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:
- Heading: Your name, email address, contact number
- 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.
- Qualifications: Skills, abilities, experience qualifications related to the role you are applying for.
- 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.
- Volunteer experience (optional) If you have volunteer work that relates to the role you are applying for, include it beneath work experience.
- Education history: List your highest education accomplishment first, with the name of the school, degree and graduation date.
- 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