The purpose of a résumé is to present your qualifications and experience clearly and concisely when applying for a job or expressing your interest in working with a company.
Employers sift through dozens, sometimes hundreds of applications, so a well-written résumé is essential to catch their attention and assess your possible suitability to work with the company.
Although it won’t necessarily lead to a job offer, a good résumé is the key to at least securing an interview.
In order to sell yourself to a potential employer you need to communicate your strong points, skills and accomplishments. Make a list of your personal strengths.
Your résumé needs to communicate how your capabilities will benefit the employer.
Tick the right boxes
■ Target your résumé for the specific job for which you are applying.
■ Stress accomplishments.
■ Use strong action words.
■ Make the résumé well-organised and professional-looking.
■ Proof for typos and other errors.
■ Keep a copy.
LEAVE IT OUT
■ Be truthful: don’t make up, or exaggerate, your accomplishments. In other words, stick to the facts. Your examples should speak to your knowledge, skills and abilities.
■ Avoid using the same action verb, such as “responsible for” over and over again. Instead, or additionally, use the words “created”, “delivered” or “designed”.
■ Don’t overly promote your soft skills on your résumé. Employers ask for your résumé and a cover letter for a reason. Keep your soft skills on the cover letter and leave the hard skills for the résumé. Your cover letter should be the place where you express interest in the job, then tell them how your hard skills on your résumé correspond to the specific position you are applying for, and lastly, ask for the interview.