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A good resume is what will help you land an interview for your dream job. If you appropriately tailor your resume, you will hear back from almost every job opportunity. Before you start working on your resume, you need to outline your skills and experiences relevant to the job. Once you have listed all your qualifications, you can prepare your resume for your job application.

Follow These Steps When Drafting Your Resume

1. Choose the correct resume format.
There are three standard resume formats:

Chronological Resumes (or reverse-chronological) is the most popular resume format. It lists your experience from most to least recent. It prioritizes relevant professional experience and achievements. This format is best used by those with a rich, consistent work history.

Functional Resumes benefit those who lack relevant work experience such as recent graduates or looking to make a career change.

Combination Resumes are ideal for people with a remarkably diverse skill set. It lists your skills and qualifications first, your employment history next.

2. Review the resume layout.
Your resume should be one page in length and have ample white space. Easy-to-read font and clear section headings are a no-brainer! These are a few of the best practices when it comes to your resume layout.

3. What to include in your resume?
Once you have got the essentials down, here are some popular sections you should include:

Contact Information is a must-have. You should include your first and last name, phone number, email address, and location or address. Additional information such as your professional title, social media profiles (such as LinkedIn), or website can add value to your application but are not required.

Summary or Objective can help you leave a striking first impression. Employers spend around 6 seconds reviewing each resume, and your resume summary or Objective is an excellent place to start. You may ask, “what is a resume summary?” It is a 2 to 3 sentence summary of your career. If you lack work experience, use a resume objective. A resume objective is the overall goal of your resume that communicates your applications motive

Work Experience and Achievements are the essential part of your resume, hands down. This section is where you need to sell yourself to the employer. To stand out, be sure to mention your achievements and not just your responsibilities on your resume.

Education is easy to format. You should include your field of study (B.A. in Communication), university name (University of California, Davis), and your graduation year (Class of 2016). Your optional information you can include to strengthen your resume would be your GPA, honors program, academic achievements, and minor.

Skills are a must-have section in your resume. There are two types of skills that you should include in your resume: hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are measurable abilities (e.g., video production, graphic design, sales, etc.), while soft skills are personal skills (e.g., leadership, problem-solving, adaptability). NEVER lie about your skills.

Additional Sections (if necessary) such as languages, hobbies and interests, volunteer experience, certifications and awards, projects, and publications can act as a filler and boost your chances of getting hired.

4. Proofread and perfect your resume!
Once finished writing your resume, save it (as a PDF)! Once you save it, take a break, and return to it with a fresh pair of eyes to check for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. You can have a friend or family member review it as well. It never hurts to perfect your resume as much as possible.

You are Ready to Move on with Your Job Search – Congrats!
You are finally on the right track to landing your dream job. If you still need help tailoring and perfecting your resume, call (877) POLISH U or (877) 765-4748 to learn more about our services and how we can help you succeed in your job search.