Before becoming a recruiter, I never knew how important it was to have a good resume. I had no idea that a quality resume could make the difference between being chosen and skipped over. Since I started my job as a recruiter, I have seen more resumes than I can count. One day, a person close to me asked if I could review her resume and of course, I said yes. Unfortunately, I came to find out that I was looking at a recruiter’s worst nightmare. This person's resume had all the things that shouldn’t be in a resume. I politely told her we have lots of work to do if you want this document to stand out.
In fact, many of the resumes I see are discouraging, messy, and have too much information. As a result, this makes the important stuff hard to locate. Additionally, I have noticed that people tend to use elaborate design templates. Don't do it, it is not important! These templates only distract from the good stuff. After all, you want to be noticed, not overlooked.
Having said all this, here is what I look for in resumes of potential candidates:
Your name and personal information should be at the top as well as the last education title you achieved, if applicable. E.g. PE, Phd, LPN, etc.
Small personal summary, 2-3 lines maximum.
Briefly list your strong and most important skills as bullets.
List your work history - when listing the company add a short description. E.g. What industry is it? What does the company do?
Specify your accomplishments and describe the most important responsibilities you carried out. A few bullet points are enough.
Do not forget to put your education, certifications and memberships at the end of the resume.
Remember, less is more! A good resume should highlight the most important things in your professional career and these should be easy to spot.
Good luck on your next job hunt and make that resume dazzle.
Written by: Sandy Rivera, Recruiting Coordinator at Hunter Crown, LLC
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