We've all scoured the internet for "resume examples" or "resume
templates", but let's face it, usually the sample resumes you find are
too generic, not appropriate for your field, impossible to download, or
simply ugly. Luckily, template provider Hloom has put an end to your frustration. They've created a great collection of 277 free templates.
The Hloom page is easy to navigate and all the templates open in
Microsoft Word. However, there's still an overwhelming 277 different
templates to sift through, so AOL Jobs has made it even easier. We've
selected our 25 favorite templates from Hloom. These 25 templates
include appropriate examples for positions in finance, admin, graphic
design, academia, and more.
Some of the designs we selected are traditional and some are more
creative, but all have smart and clean designs. All successful resumes
should be visually appealing to the hiring party and clearly highlight
your qualifications in an organized way.
Classic
These clean, modern designs can work as resume templates for most jobs, from creative positions to corporate ones.
Finance and Business
Whether you're an executive, or just aiming to be one, these templates reflect a professional and strong candidate.
ATS Optimized
Hloom has a great section of ATS Optimized resumes. These layouts use
prominent headers and traditional fonts. They are designed to
potentially insert keywords that relate to the job posting near the top.
They do not use graphics, borders, tables, or any other design elements
that might be difficult for a computer applicant tracking system to
interpret. The layouts themselves are also ideal for clerical and
administrative jobs.
Entry level
Even if you're just entering the workplace, a recent college graduate,
or making a career change, you can still have a great resume. Here are
some templates for candidates who might be light on previous experience.
Creative and Academic
If you're applying for a job in a creative field, you might be seeking a
template that has a bit more flair. The first template is suited for an
actor, gallery artist, or any position that prioritizes listing
creative work over descriptions of work experience. The last template is
for academics or anyone who needs a resume that lists research and
publications.
In Larry Beason and Mark Lester's book, "A Commonsense Guide to Grammar
and Usage," the authors understand that sentence diagramming and tense
agreement may not be issues that most people are concerned with in their
writing. However, that doesn't mean that writing well has to be
difficult. "Avoiding errors is not the most important aspect of writing
effectively, but it is important enough to deserve writers' attention,"
they write. And if you've ever written a cover letter or resume that
claims you have "excelent attention to detail," but misspell excellent,
you can understand why presenting yourself as a smart, capable worker
who can communicate effectively is important to hiring managers.
That being said, there are four grammar mistakes that seem to haunt job
seekers and workers alike. Whether you're sending an email, formatting your resume or drafting a cover letter, these are the four areas that deserve a proofread before you hit send, save or print.
1. Eliminating sexist pronouns
Most job-seeker materials will cite specific examples of your work or of
people you know, so using gender-specific pronouns like he or she
is a must when writing. But in emails or speaking about broader topics
like industry or management trends, it can be easy to generalize in
sentences like, "Each person should try to do his best." The problem is
that gender-specific pronouns can create or reinforce biases in people's
minds, which clouds your writing and degrades the message you're
sending.
To correct this issue, Beason and Lester's write, "See whether you can
make the subject of your sentence plural and change the gender-exclusive
pronoun to the plural form (they, them or their). Try substituting his or her for
a gender-exclusive pronoun when the subject is singular. [Or] revise
the sentence to avoid using personal pronouns altogether."
2. Apostrophes in contractions or showing possession
Contractions such as can't instead of cannot help
writing sound more familiar and informal, which can coax your reader
into a more relaxed and understanding mood. And citing ownership of a
project ("The communications team's presentation went well") is a common
scenario in writing. Unfortunately, when writers aren't sure of the
rules apostrophes follow, they often abuse the punctuation mark and opt
for overuse versus an embarrassing omission.
The authors' advice: "If you use a contraction, it'll need an apostrophe." For possession, "Check carefully each use of its and it's in your writing. If you are indicating possession, there is no need for an apostrophe [with its versus it's]. However, if you are using a shortened form of it is, you need an apostrophe to take the place of the missing letter."
3. Capitalization
Typically, job titles are capitalized on resumes when you're listing
your experience and the companies for which you've worked. But if you're
writing about truck drivers as the profession, not the specific role
that you had, you wouldn't capitalize the term. Confusing? It can be.
Really, you want to minimalize capitalization because it demands
importance and attention, which should be saved for your titles and not
every reference to the profession or industry. The authors write,
"Although capitalization errors can easily occur, it is important to
avoid them. Frequently, capitalization errors – like spelling errors –
jump out and distract readers from what a writer is saying." For your
credentials, the authors recommend to "Capitalize the names of actual
courses, schools and subjects. Do not capitalize when you are making a
general reference."
4. Fragments
"A fragment is part of a sentence that is punctuated as though it were a
complete sentence," the authors write. However, it's an incomplete
sentence, such as "Which I had worked on all night." Out of context, it
makes no sense. This is a frequent offender in emails and other casual
correspondences, since we tend to write those as our thoughts occur to
us or in quick response.
To combat fragment sentences, read through each sentence on its own.
Does it makes sense standing alone or out of context? Does it still
convey a thought? If not, it needs to be merged with another sentence to
become complete. This strengthens your writing and the stance you take
in it.
Writing well is a skill that every profession benefits from. It can also
be what catches the hiring manager's eye and gets you a resume or what
impresses a boss and results in a raise or promotion. Best of all,
writing well furthers your causes and conveys your ideas, making a real
impact on your career and the world around you.
Now more than ever, the job market is a treacherous place. The supply of
quality jobs does not match the demand for careers for new and veteran
professionals. There are ways an individual can stand out by showcasing
the right skills,
but getting these skills sometimes costs money many job seekers can't
afford. Now a rise in free, quality education has begun to bridge the
education gap. If you're looking to boost your resume, consider some of these platforms.
Coding
Ruby, JavaScript, Python. Do you know any of these programming
languages? If you do, or know other in-demand languages, you have a leg
up on the competition. Considered by many as the must-have job skill of the future, coding is a virtual must-have on your resume. With Codecademy, you can put yourself on the track to being more in-demand in the job market -- for free.
As GonnaBe lead engineer and co-founder C.J. Windisch told Mashable
last year, "We see it everywhere from statistical analysis in baseball
to politics with Barack Obama's data-driven election team," Windisch
says. "Understanding data at that scale requires a computer to run
numbers, not a calculator. In today's big data world, that means
coding."
Codecademy user Liz Beigle-Bryant offered her experience with the
website as an older job seeker. "So I'm 55, and I don't have a college
degree. That means I need to work out ways to foil the resume algorithms
that would automatically discard my resume," she explains. "Key web
coding skills such as JavaScript, jQuery, Ruby, HTML, CSS, and Python
(PHP & MySQL too) helped shoot me to the head of the queue."
With over 24 million users, Codecademy is one of the most popular
destinations for learning programming and markup languages. For those
serious about learning a new language, consider their Code Year, which teaches the basics to JavaScript before adding HTML and CSS.
If Codecademy isn't your speed, try some of these other free courses in coding.
Languages
Learning a language can be costly. Reputable classes can run into the high hundreds of dollars per class or program. With Duolingo anyone can learn a language for free. The founders believe high-quality education should be accessible to anyone for no cost.
A 2012 census report
revealed that 55 millions Americans don't speak English in the home.
While some may think the United States recognizes English as the
official language of the land, there actually isn't one.
That means the job market, and the consumers, may not be English
speakers. If you have the skill to bridge the language gap you could be
in high demand. Bilingual speakers average 5-20 percent more per hour than single-language employees.
A Rosetta Stone study concluded that average annual incomes of bilingual
speakers average $10,000 higher than just English speakers and 17
percent of bilingual speakers average over $100,000 per year. In the
health realm, another Rosetta Stone report supported learning a language
as a way to combat mental diseases like Alzheimer's. You could be benefitting yourself on various fronts by learning another language.
If
you’ve been in the workforce for a while and are thinking of looking
for a new job, you’ll want to make sure that your resume doesn’t make
you look out of touch with today’s workplace. Age discrimination is, of
course, illegal, but it’s still a good idea to make sure your resume
gives the right impression about your skills and experience.
Scott Vedder,
author of “Signs of a Great Resume,” says he once saw a job candidate
whose resume made him look completely out of touch: It listed the names
and Social Security numbers of each of his six grandchildren. “It’s
never appropriate to talk about your age or family status on a resume,”
Vedder says. “And it’s certainly not appropriate to send a recruiter
your family members’ Social Security numbers!”
You probably haven’t made that mistake, but consider these other ways your resume may be making you look out of touch.
An epic work history
There’s
no getting around it: If you’ve been in the workforce a long time,
you’ll have a long work history. Keep in mind, though, that you don’t
need to list every job you’ve ever had — especially early ones that are
no longer relevant.
Frame your experience as a
benefit: “Recruiters frequently look for candidates with a proven
history of success,” Vedder says. “Look for hints in the job posting
which indicate a company is searching for a ‘seasoned executive,’ a
‘mature leader,’ or an ‘established professional’ or for jobs which
require ‘10+ years’ experience. Then give specific examples to explain
why your background makes you a great fit for the job.”
Your social media presence
For
most jobs it’s OK to leave social media information off your resume,
but hiring managers may still search for you online to get more
information. You want them to find a strong presence that makes you look
dynamic and engaged. “Even if your Facebook or Google+ profile is set
to private, people can still see your main profile picture,” says Erik
Bowitz of Resume Genius.
Make
a great impression by choosing an attractive, professional photo. If
you decide to be a little more public with your social media, make posts
that show you’re plugged in to your industry by sharing timely articles
and interesting news.
Your file format
Even
the type of file you send your resume as can make you look out of
touch. If you're using an outdated form of Microsoft Word on an old
computer and send your resume as a .doc file, you risk pegging yourself
as out-of-touch, Bowitz says.
Beyond keeping
your own tools up to date, there’s no universal “right way” here. Your
best bet is to find out which format is best for each employer and their
application system and and use that.
Outdated phrases
Resumes
have evolved over the years and things like “references available upon
request” can make you look less than current, says Alyssa Gelbard of Resume Strategists Inc. “Another giveaway is if they have a separate ‘Interests’ section that includes things like travel, cooking and reading.”
Cut
the fat from your resume and keep it focused on skills and experience.
In addition, highlight the value you can bring to the company.
Signs of being stuck in a tech time warp
Not having a personal email address is a mistake, says Tony Palm, president of Military Professionals LLC.
He adds that listing proficiency in Microsoft Office, “the Web,” or
other standard office technology don’t make you look current.
Brush
up on your tech terminology to ensure you’re making the right
impression. Consider a class that can help you get up to speed on what
you need to know.
The world moves pretty fast, and smart employers recognize that they need to be ready to innovate and adapt at a moment's notice. But this focus on rapid evolution has many older employees worrying that their age may be having a negative effect on their ability to land promising new jobs.
We spoke to several experts for tips about how job seekers can appear ageless on their resumes.
Focus on what matters One simple and straightforward way to downplay your age is to remove graduation dates from your resume. Of course, this omission is not likely to go unnoticed. "If you do choose this option, you must be prepared to answer the question: Gee, where's your date of graduation? Or, why did you leave it off the resume?" Roy Cohen, career coach and author of The Wall Street Professional's Survival Guide points out.
When questions like these come up, Cohen suggests bringing the focus back to the job. He even offers a template response: 'I left it off intentionally. My recent experience and skills are so strong that I didn't want to clutter the resume with unnecessary information that would distract from my potential to hit the ground running immediately.'" Responses like this not only address the age issue, but also demonstrate confidence in your own ability.
Get with the times Resumes are all about first impressions, and a savvy recruiter or hiring manager may be able to estimate your age based on your resume before even seeing your graduation date. "The key to appearing 'ageless' or 'with the times' would be in how you brand yourself in your resume," says Noelle Gross, career coach and founder of Noelle Gross Career Strategy. "There are resume design services that will make your resume stand out as being amongst the most modern in the stack of resumes. Perception is everything so having some cutting edge design can really work in your favor."
For more information on how to modernize your resume, check out this article or head over to CB-Resume for a more in-depth analysis of your resume needs.
Stay in the present One of the chief concerns employers may have with hiring older workers is their ability or willingness to change their habits to keep up with modernization. "In order to downplay your age, an applicant needs to be forward-thinking. This means they would need a firm grasp of new technologies, social media and an online portfolio," says Patrice Rice, CEO of Patrice & Associates. "Overall, his or her drive for self-improvement needs to be apparent."
Demonstrate to employers that your age doesn't affect your ability to stay current. Maintain an active social media presence and stay up to date with new technologies in your industry. "When these qualities are highlighted, an employer will look less at age and more at the candidate's drive to evolve," adds Rice.
Update your email account You're probably already aware of the importance of having an appropriate email address, but that's not necessarily all that hiring managers will notice. "When you email your resume, one of the first things the recruiter will see is your email address," says Laura Gmeinder, career coach at Laura Gmeinder Coaching & Consulting, LLC. "What does your email address reveal about your age? I recommend getting a new email address either branding yourself with a domain or setting up a gmail account or the like. Remember to keep it professional!"
Remember, employers generally aren't concerned about your age in and of itself, but rather it's potential implications. Show them that you're up to date on modern professional trends and new technologies, and you can dispel their concerns and refocus the conversation on why you are the perfect candidate for them.
Steve P. Brady, freelancer
Despite the fact that there are numerous how-to articles out there,
résumés are not easy to write. They require time, talent and patience in
order to craft them into targeted advertisements for your most precious
commodity: you.
You don't want this document that you have been poring over for days
to fall victim to the seven deadly sins of résumé writing. Be vigilant
and double check before you send your résumé to any potential employers. Deadly sin No. 1: Typos This is a no-brainer, but
it is still one of the most common mistakes on a job seeker's résumé.
Double and triple check, and then have someone else proofread it for
you. This is the easiest of the seven to fix as long as you read
carefully. Deadly sin No. 2: Faulty formatting Today's
word-processing software allows for just about anyone to become a
publishing wizard. You can add shadings, graphics, artistic fonts and
stylistic flourishes. Don't.
Above all else, you want your résumé to be readable. Keep the fancy
formatting to a minimum and place a priority on scannablility. Email it
to a friend to ensure that the formatting you do keep is not lost. Deadly sin No. 3: Irrelevant job experience Everyone
is proud of their professional life, and rightfully so. However, there
comes a time when you have to be ruthless with your past and cut out
anything that strays from the branded image you are trying to create
with your résumé.
A general rule of thumb is to stick with the most recent 15 years of
experience. For instance, if you are going for an upper level management
position, you certainly do not need to include your time in the sales
department 20 years ago when you first got out of college. Deadly sin No. 4: Weak word choice Banish words
such as 'helped," "provided" and "worked" from your résumé vocabulary.
Only use strong, active verb phrases that point toward dynamic action.
You want employers to view you as a problem solver, not as a "doer." Deadly sin No. 5: Boring bullets Many times when
a candidate sends in his résumé, the work history reads as if it was
taken from his job description. In fact, that is what a lot of
inexperienced résumé writers do. If you are one of them, don't worry, it
is a common mistake, but it needs to be fixed.
Instead of just listing what your job requires of you, focus on what
you have been able to accomplish. Sales numbers, quotas reached, budgets
balanced and clients signed are all items that will make you stand out
rather than blend in. Remember the key is to sell yourself. Deadly sin No. 6: Not including a branding statement The
résumé objective is dead, but long live the branding statement. This is
the first section of your résumé after the heading where you can create
a dynamic headline and description of your own personal area of
expertise. This will frame the rest of the résumé for the reader so that
she sees your experience in light of your specialty.
Deadly sin No. 7: Length There is a lot of
conflicting advice as to how long a résumé should be. Here is the
standard. A résumé should contain one page for every 10 years of
experience in a given field. More often than not, this guideline works.
Writing a resume can be a daunting task. And if you're changing careers or industries, it's even more challenging.
"When you're attempting to change careers, you're often going up against
many other candidates who possess a more traditional (and regularly
accepted) work history for the role or industry you're targeting," says
Amanda Augustine, a career expert at TheLadders, an online job-matching
service for professionals. "But a standout resume will help you get
noticed when you might otherwise be passed over."
In order to create an eye-catching resume that'll help you stand out
from the competition, you'll have to look at all your experience and
accolades in a different light, she says. "You must evaluate your
experience, education, and professional development and skills to
determine what's considered important for your new career, and then
you'll have to re-position or re-brand yourself."
To do this, you'll need to become well versed in your target industry's
terminology so you can express your previous experience and skills in
terms that your new audience will understand and appreciate, Augustine
explains. "That can take a lot of effort on the part of the job seeker;
it may even require you to speak with people who work in your target
field - which you should be doing anyway - to learn which of your skills
are transferable and most prized."
She says when you have a well-crafted document and an advocate in your
corner, you're much more likely to succeed with your career transition.
To get a clearer picture of what makes a resume stand out, we asked
Augustine to create a sample of an excellent one for a professional
changing careers.
While your resume may look different depending on the job or industry
you're targeting, the one below from someone hoping to transition from
HR to sales should serve as a useful guide:
What makes this an excellent resume for someone transitioning careers or industries? Augustine outlines the following reasons:
1. The job seeker's new career objective is clear.
If you want to change careers, it's best to have your new job goal
well-defined, as this will dictate how you reposition your experience
and which qualifications you decide to highlight in your new resume,
Augustine says.
2. This resume focuses on the skills, achievements, and
qualifications that are most relevant to the job seeker's new career
track.
"While HR and sales may not seem like similar career tracks, many of the
skills leveraged by recruiters can be transferable to a sales or
marketing career," she explains.
It's important to identify which of your skill sets are valuable to
another field, and in what capacity. "I can rattle off a list of common
skills that are easily transferable to a variety industries and
functions - problem-solving, strategic thinking, strong written or oral
communication, people management, innovation, negotiation, etc. - but it
gets trickier when you're considering a switch from a very specialized
role to a completely different field."
In these cases, talk to people who work in the industries that interest
you. Once they have a good understanding of your background and
strengths, they'll be able to provide insight into which roles in their
field might be relevant to you.
3. This resume sells what the job seeker has to offer.
"Hazel" is a technical recruiter seeking a position selling recruiting
software to corporations, so her extensive knowledge of the recruitment
process and her experience using and training others on various social
recruiting platforms and applicant tracking systems work is emphasized
in her professional summary and highlighted throughout the rest of her
resume.
4. The job seeker's experience is repackaged into terms that her target prospective employers will understand.
"Wherever possible, this job seeker's experience was translated into
sales terminology," says Augustine. "For example, the terms 'clients' or
'internal clients' were used to describe the hiring managers.
Candidates were turned into prospects or potential leads. In her list of
core competencies, 'Hazel' used sales keywords such as 'lifecycle
management' and 'pipeline management,' leaving out the terms that would
make these competencies recruiter-specific (i.e. 'recruitment process
lifecycle' and 'candidate pipeline')."
Every field has its own acronyms and terminology. It's your job to
figure out how to translate your experience and past successes into
terms that resonate with your new target audience. Subscribe to
industry-specific publications, conduct informational interviews, and
start attending events that are relevant to your target field to gain
this insight, and update your resume accordingly.
5. This resume is concise and only includes relevant information.
Even though the job seeker has over six years of experience and has
worked in at least three positions, her resume is only one page long.
"Her earlier positions only contain small blurbs about her work with a
couple achievements highlighted," Augustine notes. "Rather than listing
out a laundry list of your skills and experience, carefully select the
accomplishments and responsibilities that will support your current
career objectives."
6. The job seeker's major contributions and achievements are quantified.
Include numbers whenever possible, whether you're describing the size of
your budget, the number of events you helped organize, or the number of
people you managed, to demonstrate your value to the employer.
7. The job seeker included non-work related skills and activities.
"Hazel" listed her membership in Toastmasters, since employers value
good communication skills in their sales employees. "Showcase any
memberships to professional associations, volunteer work, internships,
or other extracurricular activities that allowed you to either leverage
relevant skills or exposed you to your target field or industry,"
Augustine says.
By Kate May, recruiter at Hajoca
Today’s job market is tough; undergrads are facing more pressure than
ever to set themselves apart from their competition. How do you set
yourself apart from other graduates? Many college students believe that a
good GPA and having some work experience automatically builds their
resume and will impress prospective employers. With so much stiff
competition, is that really enough? As a recruiter for Hajoca’s Management Training Program, resumes come across my desk every day, and I know what works and what doesn’t.
Here are five tips to help college students, especially business
majors, build their resume into an impressive showcase for future
employers.
1. Pick a major relevant to your field of interest. The
first thing all college-bound students should do is pick a major that
will prepare them for their post-collegiate life. Many students say they
picked their major because it was a topic that sounded interesting, was
easy for them, or seemed the most fun, only to realize after graduating
that they were not prepared for the type of job they desired.
Work with your school counselor to figure out the best major for your desired career path.
Use your elective courses or take up a minor if you want to pursue
some things outside of your career path; it will make you seem well
rounded and can be a lot of fun.
If you are planning a career in business or plan to go to graduate
school, you want to stick with majors like Business Administration,
Leadership or International Business. This will ensure you don’t miss
key classes that will shape your learning and add value to your resume.
2. Have an internship – and make it count. Working
as an intern can be a great way to get your foot in the door at a
company and gain some real-world experience. If you decide that an
internship is right for you (or is required by your school), don’t just
“get the job done;” work on relationship building with your co-workers
and managers. Having recommendations from one solid internship
experience will go much further than working multiple part-time jobs or
having multiple internships.
Business is about building relationships, and you’ll quickly learn
that making a good impression on your current boss could befit you for
years – even decades – to come. If you realize you are in a heavily
administrative internship, take on as many projects as you can – even if
you aren’t assigned to do them. Showing initiative looks good to your
employer, as well as on your resume. 3. Join clubs/organizations early on and take a leadership role. College
can be overwhelming at first: moving away from home, new roommates,
difficult classes, and college life in general can be very scary for
incoming freshmen. Joining clubs or sports that interest you is a good
way to meet friends and build your resume. Showing your commitment to a
club or sports team is a great way to show off your dedication,
motivation and leadership skills.If you join as a freshman or sophomore,
you’ll have a better chance at being elected to a leadership role.
Taking on a leadership role in a club or sport shows that you can lead a
group, be responsible and have the ability to influence change. 4. Show off your technology skills. In today’s job
market, knowing the Microsoft Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) is not
only necessary, but expected. Go one step further and get involved with
creating a website, social media platform or an App. Employers look for
students who know about technology and can use it to increase sales,
bring in customers or update their systems. Feel technology challenged?
Use Internet tutorials to learn a new skill, or ask a current Website
moderator how you can contribute to their site.
5. Develop your personal brand. Your personal brand
is the way others see you; it’s how you sell yourself to your potential
employers. It’s more than just your resume; it’s your reputation,
credibility and potential. Deciding early on to do the right thing,
going above and beyond what is asked, and becoming the best person,
friend, student and employee that you can be is the first step in
developing your personal brand. Learn as much as you can from others:
Talk to your fellow students, professors, work colleagues, friends and
family. Always ask questions, but more importantly, listen. Learn when
you can add value and when you can take away new understandings of
ideas. Always live up to your potential and always do the right thing;
this will put you on a path to success.
You know the basics of writing a resume - how to format it, the general
order and how long it should be. But are you aware of the things you
should not include? What you leave out is almost as important
as what you put in. Here are 10 things that don't belong on a winning
resume.
1. Typos and grammatical errors. Even the smallest typo
- a missing word or the wrong form of they're/their/there - can kill
your chances of advancing in your job search. A clean resume, on the
other hand, opens doors. Take advantage of spelling and grammar-check
software. Then ask a grammar-savvy friend, teacher or colleague to
proofread your final version.
2. Personal information. Your age, marital status,
whether you have children, religion, sexual orientation and political
views - potential employers need to know none of those things. In fact,
hiring managers are legally bound not to ask you those questions. If
it's not directly related to the job, leave it out.
3. A photo. Unless you're looking for a modeling or
acting job, don't send a photo of yourself. You may wonder, what's the
harm in letting human resources know what you look like, especially in
this age of online searches? However common the practice is in other
countries, the majority of hiring managers in the U.S. still frown on
this practice because they don't want to risk being accused of
discrimination based on appearance.
4. Your keen sense of humor. Unless you're applying to
be a writer for "Saturday Night Live," save your wit for after you get
the job - not before. Verbal cleverness and outlandish summary
statements don't come across well on paper, and busy hiring managers
don't have time for, well, funny business. No matter how hard you want
to stand out from the dozens of other applicants, it's not worth writing
a clever resume.
5. All your jobs and responsibilities. Unless you're
really desperate to show any work experience, leave off your summer job
as a lifeguard or stint operating rides at the state fair. Include only
what's relevant, which can include volunteering and internships. The
same goes for job responsibilities: Instead of listing each and every
task you did, state only skills that are pertinent to the job you're
applying for, and then get specific. When writing a resume, it's far
more important to demonstrate your problem-solving skills than to have
an exhaustive list of your role in every single job.
6. Meaningless words. Steer clear of overused
buzzwords, business-ese and esoteric acronyms. Jargon doesn't add
meaning and can turn off hiring managers. So please, don't say "leverage
synergies" unless you're trying to elicit an eye roll.
7. Reason for leaving. This is never expected. It
interrupts and detracts from a strong narrative about your strengths and
how you can apply them with a new employer. If hiring managers want to
know why you left a certain job, that question will come up during the
interview where you will have a better chance of explaining yourself.
8.Hobbies. Don't cram the "Other
Information" section with activities that don't overlap with the job
description. Translation: Do include community service, such as if
you're an IT professional who teaches computer skills to seniors. That's
relevant. Your bobble-head doll collection is not.
9. Salary requirements. When writing a resume, it's
presumptuous to mention the minimum you'll work for. It's also a poor
tactic. If the number is too high, your may not make the short list. If
it's too low, you could be paid less than what the employer is willing
to offer. If the job post asks for a salary requirement, don't give a
number or even a range. Instead, include something like this in the
cover letter: "My salary requirement will depend on a variety of
factors, including the benefits package."
10. "References available upon request." Resume real
estate is valuable, and this is a line that means very little. Of course
you'll provide references when asked - what job candidate wouldn't? Pat
phrases like this annoy hiring managers to no end.
When writing a resume, make every word on those one to two pages work
for you. Aim for a chronological and easy-to-read format, use active
words and drop any extras. Let your resume wow hiring managers and get
you interviews - not harm your chances of getting a great job.
Having a ton of experience under your belt doesn't necessarily mean you have an "impressive" resume.
"You can have all the experience in the world - but if your resume
doesn't stand out, if you don't present that information in a
well-organized manner, or if it doesn't tell your story, nobody will
take the time to look at your resume closely enough to see all that
experience," says Amanda Augustine, a career expert at TheLadders, an online job-matching service for professionals.
To
get a clearer picture of what makes a resume stand out, we asked
Augustine to create a sample of an excellent one for a mid-level
professional.
While your resume may look different depending on the industry you're
in, the one below should serve as a useful guide for job seekers with
about 10 years of experience:
What makes this an excellent resume for a mid-level professional? Augustine outlines the following reasons:
1. The job seeker didn't try to squeeze everything into one page.
"At this point in your career, you've earned the extra resume real
estate," says Augustine. "Spend more space elaborating on your most
recent work, assuming it's most relevant to your current job goals."
Include your header at the top of the second page as well, she says, so
your name and contact information are always "top of mind" for the
reader.
2. A list of the job seeker's core competencies is featured at the top.
Alex's resume contains a list of his core skill sets, usually referred
to as, "Areas of Expertise" or, "Core Competencies." "This list serves
two purposes," she says. "One, it allows a reader to quickly scan the
top portion of the resume and get a good sense of Alex's capabilities;
and two, it helps Alex's resume get past the electronic gatekeepers
known as Applicant Tracking Systems."
3. Each role is split into responsibilities and key achievements.
Under each job title is a short description that explains Alex's
responsibilities in that particular role. "Underneath the description is
a set of bullets that highlight his most noteworthy and relevant
contributions," Augustine explains. "Be specific and clear when
describing your accomplishments and contributions."
4. Information is quantified wherever possible.
Include numbers whenever possible, whether you're describing the size of
your budget, the number of events you helped organize, or the number of
people you managed.
5. The job seeker used his work experience to show progression.
"Alex's work experience is listed in reverse-chronological order,
starting with his current position," she points out. "More space is
dedicated to the details of Alex's recent roles and achievements, as
employers are most interested in this information and it's directly tied
to his current job goals. Even when the job titles are the same, Alex
is demonstrating how he's progressed in his career by taking on larger
projects, bigger budgets, and more people."
6. The "Education" section was moved to the end of the resume.
Once you've been in the working world for three years, your education
section should shift towards the bottom of your resume. "When you first
graduate, your new degree is one of your best selling points," Augustine
says. "Now that you've been in the workforce for a while, your
experience and the skills you've developed should take center stage."
Wondering how to write a great resume that will show off your skills and
experience and get you interviews? Here's a beginner's guide to how to
craft a resume that will catch a hiring manager's eyes.
Your resume should be composed of the following sections:
Contact info. This is pretty straightforward – this is
the header for your resume, and it's where your name, address, phone
number, and email address go. It's fine to add a link your LinkedIn profile or your website if you want to, but don't clutter this section up to much.
Profile or highlights. This section is optional, but
profiles or highlight sections have replaced objectives at the top of
modern-day resumes. This is a quick list of the highlights of your
strengths and accomplishments, summing up in just a few bullet points
who you are as a candidate and what you have to offer. The idea is to
provide an overall framing for your candidacy, setting the hiring
manager up to see the rest of your resume through that lens.
Experience: This is the meat of your resume. You should
list each job (from most recent to least recent) – where you worked,
what your title was, and the years you worked there. Underneath that,
you should have a bulleted list of what you achieved while working
there. And this is crucial: These bullets should not be used to just
explain your job duties. Instead, you should focus on accomplishments –
things you achieved that weren't simply fulfilling the basis duties of
your job. For instance, instead of "managed website," it's far stronger
to say something like, "increased Web traffic by 15% in six months" – in
other words, explain how you performed, not just what your job was.
When you're deciding what to include, give yourself permission to remove
things that don't strengthen your candidacy. You don't need three lines
explaining boring, basic job duties – especially if these
responsibilities are going to be implied by your title. Similarly, you
don't need to include that summer job from eight years ago, or that job
you did for three weeks that didn't work out. Your resume is a marketing
document, not a comprehensive listing of everything about you, so
include the things that strengthen your candidacy, and pare down the
rest.
Education: For most people, this section should just be
a line or two, explaining where you went to school and what degree you
graduated with. And note that generally your education should go beneath
your work experience, because generally employers are most interested
in what work experience you've had. Leading with your education just
buries what will make most attractive to an employer.
Optional other sections: After that, you might include
some additional optional sections, like Volunteer Work (or Community
Involvement), Skills (if not obvious from the experience section), or
Miscellaneous. Fleshing out your skills and experience in these sections
can demonstrate a passion for the work that your work experience can't
always do. For instance, if you're applying for an I.T. position and you
run an online software discussion group in your spare time, mention
that. Or if you're applying for a teaching job and you review children's
books for your website, that's important to mention too. These types of
details help paint a stronger picture of you as a candidate.
Things not to include: Your resume is for experience
and accomplishments only. It's not the place for subjective traits, like
"great leadership skills" or "creative innovator." Smart employers ignore anything subjective
that applicant write about themselves because so many people's
self-assessments are wildly inaccurate, so your resume should stick to
objective facts. Additional no-no's: Don't include a photo of yourself,
information about your age, any mention of high school, medical
conditions, or family members.
Overall formatting: In all of the sections above, you
should be using bullet points, not complete sentences. Hiring managers
will only skim your resume initially, and big blocks of text are
difficult to skim. An employer will absorb more information about you
with a quick skim if your information is arranged in bullet points
rather than paragraphs.
Length: As a general rule, your resume shouldn't be over two pages (or one, if you're a recent grad). The longer your resume is,
the less likely an employer is to see the parts you want them to see.
The initial scan of your resume is about 20 seconds - do you want that
divided among three pages, or do you want it focused on the most
important things you want to convey? Short and concise means that
employers are more likely to read the parts you most care about. Plus,
long resumes can make you come across as someone who can't edit and
doesn't know what information is essential and what's less important.
Design: Avoid unusual colors or untraditional designs.
All most hiring managers want from a resume: a concise, easy-to-scan
list of what you've accomplished, organized chronologically by position,
plus any particularly notable skills, all presented in a format that
they can quickly scan and get the highlights.
Jobs site ZipRecruiter dug through its database of 3 million resumes to see what recruiters like to see in a resume.
ZipRecruiter allows job seekers to upload their resumes, and small
businesses, individual employers, and recruiters looking for candidates
to rate those resumes on a scale of one to five stars (one being the
lowest, five the highest).
It found if you use the below "power words," your likelihood of getting a top rating goes up by 70%.
Experience
Management
Project
Development
Business
Skill
Professional
Knowledge
Year
Team
Leadership
This finding shows that keyword hacking has uses beyond tailoring your
resume to robots. The ZipRecruiter data suggests that humans gravitate
to a certain set of vocabulary as well.
Of those, ZipRecruiter says that three main themes emerged:
"... we found that words that implied management skills (not necessarily
as a manager: time management is an example of a management skill
everyone needs to have), a proactive stance towards working
('responsible,' 'support,' and 'client; speak to that) and problem
solving skills ('data,' 'analysis,' and 'operation') were the most
highly rated."
Still, you don't want to cram your resume full of keywords. If it looks
as if you committed "keyword stuffing" - layering in keywords that don't
actually fit your experience - you're making it easy to get your resume
discarded.
Writing your very first resume can be a daunting process. And it doesn't help to know that recruiters spend an average of six seconds reviewing a resume
before they make the initial decision on candidates, according to
research conducted by TheLadders, an online job-matching service for
professionals.
"Many students don't know what should and should not be included in
their first resume," says Amanda Augustine, a career expert at TheLadders.
"While there are no hard and fast rules when writing a resume, it
really depends on what content you have to work with, there are some
preliminary guidelines all students or new professionals should follow."
She says the most important things to
think about when you're creating your first resume are your job goals
and your audience. "Ask yourself: If I handed the resume to someone who
knew nothing about my college major or career direction, could they
easily identify the type of role I'm targeting and why within the first
30 seconds?"
To get a clearer picture of what makes a resume great, we asked
Augustine to create a sample of an excellent one for someone with little
to no experience.
While your resume may look different, depending on the industry you're
in, the one below should serve as a useful guide for entry-level
professionals with very little work experience:
What makes this an excellent resume for someone with no experience? Augustine outlines the following reasons:
1. The layout is clean and easy to read.
The same font type is used throughout the document. Dates and locations
are consistently represented, so it's easy to scan and pick out the
important information. "In addition, the headers and main sections of
information are centered on the page, which TheLadders eye-tracking
study revealed is how recruiters tend to scan resumes," she says.
2. It includes a link to the job seeker's professional profile.
While it may seem a little premature, it's important for students to
develop good social media habits from the get-go. "Create one
professional profile dedicated to your future career," she suggests. "If
you're studying to work in a more creative field, consider developing
an online portfolio to display as part of your contact information. In
addition, increase the security settings on your personal accounts so
they're hidden away."
3. The job seeker's goals are clear.
Maria's professional title and summary at the top of the resume clearly
indicate her interest in securing an internship in advertising or public
relations. "If her resume was passed along to someone by a friend, the
reader wouldn't have to guess," Augustine says. "While Maria's personal
brand is still under development, her summary references the value she
already brings to the table: the relevant degree she's pursuing, her
experience using social media, and her writing skills."
4. It plays up the job seeker's selling points.
Maria is pursuing her first internship and doesn't have any relevant
work experience to speak of. "As a result, we've shifted around the
components within her resume to showcase her strengths: her relevant
coursework, leadership activities, achievements, and skills," Augustine
explains. "Her work experience is moved to the bottom of the resume
because it's not directly tied to her internship goals." However, it's
important to include this information because it demonstrates Maria's
work ethic and skills.
5. It includes some references to high school.
If you're pursuing your first internship, it's all right to incorporate
some information about your high school career. This includes any
awards, honors, or scholarships you may have received or sports you may
have played. If you were valedictorian or salutatorian of your class, or
you held an office in an honor society or relevant club, include it in
your first resume, Augustine says. "This information paints a picture
for the reader of a well-rounded student who was active in and out of
school."
6. It lists her social media skills.
"If you grew up with Facebook and other social media channels, it may
seem silly to add these to your resume - doesn't everyone know their way
around Instagram today?" she says. "But the reality is that this
knowledge is an asset to many employers, and not everyone in the job
market possesses it." If you're targeting internship opportunities in
marketing, public relations, advertising, journalism, or even customer
service, include these skills in your resume. Many employers are looking
for interns to help manage their online brands; adding these skills to
your resume will help them find you.
7. It doesn't include a list of references.
You do not need a line at the bottom that reads: "References available upon request."
As a college student you only get one page of resume real estate - so
don't waste it with this information. "Employers don't ask for that
information until you make it to a face-to-face interview, and they know
you'll provide it if they request it," she says.
It's important to remember that experience isn't everything - and,
luckily, employers filling internships don't expect you to have much of
it just yet, Augustine says. "However, they do want to see an active
student who has demonstrated a genuine interest in their position."
So, when you sit down to write your first resume, try to think about
your previous jobs in a new light. "If your experience seems unrelated
to the internship you want, think about what skills you've practiced or
learned that could be applicable," she says. "For instance, as a
waitress you're sure to develop skills in customer service, sales, and
multitasking, all of which could be very valuable to a potential
employer."
Take a look at this picture. Is she happy, fearful, sad or surprised?
How you answer may mean getting a job, or being rejected.
The question tests your ability to recognize emotion. (The correct
answers are based on general and expert consensus.) Other questions may
be designed to identify a candidate's strengths and weaknesses, offer
insight into personality, predict behavior on the job or ability to fit
into an organization.
This sample question is adapted from one of a number of standard tests
of emotional intelligence that are increasingly being used by employers
to evaluate job candidates.
According to a new article
for Knowledge@Wharton, the online journal of the University of
Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, about 20 percent of
organizations now use emotional intelligence tests as a tool to help
decide who to hire or promote. Nearly three-quarters of human resource
professionals surveyed said the tests are helpful in predicting behavior
and organizational "fit."
In fact, some research indicates that your EQ is more important than
your IQ. People with high EQs tend to make better decisions, and get
along better with their bosses and their peers. They are top performers,
keep their emotions under control and focus on the job.
In some cases, a "right" or "wrong" answers may depend on the position
the candidate is being considered for. The Wharton article, for example,
relates an anecdote about a company that rejected a candidate for chief
financial officer because his test results showed that he was very
optimistic, but had low self-esteem. Their ideal candidate for CFO,
apparently, would be mildly pessimistic but have high self-esteem.
It's not only candidates for high-level jobs who are tested for EQ these
days. Retailers, call centers and security firms are using short
web-based tests as part of a pre-screening process for people applying
for jobs that require dealing with the public.
They can be especially valuable for evaluating candidates for
entry-level jobs. After all, they don't have a track record to show.
The test also may help separate the best candidate from the best
interviewee. And, it can reduce the impact of a highly subjective
factor-that is, whether the candidate just happens to "click" with the
person conducting the interview.
Management consultants also are coaching people on how to use their
emotional intelligence on the job. Susan David, of the Harvard Business
School, has coached people on how to use emotional intelligence to have a
difficult conversation with a colleague.
Because, in work as in life, suppressing emotions in yourself, or
failing to recognize them in others, can lead to really bad results.
You can test your own emotional intelligence online. Here are two to try:
From the University of California, Berkeley: "How well do you read people?"
From Harvard University: "Test your social intelligence."
You scour through resume after resume when you finally land a gem
within the pile of candidates. It hits every point of your job
description even the 10 skills you listed. It almost sounds too good to
be true...is it? Last week ABC News' 20/20 set up a segment to expose
just that. The business behind fake resumes.
ABC interviewed the founder of fake resume resource site CareerExcuse.com,
William Schmidt. He'll create fake positions but also take it a step
further by create fake degrees, companies (including phone numbers,
addresses even websites). Schmidt says he has rarely been caught because
few companies thoroughly check resumes and job references.
Schmidt thinks he is doing a public service by helping those job
seekers who lost their jobs during the recession. He doesn't think he's
selling a lie. He compares his business to that of a poker player's
bluff...all about the illusion. He claims that half of the people who
use his service are employed within 30 days.
But what's an employer to do if they think they found a great applicant but something isn't adding up? Marissa Klein, SVP of Choice Fashion & Media, weighs in with her expert advice.
Eyeing a Phony Applicant: How hard is it to find false
information buried within a document that might have legitimate
experience as well. Klein, says, "We specialize in an area that is very
close knit. It is quite easy to catch a discrepancy due to our
relationships and our own experience within the niche world of fashion
and media. However, I have certainly discovered incorrect dates and
falsified job description bullet points. Especially since the economic
downturn in 2008 and 2009."
Catch a Fake: You've spotted a potential fake. What's
the next step? Do you speak with the client, try and take another route
or toss their resume in the trash? Klein, "We normally will outright
challenge the candidate. Our "fakes" tend to be in the details – such as
resumes not matching LinkedIn profiles.
I tend to try to give people the benefit of the doubt. After the
economy took a turn, many were forced to enhance or exaggerate their
skill set in order to remain competitive, or valuable."
Go With Your Gut: What are a firm's options if think
they found the perfect applicant but something within their work history
isn't adding up. Klein says, "Certain things will always slip through
the cracks. My advice to my clients is always the same. We can do all of
the leg work to check, and double and triple check... but gut instinct,
whether professional or personal, is usually infallible. If something
doesn't feel right, it likely is not."
The Safety Net: How important is a background check?
Klein says, "We do qualify candidates and I would say that most
employers do too. However, specific background checks are costly
(criminal, credit, etc) and we can provide these to our clients at a
pass through cost. Most of our clients run these types of checks after
an offer has been extended and accepted. Background checks in general
fall into a truly gray area... traditionally, companies are not really
supposed to disclose true editorial on a candidate, merely confirm a
date started and a date ended. Ironically, as the liaison we are
sometimes caught in the middle and must find a balance between what the
client would like for us to "check" and what is legally permitted.
Perhaps that is a whole other conversation!"
By Anthony Balderrama
Here at CareerBuilder, we’re always researching the latest trends in
job search and career advancement. Recently, we read these two great
pieces on Business Insider: “What Recruiters Look At During The 6 Seconds They Spend On Your Résumé” and “19 Reasons Why This Is An Excellent Résumé.”
They offered some insight into the behavior of hiring managers
and highlighted some things that made us go, “Now that’s interesting.”
We decided to have our career coaches Jill Hinrichs and Carlos Baldizon Martini sit down with our head of social media Justin Thompson for
a conversation about these two topics. We wanted to find out if Jill
and Carlos were hearing the same feedback from the job seekers they
help.
Although we may never know why we didn't get chosen for a job interview, a recent study is shedding some light on recruiters' decision-making behavior. According to The Ladders research, recruiters spend an average of "six seconds before they make the initial 'fit or no fit' decision" on candidates.
The study used a scientific technique called "eye tracking" on 30 professional recruiters
and examined their eye movements during a 10-week period to "record and
analyze where and how long someone focuses when digesting a piece of
information or completing a task."
In the short time that they spend with your resume,
the study showed recruiters will look at your name, current title and
company, current position start and end dates, previous title and
company, previous position start and end dates, and education.
The two resumes below include a heat map of recruiters' eye movements.
The one on the right was looked at more thoroughly than the one of the
left because of its clear and concise format:
TheLadders
With such critical time constraints, you should make it easier for
recruiters to find pertinent information by creating a resume with a
clear visual hierarchy. Don't include distracting visuals since "such
visual elements reduced recruiters' analytical capability and hampered
decision-making" and kept them from "locating the most relevant
information, like skills and experience."
Recruiters spend an average of six seconds reviewing a resume before they make the initial decision on candidates, according to research conducted by TheLadders, an online job-matching service for professionals. That means you have to win them over fast.
To get a better idea of what makes a resume great, we reached out to
Amanda Augustine, career expert at TheLadders. She created an example of
an excellent resume and allowed us to share it.
While resumes should be tailored to the industry you're in, the one
below offers a helpful guide for entry- and mid-level professionals with
three to five years of relevant work experience.
TheLadders
What makes this resume so great? Augustine outlines the following reasons:
1. It includes a URL to the jobseeker's professional online profile.
If you don't include URLs to your professional online profiles, hiring
managers will look you up regardless. Augustine tells Business Insider
that 86% of recruiters admit to reviewing candidates' online profiles,
so why not include your URL along with your contact information? This
will prevent recruiters from having to guess or mistaking you for
someone else.
2. It uses consistent branding.
"If you have a common name, consider including your middle initial on
your resume and online professional profiles to differentiate yourself
from the competition," says Augustine. For example, decide if you're
Mike Johnson, Michael Johnson, or Mike E. Johnson. Then use this name
consistently, be it on LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.
3. It includes a single phone number and email address.
"Choose one phone number for your resume where you control the voicemail
message and who picks up the phone," she advises. The same rule applies
to an email address.
4. It does not include an objective statement.
There's no point in including a generic objective about a "professional
looking for opportunities that will allow me to leverage my skills,"
says Augustine. It's not helpful and distracting. Ditch it.
5. Instead, it includes an executive summary.
Replace your fluffy statement with an executive summary, which should be like a "30-second elevator pitch" where you explain who you are and what you're looking for.
"In approximately three to five sentences, explain what you're great
at, most interested in, and how you can provide value to a prospective
employer," Augustine says.
6. It uses reverse chronological order.
This is the most helpful for recruiters because they're able to see what
you've been doing in recent years immediately, says Augustine. "The
only time you shouldn't do this is if you're trying to transition to
another career altogether, but then again, in this situation, you'll
probably be relying more on networks," than your resume, she says.
7. It uses keywords like "forecasting" and "strategic planning."
Many companies use some kind of screening process to identify the right candidates. You should include the keywords mentioned in the job posting throughout your resume.
"Identify the common keywords, terminology, and key phrases
that routinely pop up in the job descriptions of your target role and
incorporate them into your resume (assuming you have those skills),"
advises Augustine. "This will help you make it past the initial
screenings and on to the recruiter or hiring manager."
8. It provides company descriptions.
It's helpful for recruiters to know the size of the company you used to work for, advises Augustine.
"Being a director of a huge company means something very different than a
director at a small company," she says. You can go to the company's
"About Us" section and rewrite one or two lines of the description. This
should be included right underneath the name of the company.
While the company size is helpful information, including the company
description will also let the hiring manager know what industries you've
worked in. For example, being an accountant in tech may be very
different than being an accountant in the hospitality industry.
"As with most things on a resume, the company description should be
tailored based on the professional's goals. If you're looking to switch
industries, your focus may be on the company size - assuming it's
similar to your goals - and less on discussing the various products your
company sells."
9. It does not list achievements in dense blocks of text.
Recruiters receive so many resumes to scan through at a time, so make it
as easy as possible for them to understand why you're perfect for the
job. Dense blocks of text are too difficult to read, says Augustine.
10. Instead, achievements are listed in two to five bullet points per job.
Under each job or experience you've had, explain how you contributed to
or supported your team's projects and initiatives. "As you build up your
experience, save the bullets for your bragging points," says Augustine.
11. It quantifies achievements.
"Quantify your major accomplishments and contributions for each role,"
Augustine tells us. This can include the money you saved or brought in
for your employer, deals closed, and projects delivered on time or under
budget. Do not use any more than three to five bullet points.
12. Accomplishments are formatted as result-and-then-cause.
A good rule is to use the "result BY action" sentence structure whenever
possible. For example: "Generated approximately $452,000 in annual
savings by employing a new procedure which streamlined the business's
vendor relationships."
13. White space draws the reader's eyes to important points.
Recruiters do not spend a lot of time scanning resumes, so avoid dense
blocks of text. "The key is to format the information in a way that
makes it easy to scan and recognize your job goals and relevant
qualifications," Augustine tells us.
14. It doesn't use crazy fonts or colors.
"Stick to black and white color," says Augustine. As for font, it's best
to stick with the basics, such as Arial, Tahoma, or Calibri.
15. It does not include pronouns.
Augustine says you should never write your resume in third person
because everyone knows you're the one writing it (unless you go through a
professional resume writing service).
Instead, you should write it in first person, and do not include
pronouns. "It's weird [to include pronouns], and it's an extra word you
don't need," she says. "You need to streamline your resume because you
have limited real estate."
16. It does not include images.
"Avoid adding any embedded tables, pictures, or other images in your
resume, as this can confuse the applicant-tracking software and jumble
your resume in the system," says Augustine.
17. It doesn't use headers or footers.
It may look neat and concise to display your contact information in the
header, but for "the same reason with embedded tables and charts, it
often gets scrambled in an applicant tracking system," says Augustine.
18. Education is listed at the bottom.
Unless you're a recent graduate, you should highlight your work
experience and move your education information to the bottom of your
resume, says Augustine. Never include anything about your high-school
years.
19. It doesn't say "references upon request."
Every recruiter knows you're going to provide references if they request
it so there's no reason for you to include this line. Again, remember
that space on your resume is crucial so don't waste it on a meaningless
line, Augustine tells us.
