Share |
Custom Search
IT Pathways - The IT Careers Encyclopedia
Menu filter
Resume Writing Tips
"Top 5 Tips for Effective Resumes"

1. Display Your Strengths at the Start of the Resume

Your resume layout should play to your strengths. If your education and training is a feature then it may be appropriate to place an 'education and training' section at the beginning.

2. Use Formatting to Highlight Your Career Strengths

Many employers skim through resumes in order to get through large quantities in a small amount of time. Formatting can be used to clearly show skills and key achievements. If you can get a good idea of your skills and qualifications just by skimming the resume then your resume is probably well formatted.

3. Keep all of the Resume Content Relevant to the Advertised Job

I recently reviewed a colleagues’ resume which had a listed work history dating back to the 1980s! We spoke about his approach as well as the relevance of most of the information that he was presenting. As a result of our conversation he decided to cut out a large portion of irrelevant historical data prior to submitting it for a job application. His resume went from twenty pages to eight pages, which I still thought was too long – but it was an improvement nevertheless. He was called for the job interview and was offered the job soon after.

The point being that, not only does irrelevant information clutter up a resume, it also helps to detract from the key achievements. It is better to have one or two pages of completely relevant information than four pages padded with unrelated data. Part time fast food type jobs may be relevant in that they show commercial experience and responsibility but I would give them no more than a brief mention.

4. Avoid the Temptation to List Every Technology That You Have Ever Used

You should have a clear understanding of the role that you are applying for. This includes the duties and skills required by the position. Include and elaborate on relevant skills and trash the rest. My particular specialization is telecommunications, however, I do have some programming skills. Programming does not appear at all in my resume at all because it is not a skill that is required in the telecommunications field.

If the skill has a loose association, then I would go ahead and give that skill a brief mention to show a broader scope of experience.

5. Listing a Technology Once is Not Convincing Enough

I often see grand statements in cover letters and resumes stating one’s operational excellence with a particular system. A more convincing approach may be to articulate ones experience from a number of different sources. For example, you may have studied Java Programming in a specialized University subject as well as delivered the final year project in Java. You may have also written a small web application in Java as a home project. All of these separate instances amount to knowledge and experience, this is a far more convincing, accurate and credible approach than a broad statement claiming “excellent Java skills”.

Bonus Tip: How does the Resume fit in the job application process?

An effective resume should be reinforced by the accompanying cover letter and should in turn reinforce your message during your interview. The table below is a simple visual of how each document propels the employer toward the final positive decision.
Description


Introduction as well as an argument stating your case for your suitability to the job.

Career overview showing previous experience with relevant skills required by the new job providng a more comprehensive view  of the opening argument presented in your cover letter.



Personal experience describing your journey of the skills acquisition listed in your resume and cover letter. It is important that your interview technique reinforces the messages presented in your resume and cover letter.
Document


1. Cover Letter



2. Resume







3. Interview
Application 'believability'
Unconvincing    You're Hired