How to Write a Better Resume (or CV) and Get Hired Faster
The way to write a better resume or CV is to stop thinking how you can parade all that wonderful experience that you gained over the years and start thinking “What do they NEED to know”.
The only thing that any hiring manager wants to decide is: should I interview this candidate?
So to write a better resume is to make it easy for them to conclude that they want to interview you. This is what better resume writing is all about.
First aim to get your information in the right order, then be sure to keep it brief and relevant. If you provide too much information, it can disguise what they really need to see.
The top of the first page is the most important area of your resume.
- Can they see immediately who you are, what you have to offer and where they can contact you?
- Clearly identify your level of expertise and competence by a section which highlights them.
- Showcase your specific skills on your resume.
- Identify what level of job role you are seeking.
- Start with the most recent job – employers take most notice of current skills and experience.
Within each employment section you should include the company name, the dates, your job title and two or three lines which describes the purpose of your job.
Follow this by detailing simple bullet points of information that show how you have met that purpose, including achievements and outputs quantified wherever possible. Try not to make the list too long however – you can have only done so much!
Go backwards through your career history but don’t bother too much with what happened more than 10 years ago; with the pace of change much of it may not be too relevant anymore.
Conclude with a section that shows professional memberships or specialist qualifications, you may also add external activities but only where you derive useful additional skills from.
Your Resume should be carefully and clearly laid out with enough ‘white space’ for it not to appear cramped. Use a bold typeface for individual section headings and employer details/dates of employment
Keep it brief but relevant – your Resume or CV is merely to get the reader’s attention and interest. Adding too much information about exams and training courses can make for tedious reading.
Be positive – its OK to write confidently and to highlight your strong points. For example, when listing your achievements, show what you actually did and use numbers to make it more convincing wherever possible.
Be honest – you might omit some details which you would prefer the employer not to know about, but do not lie on your Resume and you must never knowingly give inaccurate or misleading information, because it will backfire on you at some point.
This is how to write a better resume or CV and get hired faster, but if you need help, call on my professional CV writing services.
