Fax Cover Sheet And Application Checklist Checklist For Submitting: Fill & Download for Free

60+ Resume Writing Tips (Collection)How many articles have you seen titled something like “4 tips to improve your resume”?I’ve seen too many.That’s why I sought out to make a master list of useful resume writing tips that you can use to create the perfect resume and get more interviews.If you combine these tips with all the concepts and principles in our definitive guide to writing a great resume, you will have a fantastic resume.It’s going to take you some time to go through it, but I promise the results will be worth it.Before you start!: You can also grab a handy resume checklist that contains a helpful list of all the things a great resume should include (or not include)One more quick thing, a few people have expressed an interest of addressing the most important areas first. Here’s a spreadsheetwith all the tips that you can sort/filter by difficulty and importance.Remember that the difficulty and importance are just my best guesses. For you, something might be easier or harder than I have written.Have Professional Social Media ProfilesImportance: MediumDifficulty: EasyWhile it varies by industry, most recent surveys have found that anywhere from 40-60% of hiring managers look at social profiles at some point in the hiring process.It is crucial that if your main social profiles are found (Facebook, Twitter), that you don’t have questionable messages, status updates, or pictures showing.While setting your profile to private can block most of that information, typically your main photo shows. Use a picture that won’t scare off a potential employer (i.e. avoid drugs, drinking, obscene gestures, scantily clad pictures etc.).Source: http://m.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2014/05/13/most-hiring-managers-say-they-look-at-applicants.html?r=fullLimit the Contact InformationImportance: MediumDifficulty: EasyThe header of your resume is intended to introduce your name and provide a few details about how to get in touch with you and where you live. You don’t need to include 10 different addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers etc.Pick 2-3 of your preferred contact methods, and include your city. Keep it simple.Read more about headers here: http://www.rawresume.com/write-resume-definitive-guide/#ch2Scratch the ObjectiveImportance: HighDifficulty: EasyObjectives are sooo 1999. The short reason why is that they usually add little value (while taking up the most valuable space) and are more difficult to read that bullet points. You are almost always better off excluding an objective and diving in to the meat of your resume.An option that is available for some jobs, typically higher paying/prestige, is to write an executive summary. Read more about executive summaries here: http://www.theladders.com/career-advice/trade-up-to-executive-summaryDon’t Confuse Expectations with SkillsImportance: MediumDifficulty: MediumTelling an employer that you have a “strong work ethic” or “high attention to detail” is very common, but ineffective. While they are good traits to have, they are also expected traits of most employees and won’t impress many hiring managers.Note: Different employers have different expectations. On some applications, it may be appropriate to include something related to your work ethic followed by an example.Source: http://career-advice.monster.com/resumes-cover-letters/Resume-Writing-Tips/words-to-eliminate-from-your-resume/article.aspxWrite Benefits, Not SkillsImportance: HighDifficulty: HardThis is possibly the most challenging aspect of writing a truly great resume.When you write a resume, you want to express the value you can bring to an employer as clearly as possible. If you’ve shown you can save a company thousands of dollars, why wouldn’t an employer want to hire you?To do this, write your skills in terms of the benefits and results they’ve accomplished, don’t simply write down what you’ve done in the past.This is a very important aspect of your resume, I strongly recommend reading our full guide to writing a benefit-driven resume.Explain Your Work GapsImportance: HighDifficulty: MediumThere’s certainly nothing wrong with taking time off in-between jobs, but you should explain it if you have a particularly large gap or two. This can be done by explaining how you’ve developed your skills when not working through courses or personal projects.There may be some rare situations that warrant a short cover letter mention like an extended family emergency.How? https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140623182203-368344-5-tips-for-how-to-explain-gaps-in-your-employment-historyUse the Right Job TitlesImportance: LowDifficulty: EasyWhile it might be tempting in some fields, avoid creative job titles like “marketing ninja” and “sales rockstar”. Use traditional job titles, and if you don’t know what that was for a past job, ask your old boss for guidance (or look online for a similar job).The reason you should do this is because employers often search by job title, and they will be typing in things like “project manager”, not “project terminator”.If it’s possible to be a bit more specific (often in large companies), go ahead.Learn more: http://news.dice.com/2010/08/13/standard-job-titles-trump-unique-job-titles-on-resumes/Only Include Relevant Work ExperienceImportance: MediumDifficulty: MediumDon’t feel that you need to include every job on your resume back to working at McDonalds. While you don’t necessarily have to omit unrelated jobs to the one you are applying for, limit the amount of bullet points under each position.Any bullet point should only be added if it adds value to your resume. This means that it is a highly desirable skill or accomplishment, often mentioned in the job posting itself. Each point on your resume should take you closer to an interview – avoid filler content.Key takeaway: It’s better to have only a few bullet points that are relevant and written well, than 3+ bullet points that are simply filler.Think About Removing Your Graduation DateImportance: LowDifficulty: EasyIf you’re freshly out of university or college, it makes sense to include your graduation date (or expected graduation date if still in school) to show that you haven’t just been sitting around. But if you’ve worked for at least a few years you might want to leave it off.Why? Similar to using modern terms, having an old graduation date could unconsciously trigger age discrimination. It’s not the worst sin to leave it on, but if you’re worried about your age, no employer’s going to miss it from your resume.Reference: http://www.theworkbuzz.com/get-the-job/resume/things-you-should-remove-from-your-resume/Think About Taking Off Your GPAImportance: LowDifficulty: EasyA lot of these tips about making a great resume are just as much about what to leave off your resume, as they are about what to put on.Here are the only reasons you need a GPA on your resume:It’s stellar (we are talking perfect or near-perfect)It’s asked for – some jobs will request it in the descriptionYou are recently out of school (still, don’t include it if it’s not great)Otherwise, no one typically cares about your GPA and it just takes up space.Don’t Use Vague TermsImportance: HighDifficulty: MediumMany applicants tend do use vague terms when they can’t think of anything impressive to write. Not only does this scream laziness, but it does you no favors because your resume won’t communicate a strong message.Words like:AssistedHelpedTeamworkResponsible forand many more should be avoided. Instead, describe what accomplishments you actually achieved in lieu of listing meaningless buzzwords.Remove any Polarizing InformationImportance: HighDifficulty: EasyDon’t include information regarding your political or religious affiliations and beliefs. A Stanford study (2014) showed that people are extremely likely to make biased judgments and decisions when politics come into play.Couldn’t it work out favorably? In the event that you share a belief or affiliation, it’s possible to receive favorable treatments. However, most resumes are looked at by multiple people, which makes the odds of someone having the opposite viewpoint very likely.Verdict: Leave off the polarizing information and win interviews based on your merits as an employee.Remove the ReferencesImportance: LowDifficulty: EasyReferences are almost never needed before an interview, and if they are, you will be contacted about them. Alternatively, many applicants include a note along the lines of “References available upon request” on their resume. This is essentially a waste of space, as it adds no value and is expected anyway.More detail: www.rawresume.com/blog/write-great-resume-definitive-guide/Avoid Out-of-Date TermsImportance: MediumDifficulty: EasyWhile there’s nothing wrong with being old, but all things being equal, you are less likely to get an interview than someone with approximately similar qualifications but is younger. While age discrimination happens for a variety of reasons and isn’t remotely okay, it’s something you might have to deal with.While you are able to (and should) omit your age on your resume, be careful about using terms that giveaway your age. Long past are the days where being an expert “on the Web” and using “Microsoft Office”, or having a decent typing speed will impress anyone.Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2014/01/31/the-ugly-truth-about-age-discrimination/Don’t Lie on Your ResumeImportance: HighDifficulty: EasyThis can be a bit tricky, as there can be a fine line between lying and presenting the truth in a flattering manner.While lying could obviously help get an interview, most lies that are impressive enough to warrant winning an interview will be verified through references or even simple Google searches. Once you get caught, it’s game over.That leaves the smaller lies, which are largely ineffective and unnecessary. While they don’t really help you, they can often hurt your by affecting your confidence and mindset in any interviews you get.Bottom line: Be confident in your abilities and don’t lie on your resume.Read about how lies could hurt: https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140917045901-24454816-the-5-biggest-mistakes-i-see-on-resumes-and-how-to-correct-themDon’t Apply to the Same Job Multiple Times (Within reason)Importance: HighDifficulty: EasyAs a result of being told to be tenacious on the job hunt, you might be tempted to follow-up and apply for the same job multiple times.Now following up once or twice over the span of a few months is okay (and probably a good idea), but if you keep leaving messages or applying every two weeks, and just being a bit too much of a pest in general, you’ll never get hired there and are wasting your time and effort.Don’t Apply to Every Job at a CompanyImportance: HighDifficulty: EasySometimes, especially online, you’ll find that a company has several openings they are accepting applications for.DO NOT apply for every job that remotely seems interesting. All this does is show that you’re not particularly passionate about any position and just want a job, which may be true, but you don’t need to shout it out.Pick the most relevant and interesting 2-3 positions and spend extra time on those applications instead.Choose Your File Format CarefullyImportance: HighDifficulty: EasyNot all file formats will show up reliably on all computers. The last thing you want is for your resume to show up with weird indents and spacing after you’ve spent all that time making it flawless.When given the option online to submit a text file (.txt), copy your resume into WordPad (or similar) and re-format it. This will ensure that it shows up correctly in the Applicant Tracking System (ATS). You can usually submit another version for human eyes as well.Note that some job postings will specify which file type to use — always use that type.In general though:Best file formats: .pdf, .doc, .rtfWorst file formats: .ODT (OpenOffice), .jpg/.png (or other images)Somewhere in-between (still not recommended): .docx, .txt (other than for ATSs)http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/43451/htg-explains-the-best-and-worst-ways-to-send-a-resume/Name Your Filenames AppropriatelyImportance: MediumDifficulty: EasyMany of these tips revolve around putting yourselves in the employer’s shoes. How annoying would it be to see 100 resumes all named “resume.doc”. Needless to say, you’re much more likely to be forgotten if you can’t be found.At the minimum, include your name in the filename: e.g. JohnSmithResume.doc. If you want to take it a step further, include the position name after an underscore (since companies often have more than one opening at a time).Don’t Over-Stuff Your Resume Full of KeywordsImportance: HighDifficulty: EasyWhen primitive search engines were created, they would look for the keyword being searched in documents. The ones with the most keyword mentions would come up first. An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is a search engine at heart. While they aren’t on par with Google, most modern systems are fairly sophisticated.Keyword stuffing is an old practice that involves putting one (or a few) keyword in your resume as many times as possible, often including it in white text so that people can’t see it. While this may have helped a bit in the past, it offers no benefit nowadays and can cause your resume to be filtered out now. Include keywords where possible, but keep it natural.Source: http://www.integritystaffing.com/blog/?p=2991Forget the PicturesImportance: LowDifficulty: EasyFancy resumes rarely make it to a human’s eyes because they get jumbled up and filtered out by Applicant Tracking Systems (ATSs).Making a simple resume with no pictures or weird symbols is the best way to get your resume seen. To highlight areas of your resume or separate them, use horizontal lines, bolding, and different font sizes.Caveat: Some fields, usually design-based, are the exception to this rule. It may be appropriate to showcase your skills in your resume design.Favor Bullet Points Over SentencesImportance: MediumDifficulty: MediumFrom studies, the average hiring manager spends about 6 seconds per resume. When you consider that he/she will spend significantly more on the ones they like, most resumes get a quick glance (maybe 3-4 seconds).Long sentences and paragraphs are hard to read and digest compared to bullet points. Use short, concise bullet points at the top of your resume (and throughout) to get the attention of employers.Have Your Resume Proofread (Possibly by Professionals)Importance: HighDifficulty: MediumIn most resume tip articles, they say to not make spelling and grammar mistakes — real helpful…What I suggest is to either have a friend or peer edit your resume, because it’s tough to criticize your own work for most people, it’s just human nature.For really important jobs, it might be worth having a professional proofreader/editor look at your resume. Here are a few places you could use:http://proofreadingpal.com/resume-proofreading.phphttps://www.scribendi.com/service/resume_editinghttps://www.kibin.com/s/resume-proofreadingOr you could hire a freelance editor on a site like Upwork, the world's largest online workplace, just get another set of eyes on that resume. I’ve had too many people come to me with frustrations trying to get interviews when there are obvious bad typos on their resume.Also, this shouldn’t have to be said, but run your resume through a spell checker.Humor is for Interviews, not ResumesImportance: HighDifficulty: EasyHaving a vibrant personality isn’t a bad thing, but very difficult to communicate through a resume. Jokes are easily misinterpreted and can easily make you look a bit nuts.Resumes are used to screen applicants out based on their achievements and abilities. Interviews on the other hand are where you and an employer see if you’re a good match for each other. That’s when it’s fine to loosen up a bit and show what your personality is like.Get Rid of Any Over-complicated “Fluff” WordsImportance: MediumDifficulty: HardWhen you sit down to write your resume, your goal is to present yourself as impressively as possible.Just about everyone has very few accomplishments and little experience at one point or another. The most common way to try to overcome this is to compensate by using fancy and more impressive sounding words and phrases.The problem? These end up sounding awkward and not really communicating any real value. Not only that, it’s harder to quickly read and understand convoluted points, leading to your resume in the trash pile more often than not.The solution: Everyone starts off somewhere, but as long as you are applying for jobs you are qualified for, there’s no need to have the most impressive resume in the world, so relax. Use simple and clear language to communicate your value to an employer.Customize Your Resume for Each ApplicationImportance: HighDifficulty: HardWhile there are a few exceptions, for the most part, you should be creating a custom resume for each position you apply for.“Ugh…that will take forever…”I can hear you thinking it and you’re right, it does take time. However, it’s better to submit 100 customized applications and get 5-10 interviews, than 1000 general applications that get you 1 or 2 interviews. Anyone can spam a general resume in today’s automated world, but quality is necessary to stand out.Spending extra time on each resume you make ensures that it is hyper-targeted to the job description, highlighting the most important skills and abilities mentioned on the job description.What about the exceptions? If you’re applying for an entry level position that looks for the same skills no matter where you apply to, like a waiter or barista, you can spend less time customizing your resume. Have 2-4 versions of your resume that you can submit as appropriate.Spell out AcronymsImportance: MediumDifficulty: EasyEven if it’s a common term or company name in your industry, the people reading your resume aren’t always working in the same part of the field as you are. For example, an average HR worker Human Resources (HR) worker is not going to understand technical engineering terms.Always spell out an acronym the first time you write it, and then include the acronym in brackets. It’s also okay to just spell out shorter acronyms every time.Choose Readable and “Safe” FontsImportance: HighDifficulty: EasyWhile this is nowhere near as big of a problem as it used to be, it’s best to use one of the most popular fonts to ensure that an employer will see your resume the same way you wrote it.At the same time, using the same font as everyone else will give you a similar look. For this reason, I recommend avoiding the most commonly used font — Times New Roman — even though it is a safe font. Arial is a close second, but it’s up to you to draw the line.Best resume fonts: Arial, Calibri, Garamond, Georgia, Trebuchethttp://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5331-best-resume-fonts.htmlKeep the Font Size ReasonableImportance: MediumDifficulty: EasyThe general guideline is to keep your font between sizes 10-12 for optimal scanning in ATSs. Note that different fonts take up different amounts of space, so a size 10 of one could be the equivalent of size 12 in another. Pick a font/size combination that will keep your resume easily readable.Caveat: The size rule doesn’t really apply to your name at the top. Use a slightly larger font size.Don’t Squish Your Resume to Keep it on One PageImportance: MediumDifficulty: MediumFor the last few years many “experts” have made the mistake of correlation vs. causation. In other words, just because good resumes are often one (no more than two) page(s) long, doesn’t mean that fitting your resume on one page is necessarily a good thing.Confused? Let me explain.Many applicants have heard that a good resume can fit on one page. In fact, many good resumes can. They are concisely written and laid out with very little fluff.What this has lead to, though, are applicants that use tiny font sizes, margins and spacing to cram their resume on one page. This results in an unreadable mess. It’s better for a resume to be highly readable and long, than short and hard to read.This means that margins should be at least 0.5 inches, and headings, bullet points, and other content should be easily readable.Now at the same time, many resumes are longer than they need to be. Follow the tips in this guide focused on cutting out the fluff in order to keep your resume sections concise and value-packed.More: http://careerservices.princeton.edu/graduate-students/exploring-options-outside-academy/non-academic-job-search-toolkit/resumes/resume-tipsInclude a Professional Website (or none at all)Importance: LowDifficulty: EasyHaving a personal website isn’t required for many jobs, so don’t feel pressured to have one. It can however help in fields like design.If you do include a link to your website on your resume, it better be professional. Highlight your achievements and keep all the content on topic. It’s not an invitation to show an employer pictures that you post on Instagram or a blog on your favorite hobby.Include Keywords in Your ResumeImportance: HighDifficulty: MediumA keyword is simply an important word. In terms of your resume, keywords are the main words in the job description. A job’s top requirements are usually the most important skills that an employer is looking for. So if the top requirements include “project manager” or “pivot table expert”, it’s a good idea to find a way to include these near the top of your resume (if you actually have that skill or attribute).Including keywords will help your resume come up more often in ATSs, as well as help it resonate with an employer reading your resume right away. Both are very good things.Pro tip: Throw the job description in Wordle to create a visual map of the most important keywords you should include.More: http://www.theladders.com/career-advice/tuning-resume-right-keywordsOrder Your Points Based on ImportanceImportance: MediumDifficulty: EasyAll of the bullet points in each section should be ordered from most important to least important. You want to impress anyone reading your resume right away and keep them reading.Importance is composed of two things:Relevance (matching the job description)Value (how objectively valuable your achievements/skills are)Note that importance of skills often changes between resume versions because of differences in job descriptions.Read more: http://www.quintcareers.com/resume_mistakes.htmlKeep Formatting ConsistentImportance: HighDifficulty: EasyHave you ever looked at a resume (or other piece of writing) and just felt something was off?Formatting is an important part of design. Don’t randomly bold, underline and indent things.On a similar note, many applicants make the mistake of having different formatting from section to section. If you bold the heading in one section, bold the headings in all the sections. If you bold job title and italicize location, follow similar formatting for your education and other sections.Space Out Your SectionsImportance: HighDifficulty: MediumWhite space is a key concept in creating an aesthetically pleasing resume. If the sections are too far apart or close together, the readability of your resume declines. This also applies to each section individually, the subheadings should be appropriately spaced from the bullet points.Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to determine the perfect amount of white space. The best way is to use common sense, and stick with what you think reads easiest. Getting a few other opinions is also a great idea, especially if you have designer friends.Related: http://blog.brazencareerist.com/2013/03/28/4-tips-for-designing-a-resume-that-will-get-you-hired/Create a Balanced ResumeImportance: HighDifficulty: EasyBalance is another one of the key design concepts that you need to consider. It refers to how well content is distributed across the page.If too much content is on one side, it can hinder readability and cause someone skimming the resume to miss important information. An unbalanced resume also makes poor use of the space you have, which typically extends the length of your resume.To check for balance, do a quick 4 quadrant test. Divide each page into four even sections (with a big plus sign). Each section should have relatively the same amount of content in it. Don’t worry if it’s not perfectly balanced, but it should be close.Find an example of the quadrant test here: http://www.rawresume.com/write-resume-definitive-guide/#ch8Don’t be ModestImportance: MediumDifficulty: MediumModesty is an admirable trait in everyday life, but not so useful when it comes to writing your resume. You need to take credit for what you’ve done in the past, or your resume is going to be bland.Don’t be under the impression that you need to lie or embellish in order to make your accomplishments sound impressive. State what skills or abilities you demonstrated and what the end benefit was for you company. You don’t need to say you were wholly responsible for an achievement to make it sound impressive, just that you contributed.Customize Your Template (Or Better Yet, Don’t Use One)Importance: MediumDifficulty: MediumType in “resume template” in Google and you’ll find plenty of options. A large portion of candidates will use one of the templates on the official Microsoft Word site. It’s easy to recognize that your resume won’t stand out if you use the same template as everybody else.So instead you have 2 main options:Customize a resume template (Find a massive list of templates here)Create a resume layout from scratchCreating a new resume really isn’t that difficult provided that you have basic knowledge of Microsoft Word or a similar program. However, if that is intimidating, find a template that isn’t overly used and modify that to suit your resume. Either will do, it’s up to you.Emphasize Job Titles Over CompaniesImportance: LowDifficulty: EasyA very common mistake I see is when applicants put the company name on the first line, bolded, followed by the job title below.Employers rarely care as much about where you worked opposed to what you did. Being a janitor at NASA isn’t as useful for them to see than being a project manager at a small relatively unknown firm.See our sample resume critique for a real example of this.Use a Professional Email AddressImportance: MediumDifficulty: EasyIn 2014 it isn’t difficult to get a professional sounding email address. Skip “[email protected]” and stick to something professional:[email protected]@mail.cometc.You could even try to get [email protected] if you want to be a bit creative.This is something that should be common sense, but isn’t, as it still happens quite often.Skip the HobbiesImportance: LowDifficulty: EasyWhile not at the same level as topics like religion and politics, including hobbies can activate the bias of hiring managers.Similarly, some hobbies may actually be positive attributes, but you should wait for the interview to address them so you can add context. For example, being an avid pilot means you have many great skills, but may also want to take a lot of time off. Once you are in an interview, you get a chance to explain your hobby in the best light.Source: http://thecareerexperts.com/quality-resumes-ten-quick-resume-fixes-in-less-than-ten-minutes/Use Standard Names for Each SectionImportance: MediumDifficulty: EasyDo you use section headings that are unique in order to stand out? While the idea is a good one, headings don’t really matter when it comes to standing out. The worst part is that your resume might be getting screened out because the ATSs can’t recognize your headings.While ATSs are getting better overall, many will have trouble identifying headings like “Placements”, “Goals”, or “Skillset”.Here are some traditional section names you should stick to:Work ExperienceSkills SummaryQualificationsEducationSummaryAwardsIf you’re not sure if the heading you want to use is appropriate, Google “your heading” + “applicant tracking system” to try and find a verdict.More: https://premium.linkedin.com/jobsearch/articles/the-easy-how-to-guide-for-formatting-resumes-for-applicant-tracking-systemsAvoid Using These VerbsImportance: MediumDifficulty: MediumA very cool analysis by ZipRecruiter revealed that certain words were correlated with resumes that were least likely to get interviews. These were the words:MeNeedDevelopHardFirstLearningChanceLooking at the words, this makes perfect sense. These words are not only written for the applicant (not the employer!), but they also suggest that you don’t have much useful experience. Communicate your strengths, not your weaknesses.Read more: http://www.forbes.com/sites/naomishavin/2014/07/16/tips-for-the-perfect-resume-and-cover-letter/Create a Master Spreadsheet of SkillsImportance: MediumDifficulty: MediumThis isn’t so much about your resume, but for your job applying process.If you are customizing each resume (as you should), create an excel sheet (or other document) that contains all of your bullet points under your skills summary and work sections.What will happen is over time the same skills will come up in job descriptions, and instead of having to create new points over time you will be able to copy paste relevant ones. After that you may have to tweak a tiny bit, but the whole process gets much faster.Order Jobs ChronologicallyImportance: MediumDifficulty: EasySo there are three main types of resume that differ based on the way you order your jobs and present your resume.You can either list your jobs chronologically (from latest to oldest), or order them in terms of importance. While at first glance, ordering your jobs by importance might seem smart, it usually sends up red flags.Why? Because it’s out of the ordinary in a way that you might seem like you are trying to hide something. This simple mistake on your resume can flush your success down the toilet.Additionally, most ATSs are set up to read resumes in chronological order. If it gets confused, an ATS might interpret your work experience as one with large gaps, and then screen you out.More: http://www.smartrecruiters.com/blog/4-resume-red-flags/Stick to One or Two FontsImportance: MediumDifficulty: EasyIdeally, stick to one font. If you need something to stand out for a heading, make it slightly larger, bolder, or underlined.Mixing fonts can make your resume harder to read, make the formatting a little bit off (different letter spacing and size), and is just unnecessary.Source: http://www.gotresumebuilder.com/Tutorial/Nine-Things-That-Clutter-Up-a-Resume.aspxUse Metrics – AKA QuantifyImportance: HighDifficulty: HardIf you’ve read any other post on Raw Resume before, you will know how much we love metrics.What’s a metric? Any way to quantify an accomplishment, typically related to:productivityrevenueprofitturnoveretc.While not all accomplishments will have metrics associated with them, if you can include at least 3-5 metrics attached to the most important skills an employer is looking for, you are golden (assuming the rest of your resume is on point).Learn more about incorporating metrics (with examples): http://www.rawresume.com/write-resume-definitive-guide/#ch4Be the Popular KidImportance: MediumDifficulty: HardThink about when you were a kid and needed to find a group for a project. Who would you pick? Typically the popular kids are near the top of everyone’s list, even though there might be far smarter and effective team members out there. If someone was both popular and smart, they’d be at the very top.How does this relate to your resume? If you have the background, show that you are the popular kid.Write that you’ve been invited to exclusive events, or awarded a prestigious award in your industry. Anything that shows that other people have recognized your ability or character as a person/worker can go a long way.Read more: https://www.themuse.com/advice/43-resume-tips-that-will-help-get-you-hiredOrder Your Sections by ImportanceImportance: HighDifficulty: EasyIf I had a nickel for every resume I saw where education was the first section, I would have MANY nickels. There are very few jobs where your education is the most important part of getting an interview, yet it’s often occupying the most valuable space.Simply put, your skills summary and work experience should go before your education unless you have a good reason not to.Only Include Relevant CoursesImportance: LowDifficulty: EasyCoursework can typically be omitted from most applications. However, there are some occasions where you might want to include it:A specialized job that absolutely requires taking certain coursesYou are fresh out of school and have no real work experience (it may be your best attribute for now)If you do want to include it, add a bullet point under education and list relevant courses. It should be obvious how the course knowledge is helpful.See an example here: http://www.rawresume.com/write-resume-definitive-guide/#ch6Focus on Relevant Skills and AccomplishmentsImportance: HighDifficulty: MediumI’ve edited many resumes where the applicant is on the right track, but lacks the right focus. Don’t write about aspects of your past jobs that aren’t relevant to the one you are applying to.It can be tempting to reuse bullet points, especially if you’ve taken the time and effort to write them with a benefit and solid metric, but if it isn’t highly relevant, cut it.Focusing on deriving your resume from the job description will go a great deal to keeping you on track.Strengthen Your Skills With Online Courses and ProjectsImportance: LowDifficulty: HardWhile this isn’t as easy as most of the other tips in this guide, sometimes it’s necessary to strengthen your resume if you aren’t getting the results you want.Aside from going back to school, you now have hundreds of options for credible online courses, most of which are free.I highly recommend not just taking a course, but actually applying the knowledge you learn as well. Either complete a personal project or offer your services at a low (or free) cost for a one-off project if you need their information/resources.If you want a list of places where you can take courses, download this massive list.Group Similar Jobs TogetherImportance: MediumDifficulty: EasyIt’s not uncommon to work at several jobs early on in your life. Often these are a combination of retail or food industry entry-level jobs.Albeit understandable, for some jobs, you may be screened out for seeming like you hop around from jobs too often.What you can opt to do instead is to group the similar jobs together and essentially make a “super” work experience section for that job. It’s more readable, more impressive, and throws up less red flags to both ATSs and hiring managers.Source: http://www.hr.vt.edu/employment/Resume_Tips.htmlSplit Test Your ResumeImportance: LowDifficulty: HardTo get the best results from your job hunting efforts, split test major elements of your resume.This can include:Order of sectionsNumber of bullet pointsIncluding or not including certain personal or contact informationTo conduct a split test you simply need two or more versions of your resume. Ideally they should be as similar as possible except for the one element you are testing. Over time, you will discover which one performs the best.Note: It can take a while to reach statistical significance, so record any results so that you can use them again in the future as well. Secondly, try to organize a group of other job hunters to reach significance faster.If this is of particular interest to you, leave me a comment or send us an email, and if there’s enough interest we’ll write up a detailed guide on how to do this.Here’s a neat example: http://paulbutler.org/archives/experiment-in-testing-my-resume/Interview EmployeesImportance: HighDifficulty: HardHow great would it be to know what the biggest issues were in an office that was hiring?Pretty. Freaking. Great.You’d be able to be their savior.While it’s not always possible, it may be possible to talk with someone in the department or office.Go to LinkedIn and look up the company. If you have a primary connection, you can reach out directly. Otherwise, try to get an introduction from a secondary connection.You want to politely contact them and ask to buy them lunch and for advice about the career path. At the very least you might learn something interesting or important about your career.The other benefit is that you can ask about the most challenging parts of the job, or even “could you give me an example? What kind of problems is your team facing right now?”.Once you have that information, now you can write a resume that not only addresses the job description, but also addresses other key problems that need to be solved. It’s pretty obvious that if this is seen by anyone in the department, you’ll jump to the top of the list.Be Consistent With Bullet Point Formatting (I’m Talkin’ Bout Periods!)Importance: MediumDifficulty: EasyEver read something quickly and just know something was off?Maybe it was a typo, weird grammar…or even weird punctuation.When you write a bullet point you can end it in one of two ways:I like periods.I do not like periodsEither is completely fine (although I personally prefer no periodWrite in Third PersonImportance: HighDifficulty: EasyWhile this is common sense to most, it should be said: The word “I” should not be on your resume. Anyone reading your resume knows that it’s about you and your accomplishments, so it’s unnecessary.On top of taking up space, repeatedly saying “I” makes your resume sound more about you (even though it is), and less about what you can do for THEM — An important concept discussed earlier.Source: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/five-tips-for-better-resume-writing.htmlRespect Confidentiality AgreementsImportance: HighDifficulty: MediumIf you work in a tightly knit industry, chances are that you have (or had) some sort of confidentiality agreement with your most recent company. This can make writing your resume tricky. If you show that you can’t keep confidential information private, good luck getting hired at a company where that’s important.Be careful to not only omit the name of the company, but to omit any describing of the company. Here’s an example from Google’s Laszlo Bock:“I once received a resume from an applicant working at a top-three consulting firm. This firm had a strict confidentiality policy: client names were never to be shared. On the resume, the candidate wrote: “Consulted to a major software company in Redmond, Washington.” Rejected!”Read the rest of his post on LinkedIn here:https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140917045901-24454816-the-5-biggest-mistakes-i-see-on-resumes-and-how-to-correct-themFull Sentences Aren’t Necessary for Bullet PointsImportance: LowDifficulty: EasyThe primary advantage of a bullet point is that you can quickly distill a statement you wish to make. If you’re simply writing a full sentence, then what’s the point of a bullet point?Eliminate unnecessary filler and explanatory words as much as possible, but the point you are trying to make should still be readable and clear.Reference: http://resources.alljobopenings.com/common-resume-mistakesKeep it Black and WhiteImportance: MediumDifficulty: EasyWhile color can definitely liven up any piece of writing, it shouldn’t be used in a resume.One color might look great on your screen, but poor on another, and even more different once printed out.Keep with the standard black on white to maximize readability, you aren’t entering a resume modelling contest.DONE!If you made it through each tip, I salute you. That’s a ton of reading (Over 6000 words).This post took over 15 hours to put together (there’s an example of a metric!), so I’d really appreciate it if you could take the time to give it a quick share.Save this to your reading list, It may help you some day.[Source:60+ Resume Writing Tips - The Complete List]