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There’s a certain mystery around crafting a resume that lands you that initial introductory interview. This Quick Tip will help demystify the process for job seekers. A majority of these tips come from a special guest, Allison Williams! She’s a rockstar WarnerMedia Campus Recruiter, on the University Relations team. Let’s jump right in!
The Must-Do’s for Perfect Resume Writing
“What are the key details I must include on my resume?“
Contact Info: It should take no time at all to find you based on your contact info!
- professional email address
- phone number
- professional links:
— LinkedIn (useful if applying to corporate roles)
— Website/Portfolio/Blog (useful if applying to creative roles)
Formatting: Make it skimmable
- Use simple fonts: for example, Verdana; Arial; Helvetica
- Font size: 10-12 points
- The order should be in reverse-chronological: put the most recent roles first
- Make it one page, meaning you should limit the number of jobs you include, make sure your role bullets are concise, and focus on your impact (I did X, by doing Y, and Z happened for my company, team, project, etc)
- Create subheadings: Relevant Experience; Education; Skills/Certifications; Professional Highlights, etc.
The Small Details: The small details matter too!
- Include relevant experience
- Quantify your experience and use action verbs. For example, you’d write something like this:
— Managed a team of ___ people.
— Posted/published ___ articles monthly.
— Increased follower count by ___ in ___ months - SPELL AND GRAMMAR CHECK (use FREE tools like Grammarly or Paper Rater)
- Make sure your links work
- Include KEYWORDS from the job’s description
- Name your documents correctly:
— FirstName_LastName_Resume
— FirstName_LastName_Cover_Letter
Must-Do’s for Perfect Cover Letter Writing
“I already put my whole life on my resume, do I really need a COVER LETTER too?“
If you’re applying for a job that you REALLY want, then yes, a cover letter is necessary. This is especially true if the job requires a lot of writing (social media, public relations, advertising, corporate communications, human resources, legal, government, etc.)
The cover letter shouldn’t be your resume in paragraph form. Instead, you should focus on the following points:
- Highlight an Experience: Pick one of your experiences that you’ve mentioned on your resume and expand upon it, making sure to talk about how that experience makes you the best fit for this new job.
- Display Your Passion: Another route would be to pick a project, assignment, or event that really helps define/exhibit your passion and expertise for the role that you’re applying for.
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🌟 6 Additional Ways to Help Your Resume Stand Out From the Competition!
“I have a few minutes to spare! What else should I include on my resume to make sure it’s perfect?”
- It’s important to master the S.T.A.R Method. (this is important in interviews too!)
— The acronym stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result. Practice answering all interview questions in this way! Your answers become more holistic with this method.
— Looking to beef up your interviewing skills? Practice with LinkedIn’s Common Interview Questions portal. - Resumes that are NOT submitted as a PDF normally lose formatting once it’s submitted online. Don’t let your pretty design go to waste!
- KEYWORDS matter. Most mid-to-large sized companies, use what is called an ATS (applicant tracking system) to help recruiters filter out unqualified people.
— Use keywords from the job description on your resume so that you can beat the filters.
— Use this FREE ATS Resume Scanner to see how well you’ve tailored your resume.
— Also you tag/word cloud programs to pinpoint the most popular keywords that are mentioned on both your resume and in the job description. - Keep your LinkedIn Profile and Website up-to-date. Some companies ONLY recruit via LinkedIn.
Related Read: Update your LinkedIn Profile in less than 15 minutes!
- Ask meaningful questions in interviews. Do your research! It’ll help you stand out with a manager if you can show that you know more about the company than just the name.
— Bonus tip: try to find someone who’s currently on the team/who’s held the position before to get a bit of insight on the company or team. - Sending a follow-up email to the recruiter or hiring manager is always a nice touch. But don’t over follow-up.
The Perfect Resume – Resume Editing Video Tutorial
BREAKROOM BUDDHA RESOURCES
Looking for some inspiration? Check out the Breakroom Buddha Career Resources below.
Resume Template (Simple & Clean)
A free resume template!
Traditional Resume Template | Breakroom Buddha
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LinkedIn Profile Checklist
A simple LinkedIn Profile checklist!
LinkedIn Profile Checklist | Breakroom Buddha
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What’s Next?
8 Unique LinkedIn Profile Optimization Hacks To Help You Stand Out
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Featured image by Volodymyr Hryshchenko
Good tips! Thanks so much for linking up with me at my #UnlimitedMonthlyLinkParty 12, open May 1 to 26. All party entries shared if social media buttons installed.