Check out our tips on how to write a resume before you start from scratch.
1. Think about your most recent experience
Your prospective employer is interested in your most current skills and work experience. You don’t have to put on your resume an internship you did 11 years ago. Those skills won’t help you get this job if you haven’t used them since then. This also goes for how you describe your work experience on your resume. If you have the same responsibilities in many positions, consider listing it only under your most recent position.
Put the most important emphasis on your most recent work experience.
In general, you shouldn’t list jobs that happened more than 11 years ago. This will help you keep the focus on what you can do now and reduce the effect of ageism. Education is an exception. Your degrees, which you worked hard to get, are almost always useful, no matter how long ago you got them.
2. Focus on your most relevant experience
If you’ve had a lot of different jobs in your career, try to downplay the ones that don’t fit with this job description. You don’t have to list every place you’ve worked or every job you’ve had on your resume.
If you do want to list all of your jobs to show a career path or avoid gaps in your resume, don’t give too much information about the jobs that aren’t as important. Include three or fewer bullet points for the remaining material and expand on the impact and results of your most recent and pertinent jobs.
3. Take out the pictures
If you’re applying online, take out all graphics and logos from your resume. An applicant tracking system (ATS) sees these images as confusing lines of code. There is no need for a headshot or selfie on your resume. Keep that for your online profiles, but keep it professional.
4. Don’t use a Bitmoji
From a technical point of view, Bitmoji look like a mess to an ATS, just like other graphics. Bitmoji have no place on a resume, unlike logos or artistic headers, which can be used on printed resumes for graphic designers.
5. Combine several bullet points that are related into one bullet point
If you have more than one line about the same thing in your work history, you can often combine them into one. You can easily put the three bullets together to make a statement that will impress an employer. You should turn your paragraphs into bullet points as well.
6. Take out the section called “References”
References are a given, so you shouldn’t list them on your resume. Don’t write a list of them, and don’t say “references available upon request.” Instead, create a separate document that you can give as a reference when asked. This is not something a hiring manager needs early on in the process. The goal of your resume is to get you a phone call so you can set up an interview.
7. Take out the part about “hobbies and interests.”
If you feel strongly about your hobbies or interests, put them in your summary section instead of giving them their own section. Concentrate on the primary one or two that make you stand out as an applicant and coworker.
8. Use a voice that is active
Use the active voice when writing your resume. This shows that you are a self-starter and that you can make a connection between what you did and how it affected your previous jobs. It also makes your experience more real and useful. When you use more action words and numbers to describe your accomplishments, you will find that your resume is shorter and more powerful.
9. Change the way your resume looks
If you have wide margins and a big font on your resume, it will be hard to fit all the information you need on two pages. This will help your resume look balanced, relevant, and easy to read.
Many people choose to use online templates. The templates you can find on cv maker, cv builder and other sites are usually very visually appealing and have a lot of white space. However, multiple columns can confuse ATS scans, so be careful.
