Tips- Resume Writing
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Select a position of interest or closest to your experience and enter it via that link.
Resume Writing Tips
What is a resume? It is a written representation of YOU! While a photograph provides an exterior compilation, a resume is a snapshot of your accrued skills, strengths and abilities. For your resume to be successful, it must do three things:
1. QUICKLY pique the employer’s interest
2. Identify HOW you can satisfy the employer’s needs better than the other 100 + resumes he/she is reviewing
3. COMPEL the employer to contact you
HOW do you do this? You must be very specific in how you write your resume. SPECIFICITY is the key. We will tell you exactly how to do that.
How to Write Your Resume
Contact Information
AT THE TOP, list:
Your name- let us know which name you prefer to be called by if you list three names.
Address- full mailing address.
Phone numbers -include your CELL PHONE number with area code,
E-mail address.
Chronologically
By far, most hiring managers and almost all recruiters prefer the chronological resume format. In our example below, you can view how the candidate’s jobs were listed beginning with most recent and ending with least recent.
Format
Microsoft WORD format is, by far, the industry standard when e-mailing resumes. If you do not have your resume in WORD, do it immediately. Businesses do not have WORKS on their computers and cannot open resumes in that format.
Spelling
Check, recheck and then check again to make sure there are no typos. Many
Hiring managers throw out any applications with even one typo.
Make sure that your resume answers these questions:
- When did you work for ABC company?
- Who did you sell to? Manufacturers, small businesses, universities, physicians, etc.
- WHAT was your specific role? Whether your experience is in banking jobs, sales engineer jobs or an account manager, specific the title and responsibilities so it’s clear what you actually DID.
- WHAT did you sell? Services, shipping services, IT software, medical equipment, etc.
- What did you achieve? See above
Bullet Points
This is critical. After listing your company name and one sentence about WHAT you sell (please don’t put ABC company with no explanation of what they do),
list in bullet points WHAT you have accomplished.
- Was # 1 Rep in the Region out of 85 sales reps
- Achieved 124% of quota for 2013
- Rookie of the Year- 2018
- Sold 8 new customers in Q1 for 2020
- Achieved 225% increase in profits for 2019
- Won President’s Club Award and Trip to Aruba
- Presented new shipping program that saved the company 18% in shipping costs
Length
Two pages are fine IF you have the sales accomplishments and achievements to warrant two pages. If not, stick with the one-page format. Rarely is more than two pages warranted and, even if it is, that third page probably won’t even be read.
Match
Make sure your resume has pertinent experience for the job openings or job opportunities for which you are submitting it. Our clients determine the requirements for our candidates and they will typically only interview candidates with that specific experience.
Resume Examples
Click below to view an example of a well-laid out resume with attention-getting bullets.
Use this as a guide when preparing your resume.
And, remember, no one can tell your story as good as you can so list your accomplishments and achievements and get your resume noticed!
View Example Resume: