How do I write a Resume?

Here are a few tips we recommend when it comes to writing your resume. If it has been a while since you’ve dusted yours off, chances are some of the old resume writing practices you are accustomed to have changed:

Contact Information: We recommend that you do not include your home address on your resume. If a recruiter or hiring manager needs your address, that should not be until the final stages in the interview process. Unfortunately, identity theft is a real issue with resumes and there is no reason to include your home address. You may include your city and state, but that is sufficient along with your cell phone and email address.

Keywords: Most companies use technology that is referred to as an “Applicant Tracking

System” or ATS. When you submit your resume online, it is critical that you embed keywords throughout your resume that are found in the job description for the role you are applying for. The more keywords you have that are a match with the job description, the higher the “match rate” you will have. Higher match rates increase your chances of making it through the ATS and landing on a recruiter or hiring manager’s desk.

Gaps in Employment: Fill in gaps where there is lack of experience or a season where you may have taken a break from the workforce. Capture any volunteer experience, community involvement, etc. and highlight skills and accomplishments from those roles. Even though they may not have been paid positions, you gained valuable skills that can be leveraged in your next job.

Number of Pages: You may have been in told in the past that you should keep your resume to one page. This is not the case anymore, especially if you are a seasoned candidate. The average resume is now two pages. We recommend avoiding creating a resume that is more than two pages, as anything longer than that will lose the reader’s attention. If you are a recent college graduate or have only been employed with 1-2 companies then one page could be appropriate.

Formatting: Make sure your resume is clean, keeping enough white space throughout. Ensure that your font is not too small or hard to read. We recommend using a font size between 10-12 points.

Tense: Use third person instead of first person when you’re writing your resume. Your cover letter can be more personable, where you speak in first person.

We hope this helps to provide you with a bit of guidance! If you would rather have us help you write your resume, we would love to do that too! Send us a note at info@myresumeteam.com and let’s chat!