Hints on Writing Resumes

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Laura from youngwritersworkshops.com, and I'm going to give you some hints on writing resumes. Now, you can think of a resume as a tool for you to introduce yourself to a potential client or employer. And so in that way you really want to use it to put your really best face forward. I think it's really common for people to write a resume that's very focused on listing things such as your education or your past jobs, and I really encourage people to move away from that and to focus a little more on what skills you have, and a little bit about yourself, and what qualifies you for the position. Generally you can start your resume after the header which will include your name and address and contact information, e-mail and phone number. The next section you could title profile, and in that section you can include a little bit about yourself, your past experience, and try and be specific, call out things that you've done that will really represent your experience and your expertise. And then you can move on to list your past jobs, city and state, where they happened, and if you wish you can include the dates. Underneath the past jobs though you'll want to call out some specific achievements that you did in that role, what you did in that that made you a leader or something specific that you accomplished. Maybe a phrase or two underneath each job. Also include your education, list your degrees and the institution where you received them. And then you can also have another section with just your skills, and in that section you'll want to list things like strong writer, or excellent researcher. Try and be specific again, not to say, you know, I'm an excellent employee, or something like that. Really focus on the concrete skills. You may choose to include references or referrals on your resume and make sure that it's proofread carefully and has no errors, typos or anything like that. So those are some ideas about how to write a resume."