Resuming writing is a tricky business. On the one hand, providing the opportunity to accurately determine the best first impression is invaluable. On the other hand, a single page to make an impression is an exercise in anxiety-driven frustration. [Please do not make your resume multiple pages. Ten years of experience is sufficient and a desired position with have a hundred resumes; you’ll move to the bottom of the pile.] Be disciplined and follow these simple tips to get all the jobs you apply for, guaranteed. (Editor’s Note: This post does not endorse this warranty and you think there are too many factors to determine something like this with even remote certainty.)
I will tell you some secrets:
1. The perfect resume is unattainable.
2. An attractive resume does not guarantee an interview.
3. Resuming writing is, like most efforts, more Sisyphus than we’d like to admit.
Don’t give up, there are still ways to make it easier and, for secrets one and two, less overwhelming. As for your own personal rock, you will have to choose how many times you want to climb the hill …
Relevant work experience coupled with education / training completes a resume very well. Some encourage embellishment to create the look of the perfect candidate, but I think it is unnecessary and dishonest. If you don’t speak Cantonese, don’t say you studied the language for four years. Also, a good hiring manager will see through a facade during the interview and the position will be for someone qualified.
Without a great deal of relevant work experience, a relevant skill set can be emphasized. I have a Professional Skills section that I use on my resume. You can point out the attributes you have that make you attractive to employers. If you don’t know your professional skills, the self-exam is important. Similar questions will be asked in most interviews.
Another focused section for completing a scattered or meandering resume is a career goal. Pointing out what you’re looking for and why at the top of the page can get you straight to the point in the way that an eye-catching resume can’t. Also, the section may be the only complete sentence on your resume. Communication will always be an envied skill and showing the ability to write well is an opportunity that you would be remiss to pass up.
Having the perfect resume with background and training can be a roadblock (i.e. secret # 2). The perfect candidate may seem transitory and will likely move to a different position sooner or too expensive for the planned budget of the position. If a hiring manager sees you as overqualified, they may overlook you for the interview. This may seem silly, but it happens.
The enthusiasm and willingness to adopt the policies and procedures of your new company are as valuable, if not more, than a track record of demonstrating skills in various places. The youth trust this truism, but a recent change in the fields may offer the same opportunity. Exposing yourself for the first time or for the first time in a long time takes courage. You showed courage, now get recognition for it.
If you are looking for a new job or planning to look for one in the near future, you have not written your resume.
Resumes need to be tailored to a job (at least a little bit). The resume you submit for one company must be modified for the next company, and so on. Downloading the CV or resume templates from Microsoft Word should only serve as a starting point. If it was easy to create, it will show and effort is important, especially for the next potential race. If you don’t have time to create an awesome resume, you really don’t want a new job. Keep the sections that always impress as your resume evolves and it will be easier to fire up the wow when you need it.
Most of the time, the job description is written by the hiring manager, except for talent pipeline cases (a truly honorable endeavor and the future of hiring). Knowing this, it’s smart to borrow the language from the job description and integrate it directly into your resume.
For example, look for a nice teacher, well versed in economics and with a passion for students.
…
School Mission: We are an equal opportunity school with a base for teachers. We are expanding and looking for a team to grow with us.
Under Career Skills, you can write: Passionate about education
As a career goal, you can: Find a school with a strong foundation and the potential to grow with a team of like-minded teachers.
Simple, direct and subtle psychological tricks that tell the interviewer during the review, you are the type of candidate to meet. If you are thinking that I am above the embellishments but not above the inspiring projection, you are right. The psychological shifts attention to where it belongs: how amazing you are. The ornament focuses on the things you wish you were or what you think they want. I, like your mother, believe that you are talented and deserve every opportunity to show how capable you are. Now, write to your heart’s content and practice answering the interview questions in the mirror. You will be great!