each time, focus on what you accomplished.
2 – Trim your Old Experience: What you have done recently is more important than what you did 20+ years ago. The last 10 to 15 years are what matters. If you do have positions from your past that really are relevant, then briefly mention them – the company, location, title, and how long you held the position, but without going too into the details. Do not leave every job you’ve ever done on the list
3 – Leave out personal stuff: There’s no need for a person with lots of work experience to list their marital status, hobbies, or other personal information. There’s no need to list out of date skills, either. Your shorthand skills won’t help you in a store management position, for example.
4 – Trim descriptions: When you’re getting your first couple of real jobs, those lengthy descriptions of your duties can pad your resume. Lose them when you have several jobs to describe, however.
5 – No need to talk about references: Delete that “references available upon request” that is at the bottom of most CV templates. It’s a waste of space. And don’t give them your references, they will call you if they want them and at least then you will know if they are interested.
6 – Telegraphic writing works for resumes: Minimize the use of articles, and cut out personal pronouns.
7 – Edit harshly: Words such as “duties include” and “responsible for” are not needed. The reader will understand that the tasks on the resume are ones you were responsible for and they can also get very repetitive when over used.
8 – Customize your CV for each job: Edit your CV to include the information that matters for the job you are applying for. This is particularly important if you are looking to highlight transferable skills in a career change.
If you don’t have the time or the confidence to create a CV then professional resume writing by Arielle Executive could be the answer to your prayers.
Securing an interview is hard enough, without making it harder by having glaring mistakes on your CV and you can guarantee that recruiters and employers, who are receiving hundreds of CVs every day, will simply throw away those that are filled with the kind of mistakes shown in the infographic. So why not make sure your CV is kept at the top of the pile and take the time to check, double check and then triple your CV before sending it off in application for a job.
