How to Write a Winning Resume?
Posted on July 05, 2014 by Lisa Face, One of Thousands of Executive Coaches on Noomii.
Are you struggling to write a winning resume? Many hiring managers take as little as ten seconds to read a resume before deciding to "trash' it.
Whilst there’s no perfect resume, how do you learn to craft a well written document and enhance your chances of being selected for an interview? Begin by reviewing your resume objectively and check if you are making these simple mistakes.The 5 Most Common Resume Bloopers
1. Lack of white space: use margins, paragraphs and bullet points to make your CV visually appealing. Avoid dense copy which makes it hard to read. The idea is to make it easy, not difficult, for the person reading it.
2. Poor presentation: other than your name and subtitles, keep the same font and size throughout your CV: Ariel and Calibri work well. Avoid italics and use bold for your name, subheadings and job positions.
3. Too long: you might think it’s impossible to reduce your career history into 2 pages but believe me, it isn’t! From editing resumes for many years I’ve seen the process of “selective pruning” in 2 pages, really makes it stand out from the crowd! Your resume is a “marketing” tool, a chance to sell yourself to get the interview: it won’t get read if it’s too long!
4. Irrelevant Content: your CV will land in the “trash” pile if it’s a boring “shopping list” of responsibilities. An “achievement rich” document on the other hand, will attract notice and is far more likely to be read. Become more achievement focused by asking yourself:
What did I do that added value to my company?
Did I save money or increase profits,
Did I increase employee engagement or improve customer satisfaction?
Was I selected for a project or achieve an award?
5. Ineffective layout: don’t write your credentials, skills and key achievements on Page 2! By marketing yourself on the top half of the first page, you can be sure those precious 10 seconds resume review will be spent reading the best bits!
Good luck!
Lisa :-)
