How to write a powerful professional resume?
Composing a professional resume may be challenging for all job-seeker, no matter the industry or career level. It is difficult to objectively evaluate your achievement, skills and professional background in general. Moreover, resume writing standards evolve all the time, and what was acceptable five years ago might look outdated today. The most important requirements for modern resumes are as follows:
- One or two pages. Recruiters can receive lots of applications, so they are not ready to read multi-page resumes. Students and career switchers can write one page, and for experienced professionals and managers, two pages are the ideal length.
- Use a career summary. A concise summary can pitch your biggest accomplishments and areas of expertise to the hiring manager immediately. It is advisable to keep it to 3-4 sentences.
- Add a cover letter. Cover letters show your motivation and culture fit, moreover, some recruiters do not consider resumes without letters. Write tailored cover letters for each position.
- Include all the mandatory sections. The best resume writers agree that Summary of Qualifications, Professional Experience, Education, and Skills are the must-haves. Without them, your resume will look incomplete.
- Check the written resume for mistakes. Poor grammar, typos and other mistakes turn off hiring managers. Check your resume thoroughly to make sure it's written in flawless English.
- Focus on the last five years of work. Make job descriptions for the last 2-3 positions more detailed and add more accomplishments. If you have over a decade of experience, you may skip jobs you had over 15 years ago.
- Mention the accomplishments and results of work. Hiring managers prefer to see figures, percentages and facts. Whenever possible, speak through examples instead of generic job responsibilities.