Before you dazzle a prospective employer in person, you're going to have to impress them with your resume. You need to serve them entrée, before the main course.
This section will give you advice and inspiration to help you put together the resume that's going to give you the best chance of landing that ideal job.
Get writing!
Here are five simple resume tips to keep in mind.
- Keep to the employer's submission requirements - .doc, pdf, docx, rtf
- Brief is best - more details about your current or recent jobs, less about the past
- Clear, straightforward text - make sure everyone can understand it
- Use one font - formatting matters and easy to read makes you stand out
- Highlight specific skills - relevant to the job you're applying to
How you list and describe your previous job experience is super important. There are certain elements that really should be included for every position you have previously held. They are:
- Company name and location
- Role title you held
- Start date and end date
- Brief description of responsibilities
- Any achievements - with particular reference to any benefit they might have for your prospective employer.
Here's an example of how that might read:
"Transformed an inefficient call centre with low morale into an efficient, organised and quality focused part of the business, increasing revenue by 12 per cent, decreasing costs by 25 per cent and reducing staff turnover by 25 per cent."
Sometimes you might not have data and figures to tell your story. You may have to write it in terms that are a little more general, but no less meaningful. Here's an example of that:
"Conducted a production inventory and calculated costs with particular focus on imported textiles. Findings led to a major shift in the company's overall purchasing strategy."
Context counts
Everything you put on your resume should be given a context. Include details, and write them in such a way that will be of particular interest and potential benefit to the person who want to give you a job.
Don't just write:
"I possess superior liaison skills."
Write something like:
"My superior liaison skills are demonstrated by … and ultimately proved to be invaluable to … because …
You see? Give it a context.
The right amount of (the right) words
Whilst it's important on the one hand to embellish wherever possible, you also need to be careful that your language doesn't get over-flowery.
Make sure that you write clearly and concisely, and above all (this might sound obvious but many people ignore it), make sure that the grammar is correct and the spelling is accurate.
For best results, provide results!
There are two main things that most employers are interested in. Results, and results. Before you get that ideal job, you have to show that you have achieved results for others before. You have to show HOW you achieved them, and WHAT they were exactly.
Once again, it's all in the telling. Don't just write:
"Increased sales by 20%."
Write something like:
"Introduced and implemented training programs as well as commission based incentive schemes for sales staff, which directly improved sales by 20% in one year."
Different jobs, different versions
The jobs that you go for might all be in the same field, and the employers might all be similar types of people. But there are always going to be some little differences each time.
So it makes sense that your resume should be a little bit different each time.
The beauty of your SEEK account, is that it allows you to store up to 10 versions of your resume at once, each one a slightly tweaked variation of the other. So just pick the one that is most appropriate for a particular employer, and that's the one they see. Storing your resumes in your account also allows you to apply for jobs on the go via our mobile site, tablet site or iPhone app.
Before you hit 'save'...
Every employer out there values accuracy and attention to detail. So before you save your resume (or even worse, send it) check it over again. And again. Then get someone else to check it for you. Make sure that there are no spelling or grammar mistakes, it's written in a consistent tone and tense, and above all, the information is correct.
A great resume will go a long way towards getting your ideal job. A poor one is a sure way to miss out on it. There's no doubt that you will do everything possible to be the best candidate you can be. Make sure that your resume is the best it can be too.
