The purpose of the resume is to get you an interview, not necessarily to get you the job. would you buy a car without a test drive? Companies want to test drive you too.
Your resume should tell a story, from beginning to end. Answer these questions: Who are you? What have you done? What makes you special? Why should we hire you?
How long should the resume be? As long as it needs to be, and as short as needed to keep the reader’s attention. Only give them enough info to make them want to keep reading.
Don’t lie on your resume. Get hired because you are the right person for the job, not because you said the right things on your resume.
Words have power. Use captivating titles and strong keywords to draw the reader’s attention and to create a standout impression of you as a job candidate.
Resumes help you by showing potential employers that you are the right candidate for the position. Stand out from the crowd with a stellar resume.
Yes, you often only get one chance to make a first impression. Your resume is your first chance to make a good impression on hiring manager.
Resumes should always focus on results. Don’t write job descriptions. Don’t just describe what you did, but actually give concrete results that you achieved.
It can be very tempting to try and stuff in every bit of information about you and your achievements into your resume. Don’t.
If an employer has 20 candidates for a job and one candidate has holes in their resume that can’t be explained, chances are that candidate isn’t going to get picked.
Make your resume more powerful by using action verbs in your accomplishment statements.
Proofread your resume carefully to make sure that it is error-free.
Your resume is a marketing document, not a “career obituary” of everything you’ve done and everywhere you’ve worked.
Don’t forget how your resume looks. Even if you have the correct information on your resume, if the format isn’t outstanding, you may not get an interview.
Your resume must get past the gatekeeper, whose job it is to screen paper out, not in.
The purpose of the resume and cover letter is to get you in the door. Once that happens, these documents have done their job.
Make sure you keep a record of the resumes you’ve sent. When you send out a resume, make a note of when to follow-up.
Never use your current employer’s contact information on your resume — and that includes using your work email address.
Don’t try to use the same resume to apply for different types of jobs. For example, you can’t use the same resume for sales jobs or procurement positions. Or the same resume for nursing jobs and pharmaceutical sales roles.
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