An important aspect of your job search is your resume. It is a document that is a reflection of you and what you have accomplished in the working world. Your resume is also considered one of the most important documents that you will ever write, as it can quickly open doors of opportunity or just as quickly slam them in your face.
Recruiters look at each resume for an average of 6 seconds. first impressions matter.
Your resume must stand out from hundreds of other resumes the hiring manager is reviewing, not as a shock (think crazy headline or bright paper) but due to the ease of reading, location of your contact information, and by how well your skills and experience match the job you are applying for.
Before you begin the formal resume writing process, take some time to jot down your education, your skills and experience, and your work history. Having a rough outline to work from will make your resume come together quicker than staring at a blank piece of paper (or computer screen) and trying to write your resume off the top of your head.
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When crafting your resume, consider the job you are applying for. You want your resume to reflect the needs of your potential employer and job position, not be a collection of your accomplishments and activities. Before I revamped my resume a few years back, I was also guilty of listing everything I had accomplished in each job I held. I definitely needed to scale back what I wanted to say but I also thought a recruiter needed to know as much about me as possible.
When writing a resume that squeezes your entire working life onto a couple of pages, there is just too much information for the recruiter to sift through to find relevant information. You need a focused resume that matches your skills and experience to the job’s responsibilities. But wait!, you say, I want the recruiter to know everything about me to see what a great fit I will be!
To be honest, the recruiter is only interested in how you can identify, prevent, and solve their problems. They want to know your skills that will help them and their company. They don’t care about your awesomeness in some irrelevant area that doesn’t pertain to what they need.
Keep the priority of the employer as your focus.
For example, you may have created a great instructional manual at your last accounting position, but the CPA position you are now applying for didn’t mention writing manuals in their job requirements. Though you are dying to highlight your awesome manual writing skills, it is irrelevant to the job you are applying for. However, this could be something you could mention during your interview.
Once you know what type of job you are applying for, conduct extensive research to understand the requirements, expertise, experience, and qualifications for that job. Begin by searching resume databases that give you descriptions of your target jobs. Most descriptions use similar requirements across the same job regardless of the employer.
Below is a list of resume database websites that will get you started with job descriptions.
www.indeed.com
www.simplyhired.com
www.JobBankUSA.com
www.Job-Search-Engine.com
www.sourcetool.com
www.jobster.com
Related: 7 Easy Steps To A Willing Job Search Strategy
Read through job descriptions and note similarities with preventing and solving problems within the job. It doesn’t matter if you would never work for this company, or if it is in California or New York, a managerial position will look for the same type of candidate with a specific set of skills. Keep information in a notebook or in a document on your computer as you conduct your research. You will use this information to help write your resume.
To locate descriptions of jobs that interest you, look at job titles. Titles are often the same or described with similar words. Examples would be Retail Manager, Restaurant Manager, Project Manager, etc. Once you begin to write your resume you will use the key words and phrases from the job description to focus your resume.
Once you have your initial job research completed, next we will go over how to ensure your resume lands in the “must interview” stack, the dos and don’ts of how to write your resume, and how to use the functional, chronological, and combination structure to make your resume stand out from the crowd.
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