All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads to poverty (Proverbs 14:23)
A good resume is more than a list of jobs and duties performed. Generally speaking, a good resume shows employers that you can go beyond what's required of you to make a difference in the organization. It is about you and how you represent yourself to them, their employees and clients. Emphasize your strengths. Tailor and highlight areas of your resume so they are noticeable to the position you are seeking. Your resume should be integrity focused and should not misrepresent you. One to three pages should be sufficient depending on your work history. Here are some tips to consider.
Contact Information
Unless your situation dictates it, you should never volunteer personal information such as pictures, age, ethnicity, religion, marital status and physical attributes on your resume. Put your name, address, current home phone, cell number if appropriate and your personal email address at the top of your resume, and leave it at that.
Objective
Your objective statement should show employers that you know what you want and you know how to get it. This doesn't mean your objective should read something like, "I want to work for a company that cares about their employees as a Project Manager because my employer doesn’t treat their employees well”. (Even though that might be how you're feeling.) Rather, your objective should be targeted, professional, and free of personal pronouns (e.g., "I," "me") and other current employer details. You might want to consider using a phrase that is condensed and concise of what you want to convey with your career goals in mind.
Summary of Skills
Use the summary statement to emphasize the most important qualities, achievements and abilities you have to offer an employer. Include professional characteristics that could help you later during the interview; for example, "team-oriented," "skilled at problem-solving," “integrity focused”, "committed to client satisfaction."
Accomplishments
List your top three to five accomplishments from your previous positions that you feel would be an impact or noteworthy to bring out on your resume. This is your chance to show you are results driven and take pride in achieving success at your profession. You can talk about other accomplishments in the interview if they asked of other examples. Bring a list that is broken down under each company that you worked for.
Professional Experience
Go back to your first professional position after you have gotten out of college or high school, and list every position you've held in reverse chronological order. Your present position should be listed first. If you've held multiple positions within the same company, list every position with current one first-you'll want to show that you've progressed. Finally, concentrate on the description of each position-the meat and potatoes of this section-to show that you've gotten results and solved problems within the organization. It is sometimes easier to follow your employment by years instead of month and year you started each company. Have that available though if needed later.
Education
The education area of your resume should include the institution's name and location, along with your degree and the year you obtained it. Beyond that, you can include educational honors, seminars and certifications, and list achievements such as awards. Also put any affiliations, licenses, professional training, courses & computer software programs that you have experience with. High School graduate and year is not necessary on your resume.
Finishing Up
After you've finished the professional experience and education areas of your resume, you can add "References available upon request." Also, check with your references beforehand to make sure you can include them on your resume. You should never include hobbies (e.g., "I like to read") or list personal interests (e.g., "music, books, art") anywhere on your resume.
Career Accomplishments
Here are some other career accomplishments that most interest employers. It's possible that you've accomplished some of these in your current job. Think of how you might include them on your resume. How can this past accomplishment benefit a potential employer?
- Increased revenues by % or $
- Saved $ money by…..
- Increased efficiency by …..
- Cut overhead cost by % or $
- Increased sales by % or $
- Improved workplace safety by ….
- Won # key clients by….
- Increased productivity by ….
- Other noteworthy accomplishments
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