Does the idea of putting together a professional resume for yourself make you feel queasy?
Do you just have no clue what to say about yourself?
Are you worried your experience doesn’t seem good enough?
And how in the world do you format it to look appealing to hiring managers?
If these are the feelings going through your head right now, I want you to know:
YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
I remember the time back when I was a former employee working in the corporate world.
I had spent countless days researching how to put together a professional resume and what exactly hiring managers were looking for, and then spent countless hours on top fine-tuning my resume just to look perfect.
I networked like crazy to connect with various hiring managers, human resources professionals, career coaches and recruiters over the years in order to figure out what they were all looking for in job candidates and future employees.
What I learned during these years was INVALUABLE.
Once I began executing all the information I had learned, my job search suddenly changed.
I went from applying to hundreds of jobs within half a year to only score a handful of interviews, to landing multiple interviews through only applying to a handful of jobs within a month or two at the most.
All just because I executed the most effective resume-building strategies and techniques I had learned over the years.
But before I could execute these resume-building strategies and techniques, I had to understand the basics of building a professional resume. More specifically, what exact information I should always include in my professional resume.
Here are the basic key points of information you should always include in your professional resume in order to make yourself stand out from the crowd with a high-quality, superstar professional resume:
Contact Information
DO include your full name, the city and province/state you live in, your phone number (preferably a mobile number), a professional email address, a link to your LinkedIn profile (if you don’t have one, get one!) and a link to your website and social media platforms (if applicable or required for the job).
DON’T include your full address, a picture of yourself, an inappropriate email address (ex: sweetcheeks89@hotmail.com), other images or graphics, and unprofessional links to inappropriate websites or social media platforms.
Professional Summary
DO place this next section at the top of your professional resume, just below your contact information.
DON’T word your professional summary like an objective statement. They are two separate things and objective statements are out-dated and no longer hold any value to a hiring manager anymore.
DO create a professional summary that is around a paragraph long (3-4 sentences) in length and speaks to who you are, your years of experience in your industry, a couple professional accomplishments, and any other information you feel would stand out most to your specific employer.
DON’T make your professional summary too long (more than 4 sentences) or too short (1-2 sentences).
DO include any accomplishment stories that involve numbers (such as monetary or percentage values) in your professional summary as this will help to impress a hiring manager.
DON’T include information that is not relevant to the job you are applying for.
Key Qualifications
DO place this next section near the top of your professional resume, just below your professional summary.
DON’T word your qualifications inside of a table format.
DO write your qualifications and skills as bullet point summaries with each bullet point representing a specific keyword (ex: leadership) or phrase (ex: effective communicator).
DON’T ignore the keywords and phrases outlined in the job description and put these into your professional resume in order to tailor your resume for each specific job.
Professional Experience
DO place this next section near the middle of your professional resume, just below your key qualifications.
DON’T just list your entire work history in detailed format. This will overwhelm a hiring manager and your professional resume will be way too long.
DO include at least 2 – 3 relevant, recent positions in your professional experience in a detailed format to showcase to a hiring manager.
DON’T speak to just your responsibilities on the job. Hiring managers are more interested to know what you accomplished in each job. This will help to make you stand out more.
DO make sure to include basic information such as the name of the company, your position title, dates worked, name of city and a bit of a background on the company and what you did there.
DON’T overwhelm a hiring manager with lots of information on each role. Keep each role to around 3 – 5 bullet points of information at the most.
Education & Training
DO place this next section near the end of your professional resume, just below your professional experience.
DON’T include that you graduated from high school, unless you did not go on to achieve any further education and training from university, college, trade school, etc.
DO include any degree/diploma/certificate you have received or will receive, the year you graduated or will graduate, the name of the school or institution you attended and the name of the city and province/state where you studied.
DON’T include additional information under your education such as your GPA or extracurricular activities you did while in school.
Additional Information
DO use this section as an opportunity to list any memberships you have, awards you have won, technical or additional skills you possess, etc. if they are relevant to the job you are applying for.
DON’T include “references available upon request” at the end of your profile. This statement is out-dated and hiring managers are aware that references would be made available to them, if they should request them from you.
DO place this additional information at the end of your profile, below your educational experience in separate sections.
DON’T include any religious, political, or controversial affiliations unless they directly relate to the job you want and would be viewed as a positive asset for you to have as a job candidate.
Professional resume writing doesn’t have to be an overwhelming process if you have the right information at your disposal. But:
If the idea of creating your own professional resume still scares you or makes you nervous, or you just don’t have the time, confidence or energy to do it yourself, then I am here to help you!
If you’re looking for someone who is going to take the time to get to know you – personality and professionally-wise – to put together a superstar quality professional resume custom-made for you, then I am here for you!
If your confidence is shaken, you don’t feel like your accomplishments are good enough and you need an expert to show you how awesome you are, then I am your coach and teammate ready to hold your hand and walk you through this!
Getting a job is a long and time-consuming process, and a professional resume alone can take hours, even days, to fine-tune into a powerful sales and marketing package for your personal brand.
I want to help make your life easier and take away the stress of resume-writing so you can focus on what’s most important – securing that dream job you want!
If you’re ready to break free and work alongside someone who is going to build a connection with you, mentor you, and do all the hard resume-building work for you, then I encourage you to work alongside me to meet your goals!