Sometimes referred to as “CV,” your resume is your most important tool/weapon when you are applying for a job; without it is like going to war without a sword or a gun. It really is not necessary how qualified you are, it’s not a true requirement that you are excellent in what you do – if your resume is written poorly and awfully presented, you’re going to have a hard time in getting the job you want or worse – getting an interview.
Writing your resume is the first and only step to ensure that you land an interview. You really need to take time in constructing your resume. In this article, we are going to assure you that writing resumes is not really a piece of bad luck because we are going to relay it to you as easy as we can.
The purpose of a resume
If you are part of the people who are unaware of what a resume does, then you might be caught up wondering why you still need this to get a job.
You need to consider it as your marketing tool, it needs to demonstrate:
- How you meet the job requirements
- That you have the qualifications (and education)
- That you possess the right skills and experience
How should I write my resume?
In a separate post, we gave you different types of formats or structures you can follow for your resume. But generally, your resume must include:
- Contact Information
- Work Experience
- Education Experience
- Professionalism
Notice that I did not include awards and recognition in that. The reason as to why is because you can directly tell them about it without having to include it in your CV. This is one good act to ensure that you know very well what you’re doing so that they would be confident enough to go through an interview with you.
Should it be long?
There is no length-requirement as to how your resume should be; it varies on your experience, both work experience and education. Just make sure that you do not input unnecessary information because it might dry it out more than you can think of.
Read: How to write a good CV or Resumé
If your resume is just one page but well-written, well- executed, and properly presented it can be more effective and successful than having a 2 to 3-page resume containing irrelevant information.
What not to put in your resume and what to avoid
Some people think that their resume is like the book of their lives – that is most certainly not the case. You don’t need to provide anything personal like:
- Physical Disabilities
- Illnesses
- Health issues and concerns
Fancy Formatting
You would think that setting your font to something fancy or showy might lead you to get better results – but no. You need to stick to easy-to-read fonts and formats to make sure that the employer or the human resources personnel can focus more on understanding or weighing as to whether you’re fit for the job or not rather than focusing on reading your font properly.
Some good fonts you need to consider are:
- Arial
- Calibri
- Verdana
- Tahoma
Typographical Errors or Factual Errors
Avoid typographical errors because it might cause you to not land the job you are applying for. This is quite an impression that you do not polish what you do; that you just go out and perform a job without checking or finalizing your work.
Spell-check everything before you proceed; make sure that every bit of information written on your CV is correct. Erroneous information might never get you to the next step of the job application. If you mention their company, make sure that the spelling is correct. If asked about it, only say things that you know and avoid making things up.
Writing your resume is as crucial as the interview. Follow these guidelines and ensure to have a well-written resume free from irrelevant information and erroneous information. Provide a well-written resume and be sure to hop to the second part of a job application – the interview.
Read Also: How to answer top 5 Job Interview questions