Writing a resume in 10 steps

Trying to look for a new job but don’t have a resume? The most difficult part of starting a job search is writing a resume. How do you encase the last 3-30 years of your life in one-two pages? Well, here are 10 simple steps to starting your resume.

1.Header – the header is the most critical part of the resume because it holds your personal information. I’m always surprised to see how many people make mistakes in the header! There is critical information that must be included and in a specific order: Full Name, Location (city /state), cell phone number, email address and portfolio URL (when required). This is NOT a place to put your personal mantra, three different numbers or your two email addresses.

2.Overview/Objective/statement – I do like a 2-3 sentence overview of what you bring to the job. It should be short and simple. Types of companies/industries/education/skills should be included. However, NEVER start by saying how many years of experience. They are about to read the resume, they will figure it out.

3.Professional Experience – First, only include the last 10-12 years of your work history. Anything over 12 years is out of date and irrelevant to what you’re doing today. It is also critical that you explain exactly what it is you do on a daily basis as well as the accomplishments you’ve had at that company over the years. Not just one or the other. There should be about 8-10 bullets for your current position (a little less for previous roles) and should be 50/50 on responsibilities and accomplishments. AND don’t leave the person guessing what it is you do – explain each responsibility. For ex, don’t just say, “vendor management,” explain who the vendor was, how they impacted the job and how you actually managed them.

4.Education – Only degrees that have been completed, or will be completed soon should be included. If you started a degree, and have 20 credits, but you don’t intent to finish it – don’t include it! And when you’re showing your school info all that should be included is School Name, location, major/minor and GPA if over 3.5. Do not include course work, or school activities. Also, don’t include the graduation date if you graduated before 1985. I know, I know, but companies have a mental block of people who’ve graduated before 1985 and you don’t want to date yourself out of the job.

5.Skills – this is a critical part of the resume that half of all people leave off. In today’s technical age, you MUST include your computer abilities. Companies want to know every pieces of software that you know how to use including the basics like Microsoft office. Don’t assume it’s implied.

6.Associations – only include this is you are ACTIVLY involved in the association. If it’s something you did 10 years ago, it’s not relevant

7. Spell and Grammar Check – most MS Word programs do this for you, so pay attention to the green and red squiggly lines!

8. Margins – make sure your margins are set properly. Sometimes people, in an attempt at formatting, create huge margins on the sides, top and bottom. You really only need about ½ inch on all sides

9. Font Format and Size – resumes should be Times New Roman or Arial. These are the most common fonts and all HR tracking systems recognize them. Also, fonts should be size 10 or 12 only. No smaller, no larger.

10. File format – pdf vs .doc. Always save your resume in .doc format when using it to apply online. The applicant tracking systems HR use accept word .doc formatted files the best. When using a PDF or word perfect file, the systems often jumble the resumes and make them unreadable.

There you have it! 10 steps to creating your resume and starting your job search. Obviously, there are a lot more steps, but at least this gives you a place to start.