How to Write a Resume

The dreaded resume. I don't know of anyone who just can't wait to write their resume. We are going to try to take some of the pain out of the process for you. We have pages on resume objectives, resume forms, free resume formats, outline of a resume, functional resume information, and more.

I have been in the roles of both Hiring Manager and Recruiter. I have read 1,000's and 1,000's of resumes, from Administrative Assistant to VP of Engineering. When writing a resume, put yourself in the shoes of the Recruiter/Hiring Manager.

The largest, hottest companies receive hundreds, even thousands of resumes every day for their posted positions. These resumes were submitted by people who want the job you are applying for and are just as qualified as you. Remeber, your skill set and experience may be what you consider to be "an exact match" based on the job description. However, what you do not know, it your competition! Maybe 60 folks applied who are all "exact matches". (In other words, they meet the job requirements.) However, maybe they have a Ph.D. from a top university such as Harvard. Maybe they have worked for the companies direct competitor and have significant accomplishment and a "superstar" reputation.

You may have heard that Managers spend about 5 -10 seconds reading each resume. It is true! The easier you make your resume to read, the more likely it will be chosen for the next step. The top one-third of your resume should include a powerful statement that sums who you are and summarizes your professional experience.

Hiring Managers want to know:

• What position are you interested in? What do you want to do?
• The companies you have worked for. Are they in a similiar industry, direct competitor, etc.?
• The department you work for, and your job title.
• If you are an engineer, the specific projects you have worked on.
• If you are technical, your technical skills. If you are creative, a portfolio (online link).
• How much experience you have in a similar position.
• You education.
• What special skills and/or certifications you have?
• The difficult problems you have solved and what you have accomplished.
• Career advancements.

---

Resume Goals

Step 1: Gather your information

Company, location, title, dates worked, accomplishments, additional responsibilities for each company you have worked at.

Step 2: Chose a resume template

Word™ has several resume templates. If you do a Google™ search for "resume templates" many websites with templates and template information will come up.

Step 3: Create a formatted Word™ version

As a Recruiter I personally always prefer to read the word processing version of a resume over a text version. It is much, much easier to read the formatted Word™ version because it has bold, underline, etc. Having said that, most online application databases require you submit a text version of your resume. I recommend you have both.

Step 4: Save as text

Once you have created the first version of your resume, "Save As" text only. (Instead of a .doc). Now, close the Word version and "File, Open" the .txt version of your resume. You will see that the formatting (bold, bullets, etc.), and the line spacing is probably all garbled.

Step 5: Edit text version

Fix the line spacing and use things such as ------- or _____________ or ***** to formate the text version. Extra "returns" are also helpful in formatting the text resume. You want to make it as easy to read as possible.