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 In a competitive job market, it's not enough to make a good resume - it's time to make a great resume. Fortunately, resumes are somewhat standard documents, so it's possible to describe a process that takes what might be an average resume and turns it into a great resume.
Throughout this website, there are over two dozen resume examples. They're a great starting place for individuals that are creating a resume for the first time. But since this article is about making a great resume, we're going to assume the resume writer is not a novice. Instead, our starting place is with a well-rounded employee with many significant work experiences and accomplishments to highlight on their resume.
Resume Writing Process
The process of writing a resume is straightforward, and the first step involves choosing a resume format that's going to ensure you're getting interviews when you're qualified for a job opening. Next, you'll want to organize all the written elements of the resume - education, honors / licenses, skills, achievements, and a chronology of work history.
Once you've organized all this information on your resume, you're going to start the process of "polishing" the document. The final step before the resume is ready to be sent to prospective employers is proofreading the text for typographical errors.
It's that simple, a four step process to making a great resume:
- Choose a Resume Format
- Organize Content
- Polish the Document
- Proofread
Choosing a Resume Format
The decision on a resume format is relatively straightforward. The choice is driven by two factors - the objective of the resume, and the depth of work experience. For example, the objective might be to move into a position of greater authority, or the writer might be looking to switch careers. Less experienced workers will tend to have fewer options than will more seasoned employees.
The three mainstream resume formats in use today include:
- Chronological Resume Format - the most commonly used resume format, the chronological resume is a good choice if there aren't any significant employment gaps since the emphasis in this layout is on prior work experience.
- Functional Resume Format - a good choice for workers that are inexperienced, or seasoned employees that are looking to switch careers. The functional resume places emphasis on skills and knowledge versus work history.
- Combination Resume Format - the most effective resume format if the writer has significant work experience. The combination resume format is the starting place for making a great resume because it balances the strengths of both functional and chronological resumes.
Combination Resume Format
The advantage of the chronological resume comes from both the content of the document as well as how it's organized on the paper. A combination resume begins with a functional approach, and ends with a chronological account of work experiences. This powerful combination is a superior marketing tool for any job seeker since it answers any question a prospective employer has about the applicant's qualifications.
The elements of a combination resume include:
- Name / Contact Information - a banner at the top of the page that includes all the essential contact information including name, street address, telephone number, and email address.
- Education - many job postings list a certain level of "required" or "desired" educational background. If holding a certain degree is that important to the hiring manager, then it might as well appear right up front in the resume.
- Honors / Certifications / Licenses - just below the education section of this resume are listed any honors received or current certifications / licenses held.
- Career Skills / Knowledge - this is a bulleted list of skills and knowledge gained in the working world. It's critical to make sure this section highlights the same attributes the job opening is seeking. For example, someone looking for a job as a financial analyst would want to highlight his or her ability to create and maintain complex spreadsheets.
- Career Achievements - this is a second bulleted list of the applicant's most significant career accomplishments. Up to this point, the resume has focused on the most marketable knowledge as well as accomplishments of the applicant - which is a great way to start a resume since it gives the reader a lot of information in a very succinct format.
- Work Experience - this last section of the combination style resume provides a summary of the applicant's work history in reverse chronological order. Anyone that's ever written a resume is familiar with this layout.
So far, we've described the type of information that needs to appear on a high quality resume. That's a good start - but it's often helpful to see this information organized on a document. By downloading our free combination resume sample, it's easier to visualize how all these elements materialize on a resume.
Polishing a Resume
The process of making an excellent resume doesn't stop after all of the information elements have been written and organized. The next step in the process involves refining the information as well as the words on the document. This is sometimes referred to as polishing a resume.
Here again, we need to go through several steps to polish the resume. This time, we're going to use a simple three "B" technique:
- Brainstorming - it's important to make sure every single element is thoroughly addressed. This means spending time looking through old job descriptions, performance appraisals, and any other archived file that might trigger a memory of a significant career event.
- Buzz Words - a resume needs to do more for the reader than provide a factual account of someone's career. It also needs to be a high-performance marketing tool. It must contain the right keywords so the reader can easily match the applicant's experiences to the qualifications of the job opening. Fortunately, we've already compiled a list of resume buzzwords. The only thing left to do is review job openings to make sure these same keywords appear on the resume.
- Bragging - a resume is never the place to be modest or humble. It's also not the place to commit resume fraud. It is important to find the middle ground.
Proofreading a Resume
The last step of making a great resume involves proofreading the document. When writing a resume, it's easy to overlook a mistake. That's why newspapers and magazines have line editors on staff. A great proofreader needs to look for proper word usage, correct grammar, as well as punctuation.
If possible, someone besides the writer should proofread the resume. If that's not possible, then the writer should review the document over time. Proofreading "tricks" include reading the document from the end to beginning, and / or printing the document and using a ruler to expose one line at a time.
When choosing a proofreader for a resume it's best to pick a trusted and knowledgeable friend, significant other, or relative. Unless it's acceptable for an employer to know the writer is looking for a job, the proofreader should never be a coworker - even a trusted one.
About the Author - Making a Great Resume
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