Building Resume

A resume is a summary of your work history, skills, and education. In this respect, a resume is
different than a curriculum vitae — more commonly called a CV. A CV is a complete look at your
career, covering every aspect of your education, work, and experience without the restriction of
the length. But a resume is a summary of those experiences and skills, and typically covers only
10 years’ worth of employment. Unlike a CV, a resume should be tweaked and edited for each
specific job for which you apply, and it should be just one or two pages long.
A resume is the most requested document in any job search — followed by the cover letter, of
course. Recruiters scrutinize job candidates' resumes more closely than their cover letters. So
let's move on to how to structure it right.

Common Types of Resumes

Most professional resume writers will tell you that there are three main types of resumes:
chronological, functional, and combination.
1. Chronological Resume: A chronological resume is a format that you’re probably the most
familiar with — this is the type of resume that focuses on your recent work history above
all. List your positions in reverse chronological order, with the most recent positions at
the top and the oldest ones at the bottom. Ultimately, the goal is to show how your
positions leading up to this point have perfectly prepared you for the role you’re applying
to.

2. Functional Resume: A functional resume, on the other hand, emphasizes the relevance
of your experience. To create a functional resume, you’ll prominently feature your
professional summary, your skills, and a work experience section organized by how
closely the positions relate to the one you’re applying to. This format is best for those
who want to minimize resume gaps, or are transitioning into a new industry.

3. Combination Resume: As you might be able to guess, a combination resume borrows

from both of the aforementioned formats. You’ll combine the professional summary and
skills section of a functional resume with the work experience section of a chronological
resume. This format is a powerful way to stand out to recruiters by emphasizing both
your experience and skills and is useful for many different types of job seekers.
How to Structure Your Resume
Resumes should have the following sections:
Header & Contact Info:
 At the top of your resume, always include a header containing your name. Your contact
info (typically your phone number, personal email address, and sometimes links to social
profiles or personal websites) should be close by as well. After all, you don’t want there
to be any confusion over who the resume belongs to, or make it difficult for recruiters or
hiring managers to reach out to you. However, you may want to avoid putting your
 contact info in the header or footer of the document itself — the headers and footers can
sometimes be overlooked by the software that scans your resume.
Professional Summary:
 The professional summary is a brief, one- to three-sentence section featured
prominently on your resume that succinctly describes who you are, what you do, and
why you’re perfect for the job. In contrast with the largely out-of-date objective statement
— a line that describes the type of career opportunity you’re looking for — professional
summaries aren’t about what you want. Instead, they’re focused on the value you could
bring to a potential employer. It’s worth noting that a professional summary isn’t an
absolute must-have — if your resume is missing one, it probably won’t be a deal-breaker
— but it can be a nice way to give time-pressed recruiters and hiring managers a quick,
high-level overview of why you’re the right person for the job.
Skills:
 Once relegated to the bottom of resumes as an afterthought, the skills section has
become more and more important as recruiters and hiring managers increasingly look
for candidates with specialized backgrounds. Rather than making the folks reading your
resume hunt through your bullet points to find your skills, it’s best to list them. If they see
right away that you have the ability to get the job done, they’re much more likely to take
your resume seriously.
Work Experience:
 This critical section of a resume is where you detail your work history in a consistent and
compelling format. The Work Experience section should include company names,
locations, employment dates, roles and titles you held, and most importantly, bullet
points containing action verbs and data points that detail the relevant accomplishments
of each position. This portion is essential for recruiters and hiring managers, who look to
absorb information about your career experiences and connect your skills to what they’re
looking for in a potential hire. Recruiters are often flooded with resume submissions and
have to carefully source and identify quality candidates in a crowded pack — so make
sure your work experience stands out.
Education:
 Since many jobs require a certain level of education, it’s important to mention your
academic credentials on your resume. However, this section shouldn’t take up too much
space. In most cases, simply listing what school you attended and what degree you
attained will be sufficient. Many jobs require degrees or certifications, so make sure to
list yours. GPA is optional but may be worth including if you’ve graduated recently with
high marks.
Additional Experience:
 An optional, but potentially very valuable, addition to your resume is Additional
Experience. This is a catch-all section at the tail end of your resume that allows you to
highlight volunteer experience, awards, and hobbies. Again, it shouldn’t be too long —
 you don’t want it to detract from your skills or work experience — but it can be a good
way to provide a better-rounded picture of who you are.

Design & Formatting Tips

The subject matter of your resume is ultimately what recruiters care about most. However, that
doesn’t mean you should slack off when it comes to design and formatting. A cluttered, visually
confusing resume makes it more difficult to read, and therefore more likely that recruiters and
hiring managers will cast it aside. On the other hand, a sleek, polished resume will have the
opposite effect. Use these rules of thumb to ensure that your resume looks its best.
 Use an easy-to-read font of no less than 11 pt.
 Add margins of at least .7 inches.
 Make sure there’s sufficient white space between sections.
 Don’t go overboard with intricate design or decoration — touches of color are fine, but
avoid any clashing or visually busy details.
 If you’re going to print out copies of your resume, invest in good paper, and use a high-
quality printer.
 Don’t save your resume as a PDF unless the application specifically says it accepts PDF
files. Some applicant tracking systems scan PDFs as if they were one big image, which
fails to capture your information.
 Keep It Concise: Limit your resume to 1-2 pages at the most

.Edit Your Resume

 You've written your resume, and read it twice, but that's not enough. A good editing job
will take a little longer — and some specific tactics are meant to catch resume errors.
 First, don't attempt to edit your resume until it's done. Finish your resume before you edit
it. It will save you time, and removing errors now could help you write a better first draft
because you're focusing on the writing itself.
 Never try to edit your resume right after you've written it. You should give yourself a 24-
hour break before editing your resume. With time away, you'll see your resume with
fresh eyes and for what it is—not what you meant it to be.
 When you give your resume a read, try reading your resume backward. It sounds odd —
and it's not always easy — but reading backward forces you to focus on each word, and
helps you better catch both spelling and grammatical errors in the text.
 Ask a friend or family member to read your resume, too. They may spot errors that you
missed, or have suggestions for how to show yourself in an even better light.
 Then, fact-check your resume. Check the spelling of proper nouns — think: company
names, addresses, etc. — and make sure you have the current contact information for
any references you've chosen to add. These things might have changed since you last
applied for a job.
Words to Never Include In Your Resume
The language or content of a resume can tank a job seeker’s chances of landing their dream
job. You have a limited amount of time to catch a recruiter or hiring manager’s eye – use it
wisely.
Scan your resume to make sure you’re not guilty of including these red-flagged terms:

Word/S And Information to Avoid In Writing A Resume

Unemployed Your employment dates already show if you’re unemployed –

you don’t need to highlight it.
Hardworking or Hard Employers are looking for a hardworking individual who shows
worker up to work on time and is self-motivated, and you don’t need to
call it out in your resume
“Ambicious” Misspelled words [like this one] should never appear on your
resume One misspelled word can eliminate an otherwise strong
candidate from consideration because it demonstrates a lack of
attention to detail.
Microsoft Office Include not only the relevant skills that make you a perfect fit for
the role but also the skills that make you stand out. Take note,
that command of Microsoft Office is not a skill. It’s a given.
Objective If your career path is straightforward and lacks major gaps
between jobs, then you probably don’t need an objective
statement. If your resume is self-explanatory, there’s no need to
take up valuable space with anything redundant. Also, if you’re
submitting a cover letter with your resume, that should be more
than sufficient in addressing your objective for your application.
Reference Available Having “references upon request” at the bottom of your resume
Upon Request is a sign that a candidate is overeager. If a recruiter wants to
call to know more about you, they will reach out directly. There
is no need to point out the obvious. As one HR expert said,
“everyone assumes we want references, but honestly, we can
ask.”
I, She, He, Him, Her Talking in 1st or 3rd person reads weird – did someone write
your resume for you? Just state the facts. For example write,
“Led a team of 4” not “I led a team of four people” or “Jamie led
a team.”
On-Time A candidate being on time is an expectation.
Expert Stay away from the word expert, unless you truly are.
Otherwise, “be prepared to be peppered with questions
regarding your expertise.”
Can’t or Won’t Negative words should not be included in a resume. Resumes
should demonstrate what you can do and not what you cannot
do.
Unnecessary personal Your date of birth, family status, personal interests, etc. should
information be avoided on a resume. These items do not pertain to an
individual’s qualifications for a position.
 Hobbies Content that does not relate to the job and does not address
what qualifications a candidate has for a job can eliminate a
candidate who may have accomplished many of the tasks that
the job is looking for, but was not articulated in the resume.
Generalizations Substantiate your accomplishments with numbers. Recruiters
prefer to see actual numbers, while others prefer percentages
(“cut manufacturing costs by 15 percent”). Either way, provide
enough context to show the impact. If your objective was to cut
manufacturing costs by 10 percent, make it clear that you
exceeded the goal.
Accomplished Instead of saying you are accomplished, show it. The more you
have, and the more applicable they are to the job you want, the
greater your perceived worth. This can have a big impact not
just on whether you receive an interview, but on how much
you’re ultimately offered. Front-load the accomplishment, then
describe how it was achieved. For example, ‘Improved
customer satisfaction 30% within 9 months through re-
engineering support processes and introducing new training
materials to staff.
Stay-at-home Mom Like personal information, do not feel obligated to explain gaps
in your resume. “Personal information about age, relationships,
or children can expose you to discrimination. Employers are not
allowed to ask for that kind of information, and you should not
offer
Responsible for… Strengthen the story through muscular verbiage and results.
Lead with strength and energy.
Results-oriented These are the weakest and most abused words.

Writing a Cover Letter

A cover letter, also known as a covering letter or application letter, is a one-page document that
introduces a job seeker’s work history, professional skills, and personal interest in applying for a
job.
The purpose of your cover letter is to expand upon the achievements in your resume, showcase
your personality, and explain why you’d be a good fit for the company. Overall, your cover letter
(paired with your resume) helps managers and recruiters screen your job application.
These general guidelines will help you with the overall structure of your covering letter.
  Check whether you’re going to apply by post or email and whether the company wants a
letter, created as a separate document, a statement of suitability, or a covering email.
Sending the wrong format could be enough to get your application binned.
 If you’ve been asked for a letter, even if you’re sending it by email, then include:
Your address, including your email address, is in the top right-hand corner. The name
and address of the person you’re sending it to. If you’re sending it by email, then it’s not
essential to have the full postal address, but you should at least have the full name and
job title, with “By email” underneath.
 It’s not essential to include your phone number, especially if it’s already on your CV.
 If you know the name of the person you’re writing to, then write use their title when you
address them: ‘Dear Mr/Ms/Miss X’. Do not write ‘Dear John Smith’. If you really can’t
find a name, write ‘Dear Sir’. If their name is ‘Sir John Smith’, write ‘Dear Sir John’.
 If there is a job reference number or a given job title, make sure that you include it
underneath the ‘Dear X’. For example, “Administrative Assistant post (Ref AdAsst)”.
 Use a standard, easy-to-read font, and don’t make it too small. As a general rule, Times
New Roman should be no smaller than 11 points, and Arial no smaller than 10 points for
readability on screen.
 Keep your letter to two pages of A4 or less.

When writing your cover letter, use the following basic structure:
The Introductory Paragraph: This needs to strike the right note to introduce you in a way that fits
the job, the company, and you. Carefully written to grab the hiring manager’s attention, and
explain why you want the job.

The Main Section: The main section of your covering letter should be structured around the job
description and person specification.  At least two paragraphs detailing your relevant education,
skills, work experience, and why you’re a good fit for the position.

The Closing Paragraph: This needs to wrap up your letter or statement neatly, and make clear
what action the reader will be taking as a result of reading it, but without sounding arrogant. A
concise ending that reiterates your strengths, and asks the hiring manager to contact you
(known as a call to action).