Do: Keep it Simple

Most recruiters or decision makers have only a few minutes to go over your resume.  Focus on the facts of what your experience is and put it in bullet point format. Really describe your role and experience to the fullest. Answer the following questions in a clear, concise manner:

• What did you do?
• How did do it?
• What did you accomplish?

No fancy formatting or flowery language is needed, make your resume stand out from its content.

Do: Tailor your resume for the job you want

There is no harm in looking at the job description and tailoring your resume to the show that you have the desired skills, if you do indeed have them. This shows that you meet the qualifications for the job and could perform the skills necessary in that position.

Do: Use chronological order, starting with your most recent job

This is considered standard practice when writing a resume. Recruiters and hiring managers don’t want to wade through multiple pages to find your most recent experience.

 Do: Be consistent

 This goes along with formatting. Use the same font throughout the document and make sure your punctuation is consistent. If you end one sentence with a period, end all of them the same way.

Don’t: Make punctuation, spelling or grammar mistakes

This pretty much speaks for itself. A resume full of punctuation, spelling and/or grammar mistakes could bring your professionalism into question and fast track your resume to the trash.

Don’t: Use first person point of view

Nothing will turn off a resume reader quicker than seeing first person point of view. This approach screams “not a team player”.

Don’t: Leave any gaps on your resume

This will definitely catch the reader’s attention. If there are any gaps in your employment history, explain them. This looks a lot better than having a recruiter or hiring manager having to question what you were doing during those periods of inactivity.

These tips should have you well on your way to crafting a resume that gets results. Get to writing and good luck!