- Write your resume for the job you want. Research the company and industry you are interested in and give them the details that will make their eyes light up.
- Look at ads and job postings for the skills/accomplishments companies expect to appear in your resume (“must know Excel”) and make sure you add them to the content.
- Start every bullet with a verb, preferably not “responsible for.”
- Discuss as many of your skills as possible in terms of accomplishments. Everyone can file. But if you “Saved 300 man-hours a year by reorganizing the filing system to reduce lookup time”—then you have an accomplishment.
- Try to put numbers to your accomplishments. In addition to numbers you personally generated (“sold $3,000 worth of product in 1 day”), your numbers can include size of company (“worked for international company with $1B in revenue”), number/type of people you reported to (“reported directly to company president,” “wrote monthly reports sent to Sales and Marketing departments,” “handled correspondence for five attorneys”), number of people who reported to you, the time something took (“promoted after 1 year”), and similar items.
- Take credit! If you were a member of a committee, if your team accomplished something under your direction, if you made a suggestion, if you were employee of the month—mention it.
- As well as your college degree, include courses you’ve taken since graduation, including company-sponsored courses. These courses show a commitment to professional development.
- Add your volunteer activities (“member of board of Chamber of Commerce; volunteer at Big Brothers/Big Sisters”), especially if you are a new graduate and your work history is sparse. Success is the nonprofit area is also meaningful.
- Provide a cover letter or email. Some companies do not expect a cover letter, but those that do really want it. Also a cover letter or email is another chance to highlight your successes.
- Proofread the obvious: there is nothing more frustrating than finding out too late that you switched digits in your phone number, left a letter off your email address, or misspelled the name of the company you are writing to.
So how can you be sure you are doing the right things in your resume? At Robin’s Resumes® we provide job seekers with resumes that give them confidence and get them interviews.