Resume Tips

Resume Writing

Research has shown that interviewers often spend as little as 17 to 20 seconds reviewing a resume.  With this in mind, there are a number of critical points to remember when preparing your resume.

A resume is not meant to tell your life story or to list every responsibility you have had in your career history.  It is a 2–4 page document and is a very important tool used in applying for a job.  Its specific purpose is to interest the Final5 account manager to invite you for a telephone interview. The major function of this document is to highlight: 

·  What you have done	·  Positions held, when, where, how long
·  What you offer a company	·  Responsibilities, scope of position
·  Your skills, knowledge, experience	·  Your education and training
·  Your achievements

Guidelines for Preparation

• A resume must be honest.  False or greatly exaggerated information will only hurt you in the long run.Keep it short and easy to read.

• Every piece of information must be relevant to the position you are seeking.

• Identify the "keywords" or requirements in the advertisement and address these where appropriate in your resume.

• The language of your resume is critical.  Use action words i.e. "Designed" not "Worked on formulation of …"  Avoid repetition and be careful not to use too much jargon.

• The overall visual appearance is the reader's first impression.  When constructing your resume you should consider the following:

Use a standard type style and size of font (eg. size 12 font Courier, Arial or Times New Roman).

Use white A4 paper only.  To make the resume easier to read and visually appealing, leave lots of white space.

• Paragraphs should be short and single-spaced.

• Use bullet points to emphasise information

• Accuracy is important in spelling and grammar, so proofread carefully.

For more assistance with your resume why not use the Final5 resume builder?  Click here to build your new resume.