Resume writing tips

Resume Writing Tips -

Posted at: http://www.sodexocareersblog.com/2010/11/resume-writing-tips.html 

Following up on my blog post from last week providing a sneak peak behind Sodexo Careers social networking scene today I'm posting one of the resume tools Senior Recruiter, Karen Graham offered to a recent job candidate. I like how Karen pointed out to her candidate, "The resume is the tool that you need to obtain an interview. Once you have been selected to be interviewed, it's up to you to make the right impression by being able to best articulate your skills relative to the job."

So true, right? Looking good on paper (your resume) is just the first step in getting an interview. For additional tips on making a good first (and second) impressions make sure you read Darla's posts, "Quick Tips for Phone Interview Preparation," "Focusing Your Job Search" and "Are You a Lazy Job Seeker."

Simple Checklist for a Professional Resume

1. Keep your resume brief and concise. One page works best. Recruiters scan resumes in about 15-20 seconds. Professional resumes tend to be longer with two or three pages and a bit more detailed, emphasizing strategic contributions, but it still must be sharp, focused and a cohesive picture of who you are and why you are valuable. Keep the writing “tight”. Edit to remove information that isn’t essential to your message.
2. Add a skills summary rather than an objective. A skill summary begins with your strongest selling points and will clearly indicate the type and level of position you are interested in. Include relevant highlights of your career contributions.
3. Show your chronological work history. Start with your most recent position first. Always include job titles, employers and dates of employment - otherwise you risk being quickly eliminated. Limit the number of years worked on your resume-up to the last 15 years or so-depending on relevance to the job you seek. Avoid excessive “I” statements.
   Don’t write job descriptions. Tell what you did/do - not the tasks of the job itself. Describe your scope of responsibility; highlight your achievements and contributions-what you did to increase revenues, profitability, productivity, and customer satisfaction. Be sure you are communicating the “Big Picture” on your resume.
4. Use powerful action words and be specific- Avoid vague qualifiers such as substantially and significantly. Use hard numbers to lend credibility. Instead of using words like “completed” or “led” and “was responsible for”, use words like “analyzed”, “developed”, “executed”, and “initiated”. Include the number of managers, supervisors and first line employees that reported to you in positions held. Include the size of the budgets that you managed. Avoid self proclamations – unless you have supporting data.
5. Describe context and challenge. Your accomplishments will have even more impact if you present them in context or in relation to a specific challenge. Instead of writing “increased revenue 23%,”, it will have more impact to write “reversed a five-year declining-revenue trend by focusing business development efforts on niche markets; grew revenues 23% and achieved profitability for the first time since 2002.”
   Keep all personal information out of your resume, don’t use acronyms or abbreviations. Spell out names of schools, cities and abbreviations completely.
6. Never state why you left a position (that can be discussed at the interview).
7. Include Gaps of Employment - 1998-2002 Travel/Study/Family Management
8. Make your resume visually appealing and easy to read. Watch your spacing and margins. Allow for white space and borders.
9. Use bullets and indentations to create an organizational hierarchy that makes your information easy to absorb.
10. Above all else, make sure you don’t make spelling, punctuation or grammatical errors. If you are sending your resume electronically, make sure it is formatted correctly.

Do you have something to add to this check list?