Resumes, Everyone needs one–and they can quite literally mean the difference between getting the job and being left in the dust. Despite their importance and relevance in our lives, creating a resume that is appealing to potential employers isn’t exactly easy. If you want to know how to make a better resume, look no further than these 3 tips on crafting a better resume today.
Use an online resume builder to ensure a professional style
If your resume doesn’t look professional, then chances are, the person in charge of sifting through applicants won’t even give it a second glance. An online resume builder is a great way to make sure that your resume looks professional without having to spend money hiring someone to come up with a great resume design. These online resume builder sites usually offer templates for specific programs, such as a Microsoft resume template.
Get rid of any irrelevant information
One of the biggest mistakes people make when putting together a resume is including information that doesn’t matter to employers; in other words, irrelevant information. Irrelevant information takes many forms in a resume, with the most common being:
- Work experience not related to the job being applied for, especially if that work experience is from 10+ years prior; in other words, if you are applying to be a content manager for a social media website, your work experience as a diner waiter 15 years ago is not relevant.
- Hobbies, with some exceptions; employers do not care about your personal hobbies unless that hobby can be directly translated into a work-related skill, such as a painting hobby translating into an experience for a graphic design position
- Personal information that is not relevant to employers; this includes details such as marital status, whether or not you have children, places you have traveled to, and personal social media pages–unless that social media is your “professional” account.
Focus on what you’ve accomplished rather than tasks you were assigned
One of the worst things you can do on a resume unknowingly describes your accomplishments as tasks or duties you were assigned rather than as something you accomplished through your skills and efforts. When you list duties, not accomplishments, you are losing out on an opportunity to impress your employer with your personal skills and achievements.
For example, take a look at the following 2 descriptions:
1: Took care of children in a daycare setting
2: Personally created the daily schedules for 15 children, incorporating skill-building, socialization and learning exercises into their routines while overseeing their well-being
These two descriptions technically describe the same thing, but the second example is the one which is refocused as an accomplishment. It’s this second example which would be appealing to employers, as it describes an accomplishment achieved through your personal skills and efforts, rather than a simple task you were assigned as part of your work duties. This small distinction could make the difference in securing that interview or being left in the trash bin.