How to Create a Resume Title

Fierce competition in the job market and an increase in the use of online search tools to crawl for applicants with appropriate skills have increased the importance of resume titles. Job placement sites, major employers and centralized job opening sites provide job seekers with the option to place resumes on file for regular review by employers. Use your resume title as a calling card for your services, giving reviewers immediate insight to your full range of skills.

Things You'll Need

• Completed resume

Instructions

1. Review your primary skills. Your resume title should accurately reflect your technical background. Identify key areas where you have excelled or developed a notable level of expertise. Boil your list down to three basic skill areas that you would want prospective employers to know you have without ever reading your resume.

2. Consider your long-term goals. The job you are seeking may not be one you have performed in the past. You may want to consider a title that projects your aspirations as well as your abilities. Make a list of imaginary job titles that fully define what you would like to be doing for work. These titles may or may not be directly related to your current skill set.

3. Create a refined list of key word titles that define your job search. Based on a review of your skills and your aspirations, build some titles that are intriguing yet professionally valid. "IT Advancement," "Arts Design for Sales Transition," "Management Trainee Search" are all examples of resume titles that would tell an employer what you are looking for, that you are thinking creatively and that you have valuable experience.

Tips & Warnings

• Save your list of ideas and title drafts as a reference as you apply for jobs online. The same resume can have a different title, depending on what you are seeking from an employer or how you think you may fit into a particular work environment.

• If appropriate, have more than one resume handy. Some sites allow job seekers to post more than one resume. In those cases, a list of titles highlighting a variety of interests and skills can provide a valuable source of preliminary information for employers seeking talent.

References

• Rockport Institute: How to Write a Masterpiece of a Resume