The Key to a Successful Job Hunt: The Right Resume

Your resume is the most important tool an employer uses to determine if you are a good candidate to set up an interview, so without a great resume you can kiss your chances of landing an interview for your dream job goodbye.

Below are the top 5 Do’s and Don’ts of the resume:

Do:

1. Format your resume into recommended categories, including: Professional Experience, Education & Certifications, and Associations
2. List professional experience for the past 10 years, anything further into the past is not as relevant
3. Use bullet points to highlight accomplishments, not tasks
4. Clearly identify measurable results and accomplishments: dollars saved, percentage increases or decreases, time it took to accomplish goals, etc.

Don’t:

1. Add personal information such as height, personal description, hobbies, or taglines.  These tell your employer nothing about your abilities to do the job
2. Advertise negative and unnecessary information: laid off, fired, reasons for leaving, or previous salaries.
3. Write in the first person—“I”, “me”, “my”
4. Embellish or stretch the truth regarding dates of employment, duties, accomplishments, or experience
5. Overlook spelling mistakes or grammatical errors on your resume, this shows a lack of attention to detail

The job search can be difficult and stressful, but your resume is one part of the hunt that you can control. It is an employer’s first impression of your skills, abilities and accomplishments, so make sure it is a good one.

To read the rest of our Candidate Career Handbook, please contact us at: info@theintersectgroup.com