There is nothing more complicated than writing a resume in the job search process. Despite the fact that most people spend no more than an hour on developing a job application package, developing an effective resume is way more time consuming than they think. The thing is that we live in a world where everything and everybody moves so quickly. Long term commitments and time-consuming endeavors become unpopular today as people seek other ways to deal with problems. However, sometimes there is no other way but to sit and spend hours concentrating on one thing in order to achieve the desired effect. That is exactly what effective resume writing is all about. At Prime-resume we develop a 5 step guide to give you a clear understanding of how you can do it efficiently.
5 Step Resume Writing Guide
1. Get the Job Right. If you have no clue what specifically you want in terms of employment it is hard to imagine how you can possibly deliver a quality resume. Knowing what you want specifically is the number one condition for writing an effective resume. When you get the job right, you can get your resume right. One is impossible without the other. So before you ever sit to write your resume or CV you have to know what kind of job you want.
2. Find a specific job opening. Sending your resume to a hundred employers may be more convenient for you but that is not how it works. You may get lucky and get invited for a job interview although that seems to be very unlikely today. The thing is you have to know what job opening you are writing your resume for. Tailoring your resume to a specific job ad is crucial for the ultimate job search success.
3. Get to writing your draft. Write down everything that seems to be relevant to the applying position. It is only relevant information that matters. At least for the employer. There will be a temptation to list other details that are significant to you personally but keep in mind that a resume is meant not for self-glorification. This document is written exclusively for employers so concentrate on things that are interesting for them.
4. Structure everything. It is time to write your resume. We find the following structure most effective when it comes to job search: personal and contact details, summary, major accomplishments (if any), work experience, education, other experience. Obviously, one can play a little bit with these depending on what kind of experiences he/she has had in the past. But this is a good pattern to follow if you are an experienced professional.
5. Read, edit and proofread. Your resume shouldn't contain any errors as hiring authorities may consider this as the lack of desire to get the job. If you don't care about the quality of your resume (which is your main marketing document) then you probably don't care that much about the job you are applying for. This is as simple as it sounds. Following these five steps will help you not to lose sight of the most important things in resume writing. This guide was developed by resume writing experts in collaboration with hiring managers so you don't have to worry that this guide is in any way misleading. Based on the experience of those who deal with resumes and CVs on a daily basis we created this handy guide to help our readers with their job search challenges. If you need more help on this you can always contact our live support team.