Secrets of Successful Resume Writing

We live in a world of endless possibilities, impossible achievements, wonderful places and breathtaking events. The face of this world constantly changes: it can be wild, welcoming, amused, scared or even aggressive. Highly competitive people with great expectations, extensive knowledge, desire for prosperity, and a desire to find a better job live in such an aggressive world. To find a good job with a more comfortable salary, you need to write a powerful resume.

In this article, you will learn the differences between a resume and a CV, and find several resume writing tips that certainly may help to come up with a perfect resume. In any case, this is a very useful information for everybody who wants to get a well-paid job with a decent salary, work conditions and a good boss. So let us begin!

Every candidate, who applies for a certain position, must understand that this kind of writing represents your first meeting with a potential employer, and your job offer depends on how well your resume differentiates itself. You may need a professional resume at any time, more than once in your life.

In the first place, let’s define what is a resume and what are the differences between a resume and a CV. As you know, resume, as a piece of writing, is a short and efficient piece of information which characterizes a certain person, his/her work experience, accomplishments, goals, objectives, etc. A CV, or Curriculum Vitae, is a detailed description of a person’s life, education, experiences, achievements, hobbies, etc. These two things differ mainly because they are prepared for different positions. The latter is usually prepared for applying for academic positions. A resume requires certain style and format, and you should follow these requirements to make your resume attractive to a potential employer.

Before you begin to write it, remember, that a good resume should not be written in 3^rd person. It is better to write a resume in 1^st person, and it is better to use the present or past tense to highlight very important or relevant information about yourself. The next secret of a successful resume is that your resume shouldn’t be too long since an employer is busy enough, looking through endless piles of documents or any other piece of information. Your resume should be written in such a way that it attracts attention of an employer from the very beginning. Otherwise, it risks to be thrown away.

Personal Information and Resume Length

At the beginning of your resume you should state your first name, middle name (if appropriate) and your last name, date and place of birth, place and a country of residence, mailing address, contact information, etc. This information should be clear and credible because many recruiting agencies tend to verify contact information and some other facts. Speaking of the length, it shouldn’t be too long or too short. Employers do not want to read the three-page resume of a newly-graduated student. Of course, a resume of a person with twenty years of work experience will be longer than a resume of a client manager with one year of work experience. They differ in every possible way, but let’s not forget about specific requirements of a resume. It’s not an autobiography book! Usually, a resume is 1.5 page long, without complete sentences, but rather with clear and brief statements of your skills and areas of knowledge. A font of this kind of writing should be clear and readable, and a text should contain enough white space. Resume writing research carried out in the USA and in the UK in 2013 and 2014 showed that resumes with clear and readable font and white spaces were more successful than resumes with tiny fort and no white space, or overuse of spacer-bar. So be careful! Employer’s eyes should also rest from never ending reading.

Objective

The objective is a feature that shows a reason for your applying for a certain position. Sometimes, you should state objective, according to the one specific position. Just remember, your objective shouldn’t be an abstract long. No one wants to read overlong sentences. Resumes with long objectives go to ‘bad resumes’ file, and they are never to be read again.

Photograph

Nowadays, more and more employers want to read resumes with a photo. Recent researches showed that during 2014 a greater percent of employers started requiring resumes with photos. By doing so, you make your resume personal. Potential employer reads information about a certain person and not just a plain impersonal biography. There are several requirements to the photograph, its size, background, etc. First of all, always specify the required size of a photo beforehand. Secondly, do not apply too much makeup all over your face. You should look natural. Thirdly, it is better to have a picture taken in an appropriate outfit. For example, if you are applying for an administrative position, wear a business outfit. However, if you are applying for a position at a foreign company, you may need to take a full-length photograph. Remember these simple rules, and you will never get into a photo-trouble.

Work Experience

Work experience is a key to get a new job. Your potential employer may look at your work experience, in the first place. So take it very seriously because a work of your dream may depend on it. Start with the last work position, and continue to state all your previous ones in reverse chronological order, state full name of a company, your position, a summary of responsibilities, etc. As a rule, a full-time student may have no work experience at all, in such a case it is useful to indicate all your internships, participation in the work of public organizations, possible side-jobs (if any), etc.

Additional Skills and Information

When you are through with your work experience, you need to indicate some useful additional information and additional skills, such as language skills, software skills, driving license, possible hobby/hobbies, etc. All of it may be of interest to an employer. You never know what exactly may interest him/her. This chapter adds one more fruit of proficiency to your resume cake.

Reference and Cover Letter

References are also very important because they represent the attitude of your previous employers to you and your performed responsibilities. References represent your previous experiences in front of your potential employer. If you have no work experience, references related to your academic achievements may be a great help.

Another helpful tool you can use is a cover letter. A cover letter is one more additional material to make your resume professional. In a cover letter you address a certain person in writing, you should give reasons for your holding a desired position, prove that you are the right person for a company. As a rule, this information should be a half of a page, or one page long.

At the end of this article, it is worth adding just one more tip. Lack of literacy is another feature that may spoil your entire career. Take a good look at your resume; proofread it for possible grammar mistakes. It may take you some time, but certainly will save your career.

A resume is a great opportunity to prove your potential employer how hard you are willing to perform your responsibilities. Well, if you fail to write your resume on your own, you may always order one with professional custom writing services. As it was said, we live in a world of endless opportunities, so dive into one of them!

If you do not have time, you can buy resume paper on Pro-Papers.com!