How to Prepare an Eye Catching Resume
A resume is a brief summation of your work experience, education and skills. It is one of the most important tools to getting a job. Most employers receive a large amount of resumes. A job listing leads to dozens or hundreds of applicants mailing in resumes. An eye-catching resume puts you toward the top of the pile, increasing the likelihood of you getting the call for a job interview.
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Instructions
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Write your name and contact information in the top left corner, including your first and last names, street address, city, state, ZIP code, phone number and email address. Consider putting your name in a much larger type size, with the bold function turned on. Don't get carried away, but a size such as 22 could do the trick. Press the "Enter" key twice.
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Turn the bold function on and write "Objective." To make this heading stand out, write it in all caps or a different color. Pick something easy to read. Press the "Enter" key twice. Turn off the bold function and return to a normal type size with the caps lock key turned off. State your objective, and tailor it to the position you are applying for. If you're applying for a photography position, write something like, "To grow as a professional photographer, while providing outstanding photos that satisfy the customer and their needs." Press the "Enter" key twice.
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Turn the bold function on and write "Experience." However you chose to format the "Objectives" heading, do the same here and for the other sections of your resume. Press the "Enter" key twice, and turn off the bold function. List each of your previous jobs chronologically, starting with the most recent and working backward. For each experience, list the company name, the position you held (for example: Office Assistant), city and state, and the time you worked there (for example: February 2003 to March 2009) in bold. Press the "Enter" key once, turn off the bold function and then, using bullet points, write some of the highlights from the time you worked there. List things that make you stand out. Use powerful words, such as "enhanced," "led," "organized" or "supervised." Employers are looking for eager, proactive employees, so mention things that show your drive and interest in working hard. Write just a few bullet points for each job. Once done writing about a job, press the "Enter" key twice and then repeat the process for each job. When done with the "Experience" section, press "Enter" twice.
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Turn the bold function on and write "Education." Turn off the bold function, and press the "Enter" key twice. List any education you've had since high school. Specify the name of the institution, the degree or certification you completed and the year you completed it. For example: "University of Oklahoma--Bachelor's in Finance--2004). Mention any additional certifications, workshops, seminars or other things you've attended that relate to the job you're applying for. If you're applying for a job at a school, mentioning that you're CPR-certified increases your chances of getting a job interview. Press the "Enter" key twice.
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Turn the bold function on and write "Awards and Honors." Press the "Enter" key twice and turn the bold function off. In this section, using bullet points, mention any awards, honors or other forms of recognition you've received that relate to the position you're applying for. Examples include: honor roll, essay contest winner or teacher of the month award. Press the "Enter" key twice when finished.
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Turn the bold function on and write "Skills." Press the "Enter" key twice and turn off the bold function. Using bullet points, mention the computer programs or procedures you're skilled at. This can include Adobe, Quark, proficiency in a second language and more.
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Tips & Warnings
Check your resume for typos and grammatical mistakes. If you're unsure, have someone else look over your resume.
There are many sample resumes available online. Look at some to get ideas.
An eye-catching resume is neat and organized. Be consistent in your section headings, type sizes, colors and margins. If you use colors other than black, make sure they're easy to read.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit job of a brain image by 26kot from Fotolia.com
