People usually have a lot of questions when they have to write a resume. A good resume will attract the attention of employers and get you interviews. It will also help the interview process because employers like to discuss each point in the resume in order to better understand who you are and what you did in the past.
The first thing to keep in mind when you build a resume is that you should explain everything concisely and honestly. If you are applying for a specific position, then the resume should be tailored for that position. If your resume will go to recruiters and you are still not sure which position you will be applying for, then it can be a bit more generic and explain your experiences as a whole.
The resume should start with your personal information including first and last names, profession and location. Employers need this information to see who you are, what you do and where you live. So make sure you have this information on the top of the resume.
The next piece is the contact information. This is how the employer will contact you. Make sure you have your home address, email address and phone numbers available. You may also include links to personal websites or other related web pages.
It is always a good idea to start a resume with a summary section. Employers will read this to understand why they should continue reading your resume. You should explain in a few sentences what you have been doing as a professional and what your goals are. You should think about the skills, experiences and knowledge that you have that would be useful for the employer. Some examples:
You can add more points that employers could value such as:
The work experience section is basically a list with all previous employers in reverse chronological order with start/end dates, job position and description. This includes your tasks and responsibilities, and the technologies you used to accomplish the goals. You should always highlight the good points about the work (and the company) and avoid the negative points.
If you don’t have work experience with employers, you can still list projects or any other work done at university/school that relates to the job position. While looking for a job, you should get involved as much as possible with the community and other professionals that could bring opportunities and help you fill the gaps in your resume.
On the other hand, if you have a long history of employment, make sure the resume doesn’t get too long and boring to read. You should describe only the essential and skip unrelated subjects.
In the education section, you should start with the highest degree you have. Make sure you mention the field of study, name of the school, and the start/graduation years. If you still haven’t finished a course, you can still mention it. You should also mention important degrees like Master’s degree or MBA, if any.
You may enhance your resume with extra information that is relevant to the desired position or to the employer. This includes training, certifications, awards, languages, publications, voluntary work, hobbies, etc.
As a rule of thumb, you should NOT include certain pieces of information in your resume unless clearly requested by the employer. Some examples are: