How to Construct a Job-Winning Resume

A well-written resume can get the attention of a hiring manager or other people in charge of hiring. Trying to condense all your education and work experience into one page can be difficult, but you can do a few things that will get your resume to the top of the pile. It just takes a little time and effort to get your resume perfect.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Computer with word processor
• Printer
• Paper

Common Elements

1. Write a heading. This should include your name, phone number and address. With Internet use common now, you should include your email address, too.

2. Write your objective under the heading, stating what you want to achieve in your next job.

3. Write out your education, beginning with the school or college most recently attended or completed. Include the name of the school, the date you graduated or will graduate, your major and your minor, if any.

4. List any related course work that might be of interest to the company to which you are applying. This can include extra-curricular activities, volunteer work, or classes you attended. This could also be combined under experience.

5. Experience counts for a lot with hiring managers, so list your your work background. If you have held similar jobs previously, list what you have learned or accomplished in those positions. Include your responsibilities and anything else that might look good to recruiters.

6. Be sure to include what you can bring to the potential employer. Research the company and know what is happening with it. Come up with scenarios you can mention where you would be a real asset. Mention things that will improve the company's bottom line that you can contribute to the company.

Other Tips

1. Try to grab recruiters' attention. This doesn't mean going crazy with the packaging or the color of paper, but think of something that will catch a recruiter's eye. It may be an interesting font, a photo or a catchy first line in the accompanying cover letter.

2. Drop names that the recruiter may know either personally or by reputation. If you worked on President Obama's campaign trail, let everyone know. If you were a personal assistant to Martha Stewart, include that on your resume. If you used to work with an employee at the hiring company, mention that. However, make sure that it was a good experience; if you didn't get along, do not mention the potential co-worker's name.

3. Don't make mistakes. This seems like common sense, but many people send out resumes with spelling and grammar errors. Check and double-check everything. Consider having a friend look over your resume. The more eyes that look over it, the less likely it is that you will have mistakes.

4. Tailor your resume to each job you seek. Do not send out a resume you think will pertain to all possible jobs. Even if the resume stays largely the same, you should change it to match the job opening, so that a potential employer sees that you are the perfect fit for the job.

5. Get an 'adult' email address. Use your name, or a portion of it. Using an email such as '[e-mail] will cause many potential employers to avoid considering you for their jobs.

References

• Career Builder
• Creating a Resume