Your resume will decide whether you will get an interview call or not. It becomes important to prepare a presentable resume so that it leaves a good impression on the viewer.
There will be thousands of job applications for a single position. The hiring manager will not spend all of their time (maximum 15 seconds) on a single resume.
You need to know how many pages should a resume be and prepare your resume in such a way that it stands out among others. For that, one must write the details in points. So that the viewer can see what you are offering to them.
Most job seekers are not aware of the art of resume writing, which leads to poor resumes, or they end up copying someone else’s resume, which is a big no.
Nowadays, there are professional resume writers who help you in creating a winning resume, which can help in your job search journey. However, if you don’t want to hire a certified professional resume writer, then it’s okay! You are in the correct place.
So, for all the job seekers who are suffering in preparing a good resume that can differ from other applicants, there is a complete guide to help you all with that.
Key Tips For Building A Good Resume
1. Resume Length Tips
Whenever preparing a resume, the first question that pops into everyone’s mind is- “how many pages should a resume be?” whether only a one-page resume, two pages long, or a multi-page resume.
There is no need to make multiple-page resumes because you want to show off. Since no one will read them. However, there is no ideal resume length, but if you are a fresher or someone with less than five years of experience, you don’t need to increase your resume length by more than one page. If you have at least five or more years of experience, you may need to increase the length of your resume to two pages, and if you are in top positions like CEO and top executives, it can exceed three pages.
The above-mentioned criteria are not fixed by any industry expert. One can keep their resume length to one page even after working for over a decade. Resume length does not only depend on the number of years you have worked but also depends on your work history.
The crux is don’t increase the resume length until and unless you have enough work experience. It is preferred to not create a half-page, 1 and a half page or 2-and-a-half-page long resume. Also, don’t squeeze too much content into a single page.
2. Resume Templates
You can easily get free resume templates from different resume builders like Canva, Google Docs, Novo Resumes, etc., and use them for making your resume. These templates provide unique resume structures and give you a better understanding of preparing a resume. Therefore, you can choose the template which suits your job role and work experience.
It is crucial to understand that you cannot blab anything that comes to your mind in your resume. Lying in your resume may lead to a ban from the company for future applications. For example, if you are writing something in your professional title, you must write things in your resume that can support it.
3. Proper Contact Details
It is essential to write proper contact details in your resume and never use other person’s contact details. So that the person reviewing your resume can contact you if they want to.
Keep your contact information professional. Do not write email ids like ‘smartxyz@gmail.com’ or ‘princessabc@gmail.com.’ Only write your name in your ids for a better impression.
There is no need to mention your full address in your resume, you may add your district and state only, and if they require your full address, they will ask you.
You can mention your social media links in your resume, like LinkedIn or others, as per your job role.
For example, if you are applying for the position of social media account manager, then you can add the link to your Instagram account through which they can review your previous work.
When adding your contact details, remember that they do not want to know about your personal life. Only add the relevant information. There is no need to add martial status, religion, or picture in your resume. Also, do not use filler words in your resume, as it will leave a negative impression on the viewer.
4. Professional Experience
Firstly, add your recent job description, and then write about your previous jobs in reverse chronological order. It is advised to add different experiences in bullet points. While writing your experience, firstly mention your company name, then your designation, then duration (only month and year, no need to mention specific date of joining or resigning)
To create a better impression, be specific about the relevant accomplishments during your work tenure so that the hiring managers can know about your abilities.
For example, you cracked a deal with a listed company because of a clear understanding of their needs and the timely delivery of previous assignments. It will give an understanding to the hiring managers about your good communication skills and time management.
All the candidates writing resumes for a career change can write about the skills transferable from their past experiences. Also, they can mention the certifications acquired, which will be applicable to the job they are applying for.
If you are a fresher, it is evident that you have nothing to write about your work experience. In that case, you can add experiences about the projects done during studying, internships, research papers, part-time jobs, etc.
5. Job Description
You cannot use the same resume for different job titles. Before sending your resume, it is essential to understand the job description. While writing about your work experience, try to add keywords from the job description of the Job role you are applying for.
While preparing your resume, try to be more specific about the job title you are applying for and make your resume ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) friendly, as it increases the chances of your resume not getting rejected from the system.
6. Proper Skill Set
When you apply for a job, it is important to understand that some technical skills are required for every job role. So, mention the skills that you possess according to the job role.
On the other hand, some skills can be mentioned in almost every job role, such as soft skills like communication skills, time management skills, leadership skills, etc.
Let’s say there is a job opening for the role of Sales Manager. So, for that, you should have good knowledge of that industry, communication skills, convincing power, skills to make a powerful strategy for increasing sales, etc.
7. Education Details
While writing your education details, firstly, write about your recent degree, then the previous one, and so on. When you mention your education, write the name of the Institution from where you pursued the course, the degree, and then the year of passing. It is optional to mention the grades. If you scored good grades, then it is recommended to mention it. Otherwise, you can ignore it.
If you are a fresher, then instead of starting with work experience, mention your education first.
8. Extracurricular Activities
Don’t write your work achievements like being awarded the best employee of the month. Here you need to mention your hobbies, volunteer work history, or the activities that you did other than academics and work. It will show that you are an all-rounder.
If you participated in any college competitions, fests, or any other event and played an important role, then you may mention those. It can support the skills that you wrote in your resume.
9. Your Resume Summary
You have to write some words in the form of a summary that describes you in short. So while writing it, try to take the keywords from the provided job description instead of writing irrelevant words. And as you will be updating your resume, as per different job roles, it is also important to change the summary according to each job role you are applying for.
As we already know, the hiring manager will not be spending a lot of time on a single resume, so it becomes important that your summary catches his attention.
10. Correct Editing
Job seekers need to understand that the most crucial thing is that your resume is properly edited, and by editing means the color, font size, gaps between two lines, font, and so on.
Keep your resume in black and white. If you wish, you can use a light shade of grey or blue but do not use colors like pink, green, red, or something like that.
While writing the resume, do not use fancy fonts. Keep it simple. You can use fonts like Calibri, Arial, etc. so it can look like a professional document, not like a birthday invitation.
Keep the font size neither too big nor too small. Keep the size of headings bigger than the inner text. Also, bolding the Headings is recommended so they can be visible easily.
While giving the space between two headings or two lines of the same head, always remember that too much space or too less space both are going to make your resume look bad. So give proper spacing.
11. Some Additional Tips
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Whenever you are preparing your resume, it is essential to proofread it to avoid grammatical errors and punctuation errors. If you are not confident enough, ask someone else to proofread it for you, or you can use free apps like Grammarly to do so.
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Always share your resume with the managers in PDF format only. Avoid sharing it in the form of word documents.
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The most crucial thing is not to lie in your resume because they will eventually find your lie, and that can lead to a ban from the organization because nobody wants to employ a dishonest person.
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Adding a cover letter with your resume is the cherry on the cake, so do not miss that.
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Always use active language while preparing your resume because passive language leads to ambiguity.
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Keep your resume short because longer resumes do not confirm the job. Instead, it can be the reason for getting rejected.
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Do not share your resume with any random person; either the person will ignore it, or someone can misuse the details written on it. Even if you want to send cold emails, then search for the proper IDs of the hiring managers of the organizations, and if you want to reach out to someone on LinkedIn, then search for the person who is working in that organization or had previously worked there.
Conclusion
Resume writing is an art, and for excelling in that art, you are required to know how many pages a resume should be, the structure of your resume according to your previous experience, proper editing, and where to place your achievements that are related to work and which are other than your work.
Also, Read How Can I Download My Perfect Resume for Free?
Last Updated on by Himani Rawat