Are you here because you need resume help?
First thing is first - How do you truly feel about creating a professional resume?
I'm not talking about the resume you created 10 years ago when you graduated from high school or college. I'm talking about the resume that shows where you are in life today.
Let's say you're a mom who hasn't held a long position over the past few years. First thing is first... Being a parent IS a full time job. Just because you're not fresh out of school with all of the internship experience in the world doesn't mean you're not capable of creating an amazing resume.
The key to building an outstanding and eye-catching resume is knowing how to showcase your skills. I'm going to show you exactly how to do that in this post.
Whether you need resume help to land your dream job or you need to build a resume to ease back into the workforce, I got you!
Take a look at these 7 helpful tips for building a resume:
1. Make Your Resume Visually Appealing
Before an employer actually reads your resume, they visually see what you're offering them. If your resume is visually appealing, you have a higher chance of an employer taking the time to read through your resume in detail. On the other side of the spectrum, if an employer opens a resume and immediately sees a visual mess, they might not even take the time to read through your resume. After all, if you're willing to submit a resume that isn't your best work.
2. Customize Your Resume
The very first line of your resume should be an eye-catching statement of your career intent. The resume objective provides a 2-3 sentence snapshot of your professional experience, skills, and achievements, and explains why they make you the right candidate for the job. Make your objective capture the employers attention.
For example, don't just say "Experienced marketer looking for part-time position."
Instead, say "A highly creative and motivated self-starter with exceptional project management skills and strong ability to work independently desires the job of part-time Marketing Coordinator at xyz company. Bringing three years marketing experience, as well as experience working with the various Microsoft Office application tools, to provide quality support to the planning and execution of company marketing programs.
By changing your objective (one of the first thing an employer will actually read on your resume, you're showing them that you want their job at their company. Otherwise, you're telling them that you just want a part-time marketing position and you don't really care where it is.
3. Don't Write Too Much
Sometimes less is more when it comes to a resume. Yes, you want to include all of the required elements for a successful resume, however you do not want an employer to look at your resume and not even consider reading it because each statement is a paragraph long. Make each sentence and statement on your resume powerful and meaningful. Make your resume have heart but don't make it your life story.
4. List Achievements
It's time to toot your own horn. Perhaps you have a gap in employment history from being a stay at home mom and now you're on the hunt for the best stay at home mom job. Just because you haven't worked for a brief amount of time (in the grand scheme of things) doesn't mean you shouldn't shoot your shot.
One of the best things to add to your resume other than employment, education, and skills is your achievement history. Take some of the examples below and make them yours. Be proud of accomplishing anything and everything you've done to get where you are now.
Re-organized something to make it work better.
Identified a problem and solved it.
Come up with a new idea that improved things.
Developed or implemented new procedures or systems.
Worked on special projects.
Received awards.
Been complimented by your supervisor or co-workers.
5. Use Active Verbs
HOW did you do something? Employers absolutely love reading active verbs on a resume because they feel you doing things before they even know you. They get to read what you've done, how well you've done it, and they picture you implementing those same actions into their company?
Check out these examples of active verbs below. Mix them up and use them to tell your story.
Achieved
Attained
Strengthened
Initiated
Coordinated
Developed
Managed
Orchestrated
6. Be Consistent in Formatting
Neatness is everything when it comes to the first look at your resume. As mentioned earlier, why would an employer actually read your resume if just looking at it displeases them?
Choose a formatting and stick with it. Stick to 2 fonts. Don't go crazy with the different sizing of fonts. If you're going to use bullet points, stick to them. Employers will "judge a book by its cover" AKA "judge a resume by its overall look" so keep it neat and consistent when it comes to formatting.
7. Proofread
How amazing does it feel to *finally* complete your resume you worked so hard to perfect for a job you're truly excited for? To put it simply, it feels G-O-O-D!
So now what?
It's time to proofread your new business baby. This resume is your ticket to your dream job so it *has* to culminate you and your amazing skills on a piece of paper. Don't rely on Microsoft Word to catch any errors. Yes, spell checkers are a great starting point but they may not catch tiny errors that an employer will see.
You don't have to be the perfect match for a position. Most of the time employers have a massive list of qualities they're looking for and just because you don't tick off every box doesn't mean you shouldn't apply.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take".
This is completely true in all aspects of life but especially true in the current job market. Employers are looking for hard-working people (Hello, hard-working Mom looking for her dream job!) and you will never know until you try.
Now that you can create a professional resume, shoot your shot!
Create an amazing resume and hit submit on that job application. Don't forget to follow up and show the employer you not only want the job but you were made for it.