To write a good resume, open with a short, strong statement about who you are, focus on what you achieved rather than on your duties, keep the page easy to read, and have it checked before you send it. This article takes you through those 4 steps.
A resume is a unique document. It has to introduce you to the hiring manager, tell them about your history, and convince them to take the next step and invite you to an interview. And it has to do all of that in very little space. Here are the steps to follow the next time you write one. (Outside the United States and Canada, a similar document is often called a CV, but the two are not always the same: see CV vs. resume.)
Step 1: open strong
The opening statement is the most important part of your resume. Think of it as a very short "elevator pitch": tell them who you are and what you do, in one brief but powerful statement.
If your introduction doesn't catch the attention of the person reading it, the rest of the resume can be excellent, but it won't matter: they will stop reading before they get to it.
This statement should be more than a job title, because your current job title might not be what they are looking for. Use the space for a broader description of your current work or your ambition, and tailor it to the job you are applying for.
Step 2: focus on your accomplishments, then your history
Many people make the same mistake when they write a resume: they list all of the responsibilities they had. But that isn't what employers are looking for. Focus on what you accomplished. Don't just tell them what you did; tell them how well you did it, and give as many concrete examples as you can.
A resume usually lists your jobs in reverse order: your most recent job first, then backwards from there. This doesn't work well, though, if the parts of your career you want to highlight are not in your most recent job.
The way to handle this is to add a section called "Accomplishments" to your resume. Place it after your opening statement, but before your job history. How to write an accomplishment statement shows how to phrase each one.
Step 3: keep it readable
Another mistake many people make is to cram as much information as possible onto the page. To fit it all in, they shrink the margins and the font size. But that makes the resume hard to read. Your resume is your one chance to impress the person who makes the hiring decision. Do you want to make it difficult for them, or easy?
Step 4: get help
No matter how good you are at writing resumes, you should get help. That means two things: checking the text with a spell checker, and asking someone else to look at your resume.
Using a spell checker should be obvious. A single typo can be enough to send a resume to the "no" pile. It would be a shame to spend hours on a resume and then not take the time to run it through the Spell Checker to catch them.
The other kind of help is a second reader. A good resume takes hours to write and refine, and you will read it dozens of times as you edit and adjust it. After a while, you start to skim over parts, and you stop seeing it objectively. So find someone you trust to read it and give you honest, constructive feedback.