{"id":490,"date":"2011-03-29T13:35:24","date_gmt":"2011-03-29T08:05:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gsr.getsetresumes.com\/blog\/?p=490"},"modified":"2017-08-10T13:37:09","modified_gmt":"2017-08-10T08:07:09","slug":"147-22-tips-for-resume-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.getsetresumes.com\/blog\/147-22-tips-for-resume-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"22 Tips for Resume Writing"},"content":{"rendered":"

It so happens with us mortals that suddenly others’ resumes begin to look much better than our own \ud83d\ude42 Well, here are some guidelines and tips which can help you design your resume better than the rest.<\/span><\/p>\n

1.<\/strong>\u00a0Make a neat and error free Resume<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pay attention to detail and make sure there are no typos or grammatical errors in your resume. Have someone proofread your resume before you send it across because even the smallest error could become the reason for your resume\u2019s rejection..<\/p>\n

2.<\/strong>\u00a0Make a powerful opening statement<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

A solid, clear opening statement will not only make a good first impression but will sustain it throughout the resume. Opening ststements need not just be an Objective statement; it could also be a summary of your skills and your strengths.<\/p>\n

3. Focus on how the employers will benefit from\u00a0you<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Remember, your first goal is to get that interview. Highlight those achievements that will arouse the interest of employers and consultants. Try and answer the question: \u201cHow can this candidate help this organization?\u201d<\/p>\n

4.<\/strong>\u00a0Prioritize<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is often said that employers spend less than 30 seconds scanning a resume. This may or may not be true, but then why take a chance! Most employers are more concerned about career accomplishments than academic ones. So, place the most interesting facts about yourself at the beginning.<\/p>\n

5.<\/strong>\u00a0Highlight your skills<\/strong><\/p>\n

Have a section titled skills or technical capabilities in your resume that is distributed around your main talents. Again, prioritize everything.<\/p>\n

6.<\/strong>\u00a0Use keywords<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is perhaps the most important part. Simple keywords can make a lot of difference in a resume. For e.g. your extra-curricular activities section can be renamed to Voluntary Initiatives which sounds more pleasing and arouses the reader\u2019s interest. Similarly, try to include specific keywords and industry specific phrases that describe your skills and experience throughout your resume.<\/p>\n

7.<\/strong>\u00a0Make use of industry jargon<\/strong><\/p>\n

Use industry jargon, phrases and acronyms to reflect your stronghold in the industry and familiarity with the employer\u2019s work. Always spell out acronyms in parentheses if they are not obvious, such as TQM (Total Quality Management).<\/p>\n

8.<\/strong>\u00a0Use action verbs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Highlight your talents and traits using such verbs like active, accomplished, managed, launched, created, directed, estab\u00adlished, organized, supervised.\u00a0 Portray yourself as an individual who is capable of contributing.<\/p>\n

9. Avoid personal pronouns<\/strong><\/p>\n

Avoid using personal pronouns such as \u2018I\u2019 or \u2018me\u2019 in your resume. These words are often taken as reflecting pride and go negatively with the employer. Instead of complete sen\u00adtences, use short Action-Impact statements, like: \u201cLead a team of 4 talented individuals to create an iPhone GPS application in record 2 days\u2019 time.\u201d<\/p>\n

10.<\/strong>\u00a0Emphasise key points<\/strong><\/p>\n

Use bold, italics, and underlining to emphasise\u00a0the most<\/u>\u00a0relevant information in your resume. For resumes in which only ASCII text is used, use capital letters, quotation marks, asterisks, to empha\u00adsize important words or section titles.<\/p>\n

11. List the most recent information first<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The general rule of thumb is to show only your last 10 years work experience, unless the prior experience is specially relevant to the position. In any case, your resume should show the most recent information first in a reverse chronological order.<\/p>\n

12.<\/strong>\u00a0Quantify or qualify experience<\/strong><\/p>\n

No one can argue with numbers and facts. Instead of writing debatable statements like \u201cResponsible for in\u00adcreasing sales in my territory,\u201d write \u201cIncreased sales in my territory by 50% over 6 months.\u201d<\/p>\n

13. Be organized, logical, and concise<\/strong><\/p>\n

Apart from knowing about your experience, em\u00adployers also use resumes as a tool to sense whether you are organized, logical, and concise. Make a genuine effort to organize your resume and make it neat and visually appealing with a consistent flow. Separate sections clearly and highlight titles. Leave sufficient blank spaces between sections but not too much. Create a resume in under 2 pages.<\/p>\n

14.<\/strong>\u00a0Use simple vocabulary<\/strong><\/p>\n

Use industry jargons but don\u2019t try to impress employers with an exquisite vocabulary. Use words everyone can understand.<\/p>\n

15.<\/strong>\u00a0Avoid salary information<\/strong><\/p>\n

Never talk about salary in your resume. Discuss this in the interview.<\/p>\n

16.<\/strong>\u00a0Avoid questionable\/sensitive subjects<\/strong><\/p>\n

Never refer to personal information such as race, religion, political inclination, or even personal views in your resume. In most cases, it is illegal for the employer to consider such issues. Also, avoid humor, idioms and clich\u00e9s in your resume.<\/p>\n

17.<\/strong>\u00a0Be honest<\/strong><\/p>\n

Absolutely. Lying or exaggerating your abilities will not only be unethical, it might come and hit back at you as most employers conduct rigorous background checks for all candidates.<\/p>\n

18.<\/strong>\u00a0Sell your strengths<\/strong><\/p>\n

Portray your talents and abilities in the best possible light. Your resume should reflect your best personal characteristics and positive traits.<\/p>\n

To de-emphasize gaps in your work history, consider a Functional format for your resume rath\u00ader than a Chronological format. A functional resume focuses on your skills and accomplishments while the Chronological one highlights the progression of your experience.<\/p>\n

19.<\/strong>\u00a0Personal traits<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Clich\u00e9d phrases like \u201cDependable, Highly-Organized, Self-Motivated, and Responsible,\u201d are ignored by HR\u00a0 managers these days as almost all resumes have these words written! Rather than just listing these traits, try to give an example demonstrating them. Like, instead of writing \u201cDependable\u201d, you could write \u201cNever missed an important deadline in five years as a technical lead.\u201d<\/p>\n

20.<\/strong>\u00a0Combine sections<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Combine short sections to make your resume compact. For ex\u00adample, if you have just one entry under training, place it under Educational Details and change the section title to \u201cEducation and Training\u201d.<\/p>\n

21.<\/strong>\u00a0Use common section headings<\/strong><\/p>\n

Use common section headings so that employers can easily search for any specific information they might be looking for. \u00a0Examples: Objective, Experience, Employment, Work His\u00adtory, Skills, Summary, Summary of Qualifications, Voluntary Initiatives, Accomplishments, Honours and Achievements, Capabilities, Educa\u00adtion, Professional Affiliations, Publications, Licenses and Certifi\u00adcations.<\/p>\n

22.<\/strong>\u00a0Be positive<\/strong><\/p>\n

Avoid any negative words or comments in your resume, especially when it comes to previous employment experienc\u00ades. Show a positive, can-do attitude.<\/p>\n

\n

This post first appeared on the <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>getsetResumes.com Blog<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n

\"Get<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It so happens with us mortals that suddenly others’ resumes begin to look much better than our own \ud83d\ude42 Well, here are some guidelines and tips which can help you design your resume better than the rest. 1.\u00a0Make a neat and error free Resume Pay attention to detail and make sure there are no typos or grammatical errors in your resume. Have someone proofread your resume before you send it across because even the smallest error could become the reason for your resume\u2019s rejection.. 2.\u00a0Make a powerful opening statement. A solid, clear opening statement will not only make a good…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[360],"tags":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getsetresumes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getsetresumes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getsetresumes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getsetresumes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getsetresumes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=490"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.getsetresumes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":493,"href":"https:\/\/www.getsetresumes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490\/revisions\/493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.getsetresumes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getsetresumes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.getsetresumes.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}