Resume-Writing Tips

A resume is an important piece of communication for you to start or progress in your career. Think of it as a personification of yourself as a prospect for a job. For the hiring manager, the resume is their first impression of you.

Given that, it's really important to put your best foot forward in your resume. Here are some tips to help you get started.

Start with content. Leave your formatting to the end.
Resume templates with a lot of fancy formatting sometimes gets distracting when you're trying to paint a picture of yourself in words. So distracting, in fact, that you may end up with a fancy looking resume that actually gives a poor reflection of you. Focus on the key messages you want to deliver first. Add the splash later on.

Use Section Headings.
In a resume, it's good to have some section headings such as Education, Experience, Skills, Objectives, etc. Not only does it make the resume easier to read, it provides a framework for you to deliver your message as well.

Strongest Sections First.
Many ask whether to put Education ahead of Experience or Skills after Education. There really isn't a fixed template. For these 3 sections in particular, rank them. Which section gives the best impression of you? Put those sections in front of the others.

Volunteer and Values
For those starting out their careers, they often do not have much to put down for Experience. In that case, it is useful to put volunteer experiences down. This can be enhanced with some prose that reflect how the experience has instilled soft skills and/or values in you.

Highlights
It's a good idea to put an Highlights section up at the top of your resume. Pull out some of the highlights of your skills, experience, accomplishments. Limit it to 3 items or less. This allows the reader to see in a glance the best qualities about you. This is the section where you answer the question "what are the 3 reasons I should hire you over the other candidates?" If you're just starting out your career, these could be community and/or academic accomplishments.

Hope this helps you get started.