When it comes to applying for jobs, there is no question that a great résumé is the key to getting a foot in the door. However, too many job seekers focus only on the mechanics of creating a résumé – the format, the content, and the like – and ignore the fact that great résumés don’t just happen. Instead, you have to work at it.
Writing a successful résumé requires a bit of psychology as well as good old-fashioned wordcraft. In this article, we will discuss how to write a résumé that shows your true value and skills.
Know Why You Are Writing It
As we mentioned above, a résumé is a critical document that will help you get a foot in the door of a job opportunity. For that reason, it is absolutely essential that you write it with the right intentions. Otherwise, even though you may have crafted an excellent résumé, it will still be of no use to you if you don’t have the skills to back it up.
Before you sit down to write your résumé, take some time to think about why you are qualified for the position. It could be that you have prior experience in the field, or perhaps you belong to a certain demographic that the company wants to reach out to. Write your résumé to reflect this understanding.
Outline The Main Details
An efficient résumé writer knows how to keep things concise while still covering all the basics. To start with, you should always include your full name, address, phone number, and email address at the top of your résumé.
After that, give a brief description of the position you are applying for. If you are not sure what title to use, take your time finding the right word and make sure that you use the correct format. Finally, be sure to include any relevant skills that you have that are related to the job description. You should write somewhere between two and four sentences describing your skills and how they relate to the job, but make sure not to go over four sentences because eventually, your résumé will be cut off by the page limit.
How Do You Want To Present Yourself?
Another important thing to consider when writing your résumé is how do you want to present yourself. Do you want to write in the third person, or in the first person? There are pros and cons to both options.
For example, if you chose to write in the third person, it will make the résumé seem more objective and you will avoidsounding too much like a brand new graduate. However, if you want to write in the first person, it will make the résumé seem more personal and, therefore, potentially more effective. In addition, you should include a short paragraph about yourself. This is usually either at the top or the bottom of the résumé depending on what style guide you are using. Include up to three short paragraphs about your background. Make sure that these three paragraphs are evenly spaced and contain the same information as the first.
Include a short but detailed summary of your education, including any relevant degrees or certifications. Then, include a short description of your work experience. You should include the year and month that you started and finished your résumé along with the organization you worked for and any relevant skills you developed. Make sure to include any projects that you were involved with and the name of the department you worked in.
At the end of your work experience, you should include a summary of any awards or honors you received. In some situations, these may be relevant work-related skills that you developed or the projects that you were involved with. Finally, be sure to list any relevant references, such as professors or previous employers, along with their contact information. At the end of your résumé, you should have a short but meaningful conclusion. For instance, if you are applying for a sales position, having concluded that you are a talented and motivated young professional who has proven their ability to close sales, you might state: “I look forward to hearing from you.”
The Style Guide You Are Using
Writing a résumé that is effective and concise requires using a particular style guide. There are several options when it comes to writing style, and you must choose one that is perfect for your needs. The above example, for instance, would work perfectly if you are applying for a graduate program in psychology. However, if you are applying for a business-related position, then you might want to consider using the format that is standard for business résumés.
Regardless of which one you choose, make sure to read the style guide thoroughly before you begin writing. This way, you will know how to format the document correctly and the information will all fit comfortably on one page. In addition, be sure to include a short sample résumé, preferably no longer than three pages, to show the employer how you plan to format the rest of the document.
Avoid The Sloppy Style
One of the worst things you can do in terms of writing a résumé is use the so-called ‘sloppy style.’ This is when you put the period at the end of a sentence even though you didn’t mean to. For example, in the sentence ‘I enjoy working with my hands,’ you would write ‘I enjoy working with my hands.’ Instead of ‘I enjoy working with my hands,’ the correct form would be ‘I enjoy working with my hands.’ This is not a minor point; instead, it is very relevant to your goal of crafting a high-quality résumé.
To give you a better understanding of how this works, let us examine the previous sentence more closely. When you start a sentence with a conjunction like ‘and,’ ‘or,’ or ‘but,’ you are telling the reader that you are going to proceed with the following sentence. In this case, you are joining two sentences with a conjunction. In sloppy writing, the period (full stop) is often used at the end of a sentence when it is not supposed to. For example, ‘I like working with my hands’ would be incorrectly written as ‘I like working with my hands.’ In this case, the sentence makes perfect sense, however, the period is used incorrectly. A better sentence would be ‘I enjoy working with my hands,’ but even then, the period should be avoided.
In general, cut back on the ‘ums’ and ‘ahs’ in your speech. These are the words that make up an ‘um’ sound and an ‘ah’ sound, respectively. By eliminating these sounds, you will notice that your writing seems more natural and you will be able to craft a higher-quality document.
Use Active Voice
Another important point to make is to use active voice instead of passive voice. For example, instead of writing ‘My roommate is a neat, tidy person,’ you should write ‘I live with a neat, tidy person.’ As you can see, the active voice makes the sentence more lively. It gives the sentence a bit more life, and it shows that you are the one doing the living. In addition to being more effective, the active voice makes your writing more polite because you are not impolite by referring to someone else as though they were yourself.
The Mechanics Of Writing A Résumé
If you are writing a résumé, there are certain things that you need to keep in mind. These include the format, the content, and the like. However, nothing is more critical than the fact that you write with the right intentions. Before we begin, it is important to note that a formal résumé is not the same as a functional résumé. A functional résumé is a résumé that is used for career or academic purposes. It is usually three to five pages long and it is generally used for applications that require digital submission. In other words, a functional résumé is a résumé that you would use at a job interview or in an application for graduate school. A formal résumé is a résumé that you would use for a more formal application, such as an entrance examination for graduate school or a job application.
Regardless of which one you choose, the mechanics of writing a résumé are very similar. For simplicity’s sake, let us examine the formal résumé format, which is the one you would use for a job application.