You've searched on the great wide internet for your next position. Whether you're currently in a position, or just starting out, you need to brush up on your interviewing skills and nail that first impression.
I mean . . . just don't dress like this, please. (That will be another blog post.)
In the beginning, there was a dreaded resume. Do you have twenty jobs under your belt? Three? Zero? It doesn't matter who you are. A resume is not just a sheet of paper. It is the first glimpse of your professional life. If you haven'd had a job, we will cover that in a few moments.
Resume Tips (Existing Workers)
If your career history goes back farther than ten years, don't list it. On the bottom of the resume, simply write, "For further employment history, please inquire." Your future Employers don't typically need to know farther than that. There are exceptions: If you've been at an employer for ten years plus. By all means, list a job before that only if it showcases you in the same or similar position. If you're aiming to climb to a higher position, this information will be good for the potential employer to see.
If you happen to be a job hopper, and have only been at jobs for 1-3 years, don't list anything under 1 year work history. Seriously, I was in charge of hiring at multiple places, and no one likes seeing someone who can't sit still for at least a year. If you have gaps, just explain that the positions you had in the interim were not a great fit within the first 90 days. I AM NOT KIDDING!
(For Both Experienced & New to the Workforce)
Check your spelling. I don't need to tell you to use Word, right? Spellcheck is in there.
Keep it clean. Use keywords. Example:
Awesome Job 1: 01/01/2016 - 05/06/2020:
Duties:
Organizing data entered into system
Filing corporate documents alphabetically
Auditing filed documents monthly
Registering new vendor information on a weekly basis
Using excel to create expense documents for vendors
Use Times New Roman, size 12. This is the cleanest font to read, and size 12 is also not too big and not too small.
Bold headings to differentiate jobs or categories such as achievements, education, work history.
Keep language understandable; IE: if you don't know a word, don't try to use it. It's a great idea to throw a couple professional words in your resume, but don't force the language. Simple is best.
(Similar note) Use action words that portray your importance in the company: Achieve, maintain, organize, assist, train, etc. These keywords show professionalism and efforts put in to creating the resume.
If possible, use factual numbers. IE: -Responsible for training 13 employees on communication & listening. or -Successfully grew sales in X-branch by 110% (provide graphs if possible on separate page. This is great for a professional portfolio as well.)
On that, create a cover page, cover letter, add factual graphs, excel sheets, and examples if possible. This is more for a hard-copy version that you should bring to the interview. If applying online, a lot of employers will ask you to add additional documents. You may want to upload this here, but save as one PDF document if possible.
Resume Tips (For the New Employee)
Now that you have read the tips above for both experienced employees and for those just starting out, here are some tips just for you!
Whether just graduating or moving out from your Mother's basement (no judgment!), you will need to focus your resume on schooling and outside activities. This can include volunteer work, personal development (such as training on Excel and Microsoft Office), and achievements. Yes, even listing a sport in high school can portray your dedication to achieving a goal. A lot of people shy away from this, but most employers are human and understand just starting out.
Tip: The worst thing I saw on a resume was literally a list of hobbies. No education, nothing. Hobbies are great, but beating the hardest level of a video game is not something to list unless you're applying for a video game developer position. Or maybe don't even list that. (That's not a true tip to this post.) Just make sure you are listing your skills in a professional way.
All in all, brainstorm ideas on what you want to do. Think about your long-term goals. Maybe your dream job is being the CEO of a big company. Maybe it's to be a manager of a restaurant. No matter what, remember that it takes time and patience to reach these goals. It is perfectly fine to start out small. Send your resume out to something at least in the same ball-park as your dream job. Don't apply to be a chef if your dream is to fly a plane. Know what I'm sayin?
If you'd like more information, I'm offering free resume reviews right now! Feel free to comment on this post and I will be in touch.
As Always,
Stay fierce, Valkyrie!
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