Best Resume Writing Practices
- Proofread. Always.
The first thing to keep in mind is that you must proofread your resume several times to check for typos or to edit details and information. Spelling and grammar errors can make an applicant seem inattentive to details. You should also ask a friend or a professional resume writer to review your resume. It is important to get a fresh set of eyes on the resume document to ensure you don’t miss any errors or areas in need of improving.
- Use Summary of Qualifications
Make sure that your job titles, duties, and responsibilities clearly justify the skills that you list on the resume. This section works best when included at the top of the resume before the professional experience section. Consider this your headline section to align your past experience to future career goals. It’s important not to include extraneous information that distracts hiring managers — you don’t want recruiters to stop reading your resume before getting to your experience. A professionally written resume should focus on the skills and attributes that align your experience to career goals.
- Use Professional Structure and Headings
Keep it simple and professional with the use of formatting that allows hiring managers to quickly scan your document with headings that require no explanation. Similar to a well-written book with chapter titles, your headings should deliver as promised. Professional resumes need to have consistent formatting. For instance, if you use bullet points to describe your responsibilities and achievements at one position, be sure to use bullet points on all other positions as well.
- Seek Professional Help
Writing a resume is hard work and it’s important to get help. It is generally more efficient to have a professional create the resume for you. The small investment will pay off in time saved and increases in compensation from a new position. Consider using a career counselor or professional resume service to help you make sure your resume is professional and polished. Treat your resume, for what it is, one of your most important financial documents.
Finally, a best practice that often is overlooked is to make sure to use quality resume paper and have at least 3-5 updated resumes handy and available during interviews. Don’t assume the hiring managers have printed out your resume ahead of time.
Best Price Resume (888.215.1159) can help you develop an effective resume to gain a competitive advantage over your competition. It is worth considering paying someone to write your resume. Resume writing is a bit of an art, and it can be more efficient to just send all of your information and hand it off to a professional resume writing service.
