Eight Tips For Successful Resume Writing

Are you looking to shake things up in your career? September is the perfect time to shine! So, take action and revamp your resume. While crafting a winning resume can be challenging, you can accomplish it with a keen eye for detail and a little extra time and effort. It's easy to get bogged down with questions about what to include or leave out, and how to stand out from the crowd. My advice to clients is straightforward: personalize it. While job titles and duties may be similar across similar occupations, it's your unique qualities that make you stand out. Just like we all have our own individual features, your resume should reflect your individuality. Here are seven best practices to help you achieve this.

1. Your Name

• To ensure your name gets noticed, it's crucial to use a bold font and keep it slightly larger than the rest of the content.
• This will help attract attention to your name and ensure it is noticed, among other details.

2. Home Address

• As I always advised my clients, never put your home address on your resume: the city and province/state should be enough until you are hired.
• In today's society, we have to be more vigilant in protecting our identity and safety from fraud and theft.
• Secondly, you do not want to distribute your home address to strangers.
• Thirdly, some hiring personnel can use your postal code to discriminate against you or screen you out. You do not want to give them a reason to do so before you get a chance to communicate your skills.

3. Phone Number

• It's important to provide a valid phone number, and answer calls whenever possible, even if the number is unfamiliar or "unknown." Most hiring staff will not make multiple attempts to reach you and may use an unknown number to call. 
• Alternatively, you could consider getting a separate phone number for job search purposes to prevent scammers from getting your name and verifying your phone number. Several apps provide free phone numbers and voicemail services. You can easily find them by searching on Google.
• Install a voicemail system and make your message as brief and professional as possible. It should clearly enunciate your full name, and the phone number repeated at the beginning and end of the message. For example: 

Hi there! You've reached (first and last name at phone number). If you could kindly leave your name, phone number, and reason for calling, I'll get back to you within 24 hours. Again, I'm (full name at phone number) and I look forward to speaking with you soon. Thank you for calling!

• If you say you will do something, be sure to do it.
• Do not add any songs, slang, or silly verbiage.
• Make sure you record your message in a quiet place.
• You should avoid using a monotonous tone that is dull, flat, and uninteresting to ensure the accuracy and effectiveness of your message. Instead, try to maintain a level of formality by interjecting pauses and emphasis where necessary.
• That said, exude cheerfulness and liveliness. The best way to achieve this is to smile while leaving your message.
• Check your message often throughout the day—at least every two to three hours, or turn on voicemail notifications.

4. Email Address

• Create one that is simple, user-friendly and professional: Preferably with your first and last name or a derivation of it.
• Thou shall not judge, but you know this is one area they'll judge you, so don't give them permission to do so, and/or write you off.

5. The Objective

• Putting an objective section on your resume is a thing of the past. Your cover letter serves that purpose more effectively.
• The goal is to keep your entire resume simple and tailored specifically to the position you are applying for; therefore, it is crucial to carefully review the job application and modify your resume with keywords and phrases to fit each job description and duties.
• A generic resume will decrease your chances of being selected for an interview. Not to mention, it may get rejected by job bots and AI scanners without ever being viewed by a human. Therefore, to maximize your chances of securing an interview and stand out among the competition, it is crucial to tailor your resume to the job requirements and steer clear of using a generic resume.

6. Highlights

• When it comes to the Highlights section, make it as unique to your skills as possible.
• Assess and acknowledge, your skills, achievements, and accomplishments by doing an inventory of them. This can help you gain a better understanding of your strengths and the areas you excel. 
• By recognizing your successes, you will boost your self-confidence and feel more motivated to take on new challenges. So take the time to reflect on all that you have done and give yourself credit for your hard work and dedication. No matter how small you believe your skills are, employers and hiring teams will evaluate them differently. Instead of using common adjectives like reliable, responsible, dedicated, and hardworking, provide a specific example of how you have displayed these qualities. For instance:

If you have recently graduated, you could mention that you graduated with honours (if it is true), which showcases your dedication and hard work to the hiring team. If you have been promoted to a new position or received any appointment or recognition on the job, please mention it.

• Make mention of any unique skills, achievements, or leadership initiatives. Demonstrating team spirit shows that you are easy to get along with, and places an emphasis on collaboration and leadership abilities. These are great ways to say what you are without saying it. So, use your skills to your advantage and avoid unnecessary jargon.

7. Skills and Qualifications

• Avoid repeating skills or tasks throughout the document. Remember, hiring managers and recruiters often skim through resumes, so keeping them concise and relevant will make their job easier.
• When adding similar jobs/positions for different employers, focus on the distinct features of each role in each job—something unique such as an accomplishment, a challenging task or new software used.
• Alternatively, if you exceed two pages, try to write a functional resume instead of a chronological one, or limit the number of bullets under each position to two or three impactful achievements. 
• Additionally, when creating your resume, it's important to strike a balance with white space. While it's important to include enough to convey clarity, thoughtfulness, and organization of your thoughts, too much can make the resume seem sparse.

8. Pages

• If your resume exceeds one page, you can adjust the font size or typeface to extend it to two pages or condense it to fit onto one page. 
• It is generally recommended to use a font size no smaller than 10 or larger than 12 points for body text, and, 14-16 points for section titles and headers. Also, stick with a sans serif typeface such as Times New Roman, Arial or Calibri.
• Having a resume that is one and a half pages long can give the impression that you are lazy or unmotivated, which may make you appear uninteresting or lacking in skills.
• If you find yourself struggling to fill up a second page, consider expanding your skills and qualifications to showcase more of your experiences and achievements. If you did the inventory in number 6 above, this should be easy.
• Ensure that your resume is both visually appealing and concise to impress potential employers. That means keeping it legible and squint-free.

The critical point that I want to convey to you is to ensure that the message you send is the one that you want hiring managers to receive. Thus, your resume should be clear, concise, and on point. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that it is important to only apply for job opportunities that match your desired career goals. This means pursuing positions and companies you truly want to work for and grow with. Otherwise, you may find yourself stuck in a dead-end job that lacks fulfillment, performing tedious tasks you dislike, while also dealing with challenging colleagues, and wasting your precious time. I hope you find these tips useful as you embark on your job search journey and create a winning resume, which showcases your unique qualities. Wishing you great success!

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