4 Principles for Improving Your Resume:
/Almost everyone hates to work on their own resume, and while it may not be fun, it’s important. Take the “start now and improve over time” approach, and you’ll find it actually becomes easier to open up, review, and make incremental changes. I encourage you to start today and take strides forward. In very little time, and with very little effort, you’ll have a resume that will represent you well and you’ll be satisfied with.
Before you even open Word or Pages, I encourage you to gain a strong perspective on what you’re trying to accomplish and how to approach this work. Best practices for resumes continue to change – make sure you understand these four principles before you even start to improve your resume:
1. KNOW THE PURPOSE OF A RESUME. It’s important to remember what you’re working on and why. I believe it all comes down to two main things:
Your resume represents you. It is the first impression of you in a lot of scenarios and then introduces you, your qualifications, and your experience to the reader.
Your resume represents you so it makes sense
to spend some time to improve it.
Your resume serves as a tool to get a next step. You’ll never get an offer without the next step. So your resume doesn’t have to be perfect, just good enough to get a next step.
Craft your resume now. Use it now. Then continue
to improve and update it on a regular basis.
2. BE YOU. If you ask for resume input from 10 different people, you’ll probably get 15 different answers. Understand that everyone has a perspective and that there is no one approved solution. Sure there are best practices, and even trends that occasionally get special notice, but in the end, you need to prepare your resume to present you in a way where you are comfortable. The major area I see people stumble in is when they use power words or snappy phrases that read really well, but just aren’t who they are.
Don’t try to be someone you’re not. Be yourself.
3. REVEAL WHO YOU ARE - TELL A STORY. Consider how your resume reads and what it may say about who you are. Does it reveal anything besides where you’ve worked and what roles you’ve been in? Do you want it to? I personally believe you can connect better with your reader if you weave a little bit of “your story” into your resume. Of course there are a lot of people who disagree with me on this point, but a well written resume that gently reveals a little more of who you are will make an impact!
Layer in subtle phrases to reveal just a little more
information to help the reader connect with you better.
4. SEPARATE YOURSELF. As you prepare your resume, take time to understand what can separate you from others who have held similar roles and experiences. Then weave those differences into your resume through objective statements & bullets describing your achievements. What separates you from others may just be what and how you write your resume, but make sure you take the time to try.
Objective statements that succinctly highlight what you’ve
accomplished, achieved, and been recognized for makes an impact,
not fluffy or flamboyant language.
For a more in-depth guide to reviewing and improving your resume, see: