10 Tips for Writing a Perfect Resume

10 Tips for Writing a Perfect Resume

In today’s deep economic recession, recruiters receive hundreds, if not thousands, of resumes for a single position.  And, do you know that employers spend only about 30 seconds to review a resume?  With a perfect resume, you can catch the attention of the viewer in this short time.  If your resume doesn’t attract the employer, you lose an opportunity.  Use these ten tips for writing a perfect resume that brings you success:

1.  Focus on the Needs of the Employer

A single resume for all the jobs cannot take you anywhere in your job search.  Employers dislike resumes that are out of focus from the job requirements.  Before you start writing your resume, check the work needs.  If your experience and education matches with the position, begin writing a resume.  Make sure that it addresses the wants of the job.  Prepare a concise resume – it should not be more than two pages.  Break the two-page "rule" if you've five or more years of work experience.  In such a case, you need more space to highlight your track record.

2.  Prioritize your Skills and Experience

Remember that companies spend only about 30 seconds on a resume?  Let the key qualifications standout in your resume.  How do you do this?  First, make a list of your experience and training.  Take a closer look at the job description and find the keywords in it.  Here are example keywords / key phrases from sample job announcements: experienced in channel marketing, certified java programmer, and fluency in German.  Next, prioritize the items in the list.  Place the items that have the keywords / key phrases at the top of the list.

3.  Write a Summary of Qualifications

A powerful summary entices the recruiter to read your resume.  Use the above list to write the summary.  Make sure it highlights your accomplishments and experience that satisfy the needs of the job.  Your summary should convince the employer of your talent.  In fact, your summary should convince the hirer to read the rest of your resume.  Here is a sample of a summary:

Professional writer with more than ten years of experience in content writing, including resume and cover letter writing, web content writing, and technical writing.  Able to write in a clear and concise way.  Knowledge of and experienced in Document Development Life Cycle (DDLC).  Adobe-certified PhotoShop trainer.  Ability to work individually and in teams.  Superior communication, organizational and interpersonal skills.

The summary should contain only six to ten sentences.  As the summary may not accommodate all of your skills that match with the job needs, create a sub-section of the summary.  Here, use bulleted-points to emphasize the sentences.  Look at this example:

• Experienced in formulating standards for documents and engineering drawings
• Skilled in developing online help using the advanced features of RoboHelp
• Proficient in producing and optimizing graphics for online documentation using Photoshop

4.  Language and Style for Resume Writing

Impress the employer with your skills and experience, and not with flowery, complex tone.  A simple language lays a clear path for the recruiter to gauge your talent.  Resume that is difficult to read is a barrier to receive the interview call.  With a straightforward choice of words and sentences, tell the employer how you can be an asset to the company.  Sprinkle your resume with the jargon words of your industry.

Begin each sentence of your experience description with an active verb.  Here are few examples of verbs:  created, achieved, researched, evaluated, and generated.

Here is an example: Designed and developed HT circuit breakers that improved efficiency by 30% and reduced manufacturing costs by 20%.

Make your resume easier to read with short sentences.  Format your sentences with bullets.  These help each sentence standout.

5.  Turn the Spotlight on Achievements in Resume Writing

Imagine for a moment that you are the employer.  Who would you hire?  A candidate with the most accomplishments would fit the bill, right?  In writing your resume, focus on your achievements instead of mere job description.  Some folks use a separate section for accomplishments while some others build it into the job responsibilities.  It’s your call which route you want to take.  If space is a concern, you may want to use the first type.  Here is a sample of the two versions:

Established company-wide performance evaluation and incentive procedures that reduced employee turnover by 25% (accomplishment included in the job responsibility)

Established company-wide performance evaluation and incentive procedures (standalone job function)

Accomplishments

Reduced employee turnover by 25% (accomplishment given in a separate titled section)

Use a chronological format to list your present and past positions.  Start with your current (or most recent) position and then work backwards.  In your listing, include the name of the company, city and state, starting and ending month, year, job title, and responsibilities and accomplishments.  If you have worked for ten or more years in the present / most recent position, you may not give the details of the other positions in different companies.

6.  Quantify the Achievements

Suppose say you were an e-learning developer and developed an employee-orientation e-learning system.  How would you write this in your resume?  The two possible scenarios are:

Designed and developed an e-learning system for new employee orientation

Designed and developed an e-learning system for new employee orientation, resulting in reducing the new recruit training time by 30% and costs by 45%

The first one leaves the employer wondering, was the system implemented?  Was it useful?

The second statement demonstrates your work as results-oriented.  Further, it quantifies the achievement.  Quantify your work experience entries wherever possible and feasible.

7.  Other Qualifications

List your additional qualifications, such as training, certifications, licensing you may have, in a separate section titled like Training / Certification or Training / Licensing, as the case may be.

List any volunteer work experience if it relates to the job you are applying.  Mention any membership in professional associations or institutes.

8.  Resume in ASCII / Text Format

When you save your resume, save it in two formats: first in the DOC/PDF and then in the text format.  The latter helps you to apply for jobs online at company websites or career portals that do not allow DOC/PDF formats.  If you save a resume in the text format, the software you use for this purpose will remove the styles like bold, italic, and others.

In Word, to save a file in text format, click File > Save As.  In the Save As dialog, select Plain Text in the ‘Save as type’ field.

You may not like the way your resume turned out in the plain text version.  However, you can use tildes, asterisks, hyphens, and others to emphasize key information.

9.  Font, Spelling, and Grammar in Resume Writing

Make a good first impression with the use of a ‘standard’ font for resume writing.  Times New Roman, Palatino, or another font with a serif typeface should work well.  Stay away from fancy fonts.  First, such fonts may not be available on the viewer’s computer.  Second, even if the fonts are available, the recruiter may not like you get creative this way, unless you are applying for a creative position.

Check for spelling, syntax, and grammatical errors.  Do not let these ruin your chances of an interview.

As white space increases readability, leave one-inch for the left, top, right, and bottom margins of your resume.

10.  Give a Title for your Resume

A title in your resume helps the employer to get a faster overview of your areas of expertise.  Place the title above the summary component of your resume.  Use a font size that will make the title standout.

Here are some examples of a resume title:

Professional Software Developer

Sales & Relationship Manager

Business Development Expert