How to write professional resume and avoid mistakes

“How to write a resume?” That seems to be the big question these days with so many people looking for a new job. Well, in order to get that next great job, one must have a great resume. The resume is the foot in the door for almost every employer these days. Most employers are going to make a first judgment on a prospective employee by the information contained in the resume.

Most folks have been in the same job or working for the same company for a while and it may have been some time since a resume has been prepared. Well, these days with an average of six or seven applicants for every job, one has to be able to prepare the best possible resume. Here are some resume tips to get the right information together before preparing a final resume.

Resume Should Communicate Marketable Skills and Abilities

It’s important to determine what one enjoys doing the most and how those skills and abilities will best suit a prospective employer or company. But first, just take a look at what are the most enjoyable aspects of the current position. What enjoyable things would continue being done even of there were no job or no compensation? Get out a pad and pen, write all these things down.

Next, figure out which of these skills and abilities are most marketable to the employer or company for which one wishes to find a job, and underline these. There should be several skills or abilities that are now underlined. These are the two to three things that would work best in a job, be attractive to an employer, and will appear prominently in a resume. Some contend that determining marketable skills and abilities is the single most important step in writing a resume.

Resume Should Prove Marketable Skills and Abilities

Now that a list of the best two or three skills and abilities has been prepared, it’s time to move on to the next step. Get another sheet of paper and write down the two or three underlined items from the first list. Underneath each of these marketable skills and abilities, list at least three or four things that were done to support that particular skill or ability.

For example, if one is wanting to work as a graphic artist, and has listed illustration as one of the marketable skills, then the list of accomplishments would be a brief description of certain specific projects that involved illustration. This brief, detailed information would also include the results of how that illustration helped to land a certain account, or led to the inclusion in a national advertising and marketing effort.

Determine what was accomplished for previous employers and how those specific skills and abilities affected profits, productivity, or efficiency. Be sure to include only factual statements and figures. Also, make certain the correct years are listed along with these accomplishments.

Resume Templates Make a Difficult Task Easier

When deciding how to write a resume, the easiest way to get started is to use a resume template. Resume templates are widely available on the Internet and can be a great way to break through that initial barrier and get some answers on how to write a resume. Don’t waste time trying to figure out what format or style of resume to use, just pick a template that fits for a particular industry or employer.

Know that more than one single resume may need to be written and prepared. One resume is not going to fit well with every prospective job out there. A resume must be custom-fit for each employer or company, even specific for different opportunities or departments within the same company. It’s going to take some time and effort to prepare all of this information but in today’s job market, it’s an absolute necessity.

Common Resume Mistakes

The first impression given to a prospective employer is often not through personal contact. Instead, most impressions are created by a written resume – which can be good or bad depending on the presentation. And even individuals with strong experience and solid employment histories may end up with no responses. Learn how to avoid the most common resume mistakes and discover why employers may not be calling back.

Generalized Resumes

Creating a resume is a time consuming task, and the temptation is to create one resume to multiple employers. Start by creating a generalized resume, and tailor it to each opportunity being responded too. This may require adding sections and omitting others to each resume response, but doing this can prevent a common resume mistake from being made.

Typos, Grammar and Fonts

Employers who encounter a resume with any typographical errors, grammatical errors or unreadable fonts, will often draw unflattering conclusions about the individual who submitted the resume. Check for errors by re-reading the resume or give it to another individual to review it. Never rely on computer programs to verify documents are error-free, some may even insert mistakes by replacing words incorrectly.

Also, selecting a resume font and size can make a resume more or less appealing to employers. In most cases the font should be no smaller than 10 but no larger than 12, except for the heading – which can be slightly larger. The font should be simple and easy to read, such as a serif. Avoid decorative fonts, which can be distracting and difficult to read.

Job Skills

Skills learned while working current and previous jobs can be essential to a new employer. Traditionally, job skills are placed on the bottom of a resume. However, if current or past skills are relevant to the job description and new employer – include them in the upper portion of the resume.

One of the most common resume mistakes is omitting experience related to computers, but there are few jobs on the market today that do not utilize this experience. Consider including computer programs, amount of experience and keyboarding speed to the job skills section.

Using Templates

Auto-formatted resume templates can provide a good outline if the job seeker is unfamiliar with resume writing or are sharpening resume writing skills. But submitting a resume in a template format will blend it with others who are using the same format. Also, in many cases will not promote an individuals unique ability or qualifications to prospective employers.