Four Secrets to Writing a Winning Resume

When a student graduates from university and gets his degree, his primary concern would be to secure a job. Many students even start looking for a job even before they graduate, with a few already securing a career thanks to their excellent academic performances.

In the process of job hunting, students or any job-seekers have to have one conventional yet proven weapon to bring – resume. When applying for a job, applicants should make sure that they have their resumes ready. Gone are those days when job-seekers just knock on the door of companies and ask whether there is a vacancy and whether they could apply for a post. Companies, through their human resource departments, usually look at possible employees through the submitted resumes as well as cover letter.

Yes, resumes are the usually the first opportunity for an applicant to impress the prospective employer and land the job. It is likewise the first window for the company to see whether an applicant is qualified to be offered with a slot in their workforce.  This only means that resumes should be as polished as possible to have a winning effect. But how can you achieve that?

Gladly though, there are secrets to writing a winning resume that could impress employers. If you are wondering what they are, here are four of them.

Ø  When you are writing your resume, don’t forget to include a number of related keywords. Keywords are not only used for search engine optimization, but also for determining whether an applicant could be suitable for the work organization. When a company is seeking to fill in a certain position, it will also seek someone who would fit into that. Thus, when human resource managers read resumes sent in by applicants, they would first look at certain keywords that are distinct to the post that is currently vacant. For instance, while looking at a resume of an applicant for a marketing position, a manager may seek the words “sales,” “analysis,” “promotion,” “support,” “business,” or “products.” If an applicant’s resume does not contain those words, he or she is likely not to be considered for the post.

To determine what keywords could be used in a resume, an applicant should know and understand the description of the job as well as what it entails.

Ø  Only include the appropriate details and information. Writing a 10-page resume that includes almost all the details of the applicant’s life, work and academics is never advisable. Hiring managers don’t have the time to read the entire resume and they won’t even bother to know the applicant’s life story. An applicant needs need to prioritize what to include in the resume. He or she should only include details that could help him or her land the job. Not all job experiences as well as academic performance should be included. It would be too awkward to include an academic award that an applicant received in his or her first grade. It would also be too awkward to include a college part-time work that is not in any way related to the job being applied for. An applicant should remember the ART rule in writing resume: Accurate, Relevant and Timely.

Ø  Make sure to have good character references.  When hiring managers try to gauge the reliability and capability of applicants, they typically turn to other persons to tell them about their prospective employees. However, character referencing is not a game of how many people would say good things about the applicant. Character referencing is about the quality of the references. No matter how many people say that an applicant is a good worker, they won’t be believable unless they have worked with him or her. On the other, if the testimonial comes from two or three persons who are credible and reliable, the higher are the chances that an applicant would be considered for the job. A testimonial from a person who was an applicant’s superior in his previous company or professor in the university (for fresh graduates) could be enough reference.

Ø  Provide a link to your social media profile. In this world where having a social media account is as common as having a TV or refrigerator, employers have found a good way to know their applicants better. Most companies, through their human resource department, do a background check on their applicants. While character reference might suffice, an applicant’s social media profile might be more honest in telling what kind of a person an applicant is. The pictures, the videos, the comments, the likes and status of an applicant in his or her Facebook, Google+ or Twitter account could tell a lot on his or her personality. An applicant’s social media profile could also provide hiring managers essential data to confirm his or her work experience or related academic credentials. While the resume should contain a link to one’s social media profile, it should never divulge any log-in credentials.

Author Bio: Manuela Theissen is a 31-year mother of three who possess genuine passion for writing and reading. She loves writing online articles, especially about education. Some of her articles have tackled CV help for students seeking to enter the workforce.