You’ve heard it all before: Arial font! Up to two font sizes! Summary section! No more objective statements! Chronological! Functional! Hybrid! Long cover letter! Short cover note! Keep it to one page! Two pages is a must!
The amount of advice on writing just the right resume is overwhelming – what is a job seeker to do?
While it’s true that this advice is right for some job seekers, it may not be right forYOU. What is right for you, then, is exactly that: a resume that is tailored to YOUR expertise, to YOUR industry standards, one that highlights YOUR accomplishments and demonstrates YOUR value to employers. Your resume should tell a meaningful and relevant story.
Granted, it is quite difficult to objectively look back on your work experience and know just how to put it all together in the best way. It takes quite a bit of soul-searching, digging, and asking yourself probing questions to get to the “meat” of what makes you stand out from other candidates with a similar background. The truth is, whether you work with a resume writer or not, this has to be done. Don’t do yourself a disservice by opting for the ineffective cookie-cutter approach.
Tell a good CAR (challenge-action-result) story or STAR (situation-task-action-result) story, and you will have the start of a great career tool, one that propels you forward instead of holding you back.
By choosing to write with a personalized, tailored approach, you can be sure that your resume will look and read nothing like your co-worker’s resume – even if your job descriptions are identical. The value you bring to your employer is totally unique – so should be your resume.
Every word of your resume should be intentional, and every formatting choice should have a purpose. In fact, your resume is an active, living document: it should fit the job description you’re applying for, it’s tailored for relevancy while staying 100% truthful, and it’s full of keywords that will help pass the ATS.
Don’t sell yourself short by using a resume template or by copying/pasting your job description into your resume. You are worth more than that, so convey that through a compelling, keyword-filled, eye-pleasing, targeted resume.