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How To Write A Red Hot Resume

Mar 23, 2022

Landing your dream role begins with writing an irresistible resume, although for some job seekers this can be easier said than done. Writing a resume can take hours, even a couple of days, and a lot of brain power to “sell yourself” to prospective employers.

At Career Connectors our mission is to help you successfully achieve the role you’ve been dreaming of, so we have broken down the overwhelming task of writing your resume into an easy to follow step-by-step process. Let’s get started! 

STEP 1: Prepare 

Resume writing can be a overwhelming and mentally draining task, so set yourself up for success by collecting all the information you need before you sit down to write. 

Create a checklist using the following points and tick each off as you gather the relevant information:

  • Previous job titles, including the date you started and left your role 
  • List of major accomplishments achieved within your positions
  • Your education history
  • Any training you have completed 
  • Any certificates you have achieved 
  • A list of the key skills you have gained from previous roles 
  • Volunteering work 

STEP 2: Design

While the information you provide is what will ultimately land you your dream role, a well designed resume helps you process through quickly as a top level candidate.

Stand out from the competition with an easy to read resume design:

  • Include plenty of white space on the page to avoid overwhelming the reader
  • Swap sentences for bullet points where necessary, such as beneath each role 
  • Format your resume chronologically with your most recent work history at the top of the page.
  • Choose one easy to read font for your cover letter and resume, such as Arial or Times New Roman.
  • Use font size and type intentionally. Make your name and section titles stand out by using bold and larger text. 

STEP 3: Execute

Now it’s time to get to work. 

We recommend keeping the information you share relevant, short and to the point. Your potential employer does not need to know about the retail job you had at 15 if you are applying for a tech role. Most resumes have about 1-2 pages of content. 

Starting from the top of the page, a job-winning resume will include the following:

  1. Heading: Your name, email address, contact number 
  2. Profile: Dedicate this section to what you have to offer the role in relation to what the hiring manager is looking for, this should be specific to each application.
  3. Qualifications: Skills, abilities, experience qualifications related to the role you are applying for.
  4. Work experience: Work history, including your job title, where you worked, the date you started and ended each role. Stating your accomplishments are essential in this section – do not list just responsibilities, list what you did with those responsibilities. Each sentence should provide a brief synopsis of your strongest accomplishments in the position.
  5. Volunteer experience (optional) If you have volunteer work that relates to the role you are applying for, include it beneath work experience. 
  6. Education history: List your highest education accomplishment first, with the name of the school, degree and graduation date.
  7. Certifications, Awards and Accomplishments: If you have achieved any certifications, awards and accomplishments that are relevant to the role you are applying for, list them beneath education history.

STEP 6: Edit

This is a valuable step that can mean the difference between a basic resume and a job-winning resume. 

When it comes to editing, we recommend the following two strategies:

Proofread your own work: Cut out long sentences and unnecessary words, and fix spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Make sure all previous jobs use past tense and your current role uses present tense. A hiring manager won’t be impressed by your valuable qualifications if they have trouble reading your resume. 

Seek helpful feedback: Ask a resume expert to review your resume and offer feedback on how you can improve it. Everyone has a strong opinion on resumes so make sure you are getting guidance from the right people – those that can help your resume get through the applicant tracking system!

Once you have a strong resume foundation, you can change specific words that align with the different companies you are applying for. You can also cut out irrelevant jobs and skills that are not related to the specific role you are applying for. Now that the hard work is done it will be alot easier to keep your resume up to date as you gain more skills and qualifications and work experience. 

Once you have completed your job-winning resume, come along to one of our bi-monthly events for job seekers! This is an engaging and interactive experience where you can network with hiring companies, interview with prospective employers, and learn powerful techniques for landing your dream role from industry experts. 
Learn about our upcoming events here: https://careerconnectors.org/event-schedule

Annelise

Filed Under: Career Advice Blog, Blog Tagged With: career transition, Job Hunting Advice, Job Search

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I just want to thank you and compliment you and your organization, all the people involved, for providing this free service to the people in the Phoenix area. Last August found me in the unforeseen, unplanned position of being without a job. This circumstance, anytime but especially being a single mom, is very unsettling, sometimes downright frightening and anxiety inducing. I began attending many of your weekly meetings through November, when a job opened for me. I found solace and guidance at … Read more
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I want to follow up with you about the position I had hoped to get. I got it! And thanks to Jack Milligan’s Salary Negotiation talk, for the first time I didn’t feel like an idiot when I accepted a job. No one else offers that kind of information.  Thank you for all you do. I appreciate your efforts to bless others.  May you and yours be blessed every day. Thank you for everything,
Cheryl
Thank you for all you do! I’ve been nine loooong months looking for a full-time position and Career Connectors was a real life-line. I was pretty discouraged by the time I found your organization on-line and first visited. The speaker provided some great information but most importantly, encouragement and hope. The panel discussion on resumes was incredibly helpful! Last month I had the opportunity to sit with Brenda and she suggested I really pare back all but the last 10 years of experience an… Read more
Robin C.
Navigating the world of career transition can be an overwhelming experience.  In addition to the mechanics of transition (updated resume, career search strategies), there is the deeper need to connect to people who are in the same situation as you are.   For me, all of this was answered by Career Connectors!  Had it not been for this organization, I might still be sitting in my house, wondering what to do next!  At just one Career Connectors meeting you can be inspired by great speakers, … Read more
Iris M.
It was amazing, you guys did a great job! I found several potential companies!
Irene
I own a Leadership Company, and have enjoyed attending the Career Connector events. With gratitude I listen to the speakers you line up… they offer phenominal and practical information. What has struck me each time has been the audience. My heart hurts for them. They are in a desperate place in their lives. I have had the opportunity speak with a few of the people in attendance, and they have shared their stories… I walk away thankful to God for the opportunity to meet these people and they … Read more
Bonnie M.
I just wanted to let you know that there’s a reason why I haven’t come to any recent Career Connectors events. It’s because I found a job! This past week, I started working as a data scientist for a technology startup in the financial services space that’s based in downtown Phoenix. It’s an ideal opportunity for me to break into the data science industry with an exciting company. I wanted to thank you and your staff for putting together all of your fantastic networking events and bringing … Read more
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A good friend told me of her success using Career Connectors networking.  She landed an interview and later, a job in her field, after attending one networking event.  So, when it was my turn, I had to check it out. I was starting to get the blues about being unemployed but the speaker lifted me out of the dumps and put my life back in perspective. So many people were there to help and offer support!   Just by networking that day, I was given a job lead that has led to two interviews and a… Read more
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