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Importance of a Resume | Resume Writing Tips

When applying for a job, one of the key tools required is a professionally written and customized resume that reflects your qualifications while meeting most, if not all, of the recruiter's job requirements.


The word resume originates from the French word "résumé," which means "to summarize." Hence, a brief but informative summary of your qualifications, work experience, educational background, and skillsets is included in a document shared with the recruiter.

There are various types of resumes, namely the chronological resume and the functional resume, to name a few. You can decide which is best for you. A resume is important in the recruitment process. Below, we explore some reasons why this is so.


It is a reflection of who you are professionally.

Prior to a recruiter meeting you, whether in person or remotely, one of the first things they encounter concerning who you are is your resume. Now, your resume provides them with information such as your educational background, work experience (if any), skillsets, and awards. This allows them to shortlist potential candidates for an interview.



A professionally written and attention-grabbing resume can help influence a recruiter's decision in the hiring process. When writing your resume, be sure to utilize an appropriate outline, fonts, colors, font size, and eye-catching impressive benefits of hiring you; for example, instead of saying you contributed to the customer service department daily, you could coin it another way and say, "Increased customer accounts by 30% through the use of excellent customer service and successful sales strategies.".


Resume Writing Tips


Use professional fonts.

It is recommended that you use fonts that are'resume friendly', particularly those that are ATS friendly. Fonts such as Calibri, Times New Roman, Verdana, Georgia, and Arial are usually used when writing a resume. Employers tend to judge a potential candidate's resume, which can be influenced either positively or negatively. Moreover, the recruiter may be using software to skim through the pool of resumes received, and you need your resume to be easily read by the software. Hence, using the appropriate fonts would do you a great favor.


Organize the outline of your resume.

You do not want to have your information all over the place. Separating relevant information into different sections, such as a professional summary, educational background, professional experience, skills, and references, makes it easier for your recruiter to read and understand.


Include only relevant information.

Most people tend to place irrelevant information on a resume, thereby taking up space on the resume and wasting time. You don't want to make this mistake. So, avoid adding information that is irrelevant to the recruiter's job requirements.


Be informative, but concise.

A resume is a summary of who you are professionally. Try to avoid long, irrelevant, and drawn-out sentences, which can become confusing. An example of such a sentence is:

"Each day I take calls and escalate irate customer calls to my superior, and upon evaluation, average customer resolution time was reduced by 25%.

Instead of writing that, you could say, "Reduced the average time to resolution by 25% by promptly triaging incoming calls and escalating them as needed.".


Proofread your resume prior to sending

It is recommended that you proofread your resume prior to sending it, as this will allow you to check for potential grammatical errors and make amendments where needed. If you need additional help to proofread, you may utilize proofreading software that is accessible online, or you may outsource it to a business such as The VA Discovery to do it for you at an affordable cost.


Apply keywords from the job ad to your resume.

You never know if your resume may pass through an ATS system. So, it is good practice to incorporate keywords from the job advertisement into your resume, as the ATS will be skimming through your resume to see if you will be a good fit for the job posting.


Choose the right file type.

When writing your resume, choosing the right file type is a big deal. You want to save and submit your resume in either a PDF or.docx format.


If you would like to have a custom resume done for you or someone else, feel free to reach out to us. We will be more than happy to assist you!

 

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