How to Write a Good Resume

Updating a resume always seems to be the one thing that is holding someone back from exploring new job opportunities. If you've been in one place for a long time even the thought of getting started with this task is enough to make you stay where you are. Passive job seekers put this off for weeks and weeks dreading the thought of even remembering all of the duties and responsibilities associated with their current position. It's a dreaded task but it's necessary if you want to find a new job. And I hate to break it to you but not only should you update your resume when looking for a new position but you should tailor it to each position that you are applying for. This takes more effort but you'll be in a better position to get more interviews.

Many people do not realize that an employer is not necessarily going to read every single word of your resume. A resume is usually scanned for less than a minute. If something doesn't jump out during that time it will be put aside. When you update your resume you want to make sure that you are highlighting the skills that are relevant to the job you are seeking. The only way to do this effectively is to tailor your resume for each position you are applying for.

Let's go over the basic elements every resume should have. In each section, I will highlight things that should be removed and areas where you have opportunities to customize for a specific employer.

Objective

Most resumes start out with the objective. There are arguments on both sides for whether or not you need this. Some say it is useless but that depends on how you look at it. I am among those that like the objective both as a job seeker and as a hiring manager. As a hiring manager, I have encountered many resumes with an objective that references a desire to work full-time in response to a part-time position listing. Or I'll find someone who is interested in becoming a graphic designer when my ad specifically states that graphic design is only a small part of the job. In these cases, I used the objective to weed out applicants that clearly were looking for something else. As a job seeker, a well-written objective will make you sound even more competent and qualified for the job. A poorly-written objective could disqualify you. So if you are going to include one, make sure it is relevant and accurately describes what you want from a position. Find a way to write an objective that incorporates the key aspect of the job you are applying for and it will be noticed by your prospective employer. For example, "A challenging opportunity where I can use my Web design skills to contribute to the success of a leading advertising department."

Relevant Experience

I purposefully call this section relevant experience because it is not useful to an employer to list every job you have ever had. Positions you held many years ago are not often relevant to the position you want now. Think about what is important to the job you are applying for and include positions that are in that same field or that have transferrable skills. Transferrable skills are skills that you use now that could be repackaged and put to use at another job. You may be managing a graphic design team now but you could take the management skills you have developed and apply them to managing people or projects in another setting.

It is still most helpful to list your experience in chronological order from most recent to least recent. When you describe each job, make sure you explain how you stood out in each of these positions and indicate if you got promoted. For example:

ABC Company, 2006 - present

Product Associate - Responsible for documenting product changes and distributing updated information to new customers. Used knowledge gained of customer experiences to create a Frequently Asked Questions file for our Web site which made the upgrade process less frustrating for customers and allowed me to focus my time on creating documentation for other products. Promoted to Group Manager within the first year.

This person could also apply this experience to a job outside of a product development position because he/she experienced great success with customer service which is a transferrable skill.

Professional Development

This section is important especially to those who have remained in the same position for several years. You want to let prospective employers know that during your time there you continued to grow and develop additional skills. The more training you have coming in the door the less they will need to provide. You don't have to explain the content of each course you took, just list the titles. Include training classes, workshops, even retreats if they had a business oriented theme. Also include any classes you took on your own that are relevant to new work you are seeking such as a writing class or a business class. If you have earned certificates you can include them in this section as well.

Honors and Awards

For some, this section may not be essential. It really depends on the nature of the work you are seeking. Some companies do not formally present the type of recognition that you could use in this section. If your company does, be sure to include it. Were you ever employee of the month? If you are just finishing school were you on the Dean's list? Have you received any sales rewards that you can include? Be creative, but remember what you include in this section should be relevant and it should be something that can be measured accurately. Do not include awards for contests that are by chance and not skill. Such as winning a gift card for guessing the number of new clients your company gained this month.

Skills

This section should be formatted in a bulleted list so an employer can tell at-a-glance what you are qualified to do. Don't hold back. In this section you want to list all of the skills that you have no matter how long ago you acquired them. If you still remember how to do it, it counts. Make sure you re-read the job description and include the required skills that you possess at the top of your list. If the job asks for knowledge of MS excel make sure you include it. If they want someone who can manage projects include your skill as a project manager. Remember your resume is likely being scanned for less than a minute and the skills section is where you really need to make yourself stand out. This is what most hires are based on. If you don't have the skills you won't get the job. If you do have the skills don't allow them to be overlooked. Make two bulleted columns if you have a lot of skills (side by side) so that there will only be five or six bullets in each list.

- MS Excel

- Project Management

- Technical writing

- Crystal Reports

- HTML

Education

Include your education in a format similar to this:

ABC University, 2003

Major: Computer Information Systems Minor: Business

GPA is not really necessary. It's almost irrelevant. If you graduated that proves you earned the degree. Do not include your high school education unless you have just graduated from college and plan to use relevant clubs and work experience you held during that time as part of your experience or unless your high school diploma is the highest degree obtained.

Things to Avoid

- Keep in mind that gaps in employment on your resume as well as several jobs that were held for only a few months each will look suspicious. If there is no way to avoid including this information then be prepared to explain it when asked. If there is a simple explanation, include it on your resume or in your cover letter so you won't be disqualified for something innocent, such as contract work that is often only short-term, or a gap in employment due to moving across country with your spouse.

- Do not make typos. There is no excuse. Use spell check and re-read your documents several times, including once backwards, to be sure that you don't have spelling mistakes. Spelling errors can disqualify you from consideration. It shows that you lack attention to detail.

- Do not keep irrelevant information on your resume. If you had a part-time job at a convenience store 15 years ago it is likely not relevant to a job you are applying for now as a Web designer. Remember, you don't want to include every job you have ever had, only relevant employment information.

- High School was a long time ago for many of us. If you are not a recent grad it is not necessary to list information about your high school GPA and achievements. It doesn't need to be on your resume and I always chuckle a bit when I see it. If you have been working for a number of years then you probably have experiences that you can include that are more relevant than something you did in high school.

My last and final tip for writing a good resume is to watch the length. I do not believe that a resume has to fit on one page only. That is nearly impossible if you have worked for a number of years in your field. However, most employers are not going to read any more than two pages. If you are sticking to just relevant information this shouldn't be a problem. If you find that your resume is going over two pages then start eliminating some of the older information. You can always mention something you left off during an interview if it's appropriate for answering a question. No one really expects every single thing you've ever done to be on your resume if you are a seasoned member of the workforce.

Happy job hunting. When you get called for an interview, read my article on Appropriate Interview Etiquette for tips on how to prepare yourself.