A resume is one of those must-have items when applying for a job. It is a powerful tool that distils all your work experience so that hiring managers can quickly make decisions about whether you fit in a certain position or not.
However, what exactly are hiring managers looking for? How do they decide whether you fit into a certain position or not? In this article, we will cover exactly this and then teach you how to construct a resume from scratch, so that you increase your chances of landing that important interview. Here are 10 steps to follow when you want to write that eye-catching resume:
This question is not actually that easy to answer. Each organisation is different, so their selection procedures are different. However, there are a few common patterns:
These are the most common situations, but others do exist. Now that you know who will potentially look at your resume and how you may get chosen or short listed, we have to understand what criteria they are looking for.
From the above, you have realised that the selection process can vary quite a bit. But, all people who hire are basically looking for the same general aspects. We can summarise these aspects into these three points:
Let us call these the big three. It is the resume’s job (as well as the cover letter’s) to answer address the big three in a highly favourable way. Well-made resumes help hiring managers identify the answers to the above questions as quickly as possible.
For the first and second points, it is vital that you read the job description. Print out that job description, highlight the responsibilities that it describes, then write a resume that pinpoints exactly how you meet their job criteria. Again, points on your resume should specifically speak directly to the criteria listed in a job description.
The third point ties with the second point, but more bluntly put, it is more about your flexibility. Perhaps you do fit in their overall work and organisational culture, but some people are simply hard to work with. For example, they might not take feedback well, have a general lack of communication, or something else that creates, what hiring managers feel, are unnecessary challenges. Perhaps the second point focuses more on the positive side of the human aspect of work while the third point focuses more on the negative side. In your resume, address how you work well with anyone and under any sort of situation, no matter how challenging it may be.
Information regarding the big three can be found in the job description. If there is no job description, send an email and try to get your hands on this important information. Doing so will show that you are pro-active about the job. Second, having this information will put you ten steps ahead of your competition.
Here is the basic resume template you should use. First, it should contain these sections in this order, unless your industry standard is different.
However, if you can be more specific, it would help whomever is hiring to understand the value you bring. For example, you can state that you can collect and make visual data using Excel, which will help clients understand information easily. The more specific you can be, the more you can shape their imagination, hopefully enticing them to offer you that interview.
If you look at the image below, you will see the formatting and certain elements, including how sections are divided, how job titles and company names can be displayed, the dates of employment, and description of responsibilities (the bullet points).
The above image just illustrates one example. The important point here is that you keep the formatting consistent.
For the work experience, each entry will consist of the jobs you have done and your responsibilities for each position. The work experience section should be your biggest one as this will contain all the proof you have that you belong in the company you are applying for.
When writing the information for your responsibilities, make sure you are specific and focus on concrete results. These will help the hiring manager decide how you will fit in their organisation.
Take a look at the following examples of descriptions of what a person did in an organisation:
Sample 1 |
Office Assistant for Department Head– Pacific Marks Company |
|
Instead, you can be much more specific and talk about actual results that happened because of you.
Sample 2 |
Office Assistant for Department Head – Pacific Marks Company |
|
Notice that there are three or four points. If you add too many, you may need to be clean it up in a more concise fashion. Again, always consider which points match the job description in a better fashion.
If you were hiring for an assistant, which descriptions would make you want to hire the person? Sample 2 makes the candidate look like a true gift, someone who can truly meet your needs. Even if you were hiring for a middle-manager position, Sample 2 shows the care and consideration that the candidate has in understanding how he or she fits in a certain organisation (tying to organisational culture) and the effort that was produced.
You should do this for all the jobs you have worked for, no matter how menial the job seems. Such details will help whomever is reading the resume really visualise the positive change you can bring to a company.
To do this, look at current resumes in your field and for similar positions you are applying for so that you can decide what main elements to include. Then, you can add or delete elements, points, or descriptors from a basic draft.
Now that you have completed your resume, edit the resume to make sure that you have captured the points mentioned above and have sufficiently addressed the big three. Change your wording, add details, or delete others. Just make sure that all the entries you have mentioned for your positions and responsibilities are concrete and concise.
Remember, truly emphasise how you can complete the job or fulfil the position they are hiring for, how you will fit in their organisation, and how easy you are to work with.
A resume that uses a fancy resume template is simply not enough. You need to make sure that the hiring manager can see exactly how your
skills and accomplishments will help them get what they need. So, the next step is to write a cover letter, and you should do this for each position you are applying for.
The aim of the cover letter is to highlight specific achievements in the resume that shows that you will contribute and help the target organisation achieve their goals.
You should adjust the resume for each position you are applying for, unless they are extremely similar. Hiring managers do not always thoroughly look at resumes so it is important that they can easily locate information that is relevant to their particular situation. To do this, you might reword some of the results that you have accomplished to match the job description that they post. You might also move bullet points in a certain order.
In order to ensure that your formatting stays how it is, save the resume as a PDF when you attach it in an email. If the resume is to be printed out, use nice paper. Make sure to do the same with the cover letter as well.
The final step is to send the entire application. During this step, make sure to follow instructions carefully. Sometimes, certain managers want PDF versions that are under a certain file size. Others want your application posted on a job-posting website. In rare cases, hiring managers may only want a paper copy sent per post. Follow directions or your application might not be read.
Take advantage of digital capabilities
In 2019, resumes do not need to be just on paper anymore. It is important that you have several versions available including digital versions and more. For example, you can do the following: