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Hello lovers,

 

Any tips to offer for résumé building and formatting? Trends? Ways to make résumé unique and capture attention?

 

xRBH

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major_merrick

One thing to note is that a resume should generally be about a page long. Write the bulk of it in a decent font size (Times New Roman 12) with your name at the top as a heading. Use bullet point summaries of what you have done. Typically, a recruiter or HR desk jockey is going to spend all of about 60 seconds (2 minutes if you are lucky) looking it over. Short, sweet, to the point. An entry under work history would look something like this:

 

 

  • 8/2010-12/2015. Production supervisor at Kawasaki Manufacturing, Lincoln, NE.
  • 12/2015-present. Production manager at Toyota, San Antonio, TX.

Typically only 5-7 years of work history is needed, unless otherwise specified. Notable achievements should be documented in a separate section in bullet points, for example:

 

  • 2010 Bofors Award recipient for excellence in metallurgical innovation.
  • 2012 Kawasaki Supervisor of the Year.

Again, short, sweet, to the point. If they want to know more about you, that happens during phone calls and interviews. A mission/goal statement at the beginning of the resume is often done, but is omitted more these days due to redundancy. Descriptions of yourself and your goals should be left to your cover letter, which should not be longer than a page.

 

Remember - no cute or unusual fonts, basic stuff only. Bold print and larger text possible for headings. One inch margins. Always proofread. Being brief and professional is the kind of "unique" you want in most industries.

 

*Disclaimer - I am not in HR. I have only my personal experience as a guide. I work in a technical field, and my advice might not apply to other career paths.

 

 

 

Best of luck in your job hunt!!!:)

Edited by major_merrick
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Use Calibri Font size 12

 

Name <-bold center

Phone <-center

Email <-center

 

Summary <-bold

Key Skills <-bold

Education <-bold

Professional Experiences <-bold

 

Keep it down to 1 to 2 pages at most max is 3 pages.

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Please, for all that is holy, do NOT pick up the trending style of bullet pointing all of your skills/responsibilities in a hodge podge order of your entire career and then have a chronological history of positions/jobs with no way of knowing what skill/responsibility was tied to what. It is the biggest turn off on resume reading. I don't know a single recruiter or hiring manager who likes this style. Don't do it!

 

Combination Resume Example and Writing Tips

 

Last piece of advice, do not lie on your resume. It isn't worth the gamble and you will likely get caught. Just don't do it. I actually termed someone, a month or so after hiring them, after finding out falsehoods on their resume.

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GunslingerRoland
Please, for all that is holy, do NOT pick up the trending style of bullet pointing all of your skills/responsibilities in a hodge podge order of your entire career and then have a chronological history of positions/jobs with no way of knowing what skill/responsibility was tied to what. It is the biggest turn off on resume reading. I don't know a single recruiter or hiring manager who likes this style. Don't do it!

 

I think it's okay to summarize skills up front, but then when you have your work experience you need to tie it in together. Especially for technical skills.

 

 

I've gone through a lot of resumes where the top of the resume lists all of the technical skills we are looking for, but looking through the work experience it's unclear where (if ever) they actually used them.

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Which area/industry OP? Is it conservative and conventional or the opposite?

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  • Author
Which area/industry OP? Is it conservative and conventional or the opposite?

 

communications - journalism/ public relations

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communications - journalism/ public relations

then I'd say we probably can't help you here. You would be better off checking samples online. I think.

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TheFinalWord
communications - journalism/ public relations

 

Am I the only one that sees the irony? Shouldn't we be asking you? :D

 

Seriously though....

 

Main one I have is to have another person proofread. If you are university, go to the writing and/or career center to proofread and get tips. My first professional job I sent out 100+ resumes with a type-o...a friend noticed it in about 5 seconds, somehow I glanced over it.

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Am I the only one that sees the irony? Shouldn't we be asking you? :D

 

Seriously though....

 

Main one I have is to have another person proofread. If you are university, go to the writing and/or career center to proofread and get tips. My first professional job I sent out 100+ resumes with a type-o...a friend noticed it in about 5 seconds, somehow I glanced over it.

 

Uhm, rude much? Nevertheless - unfortunately, I do not specialize in résumés... I see no irony, other than you thinking you'd have the last word.

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TheFinalWord
Uhm, rude much? Nevertheless - unfortunately, I do not specialize in résumés... I see no irony, other than you thinking you'd have the last word.

 

I was being a smartelic. :laugh: No hard feelings...

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I was being a smartelic. :laugh: No hard feelings...

 

Whateverrr. Do you have any suggestions other than what you mentioned above?

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  • 2 weeks later...
baraza_joseph
Whateverrr. Do you have any suggestions other than what you mentioned above?

 

 

 

 

 

Include a passport photo at the top, professionally dressed. This will give your employer a quick impression of you.

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