For the past few weeks I have been working with a professional resume writer in order to update my resume. I have learned a few things that I think that are worth sharing. So here are some secrets to resume writing that I had to pay for, but you are gaining for free because you read this blog:
1. Research and find the name of the hiring manager. This is crucial to writing a winning cover letter to accompany your resume. Many times you may know someone that works for the organization that you are applying with and they can assist you with obtaining the name of the hiring manager. Also try LinkedIn because you may know someone who knows someone.
2. Watch your keywords. While I do not encourage you to make false claims on your resume, it does not hurt to use the same language that is used in the job description to explain your own skills and experiences.
3. Make it tight. Don’t use phrases like “team player” or “hard worker” Keep it brief and use bulleted lists to explain your experiences.
4.List your skills and abilities first then list a full description of your work related experience later in the resume.
5. Use a “younger” font to not appear dated. The Times Roman and Courier fonts are things of the past….go wiith something like Arial.
6. Use the STAR technique to describe your accomplishments.
Situation or Task – Describe the specific situation or task at hand.
Action – Describe the action that YOU took.
Result – What were the positive results? What did you accomplish?