Three Tips for Resume Writing

Resume formats and lengths have changed over the years, but three sections remain key for getting your resume noticed.  These are your header, your summary, and list of accomplishments.  Below are three important section tips for resume writing.

1. Your heading is your first introduction.  The heading is a 3-parts of information needed to contact you for an interview.  You need to make sure you name is large and clear.  If you have a LinkedIN account, make sure the name on it matches your resume for possible research on you by interviewers prior to their contacting.  An email address and phone number are essential for getting notified by recruiters and interviewers.  These are the main way you will be contacted, so you may choose to use a cell phone for easy-access and a professional-looking email for follow-up purposes.  Typically a mailing address is included in the heading area as well.  Usually physical addresses are only used by Human Resources (HR) as  reference for on-line searches prior to hiring or mailing paperwork after a hiring decision is made.
2. A summary of skills is vital to get your place in the interview group.  Whether you call it career objective or summary of qualifications,  a paragraph stating why you are a fit for the job is important - NOT optional.  Many recruiters read this before even looking at the rest of the resume, if what they are looking for is not here, then the resume goes in the "skip" pile instead of the "interview" pile.  So be sure to use keywords form the job description in this section to catch their eye.  Exact keywords are especially  important for electronic resumes, as this is what the computer searches for as a way to pull or eliminate resumes for recruiter review.  Using synonyms may prevent duplication, but the computer will not be looking for alternative words - so stick to the advertised keywords.
3. Your list of accomplishments is where you provide brief examples of your experiences.  This could section may be called work history, career accomplishments, achievements, or core competencies.  This section should start with the most recent position/job/skill examples moving down through other historical work.  Using bullet points rather than paragraphs will make the resume more readable.  Again, use as many of the job description keywords as you can honestly claim - think SEO.  A few job or technology synonyms are okay to use here to vary descriptions in bullets after using main keywords.  If you get called for an interview, be prepared to provide more detailed examples of your accomplishments to prove your potential worth.  If you are have a long career, you only need to provide ten years of work experience.  If you think older jobs will support your accomplishments, only list the company details and job title to keep resume short but allow interview the opportunity to ask for examples from those years.

Do a web search for current resume formats you can use in order for your resume to look professional and up-to-date for recruiters.  You may want to take the search further and look for resume examples that match your chosen career field to make a better impression.  Make sure the format you choose has the three key resume sections of header, summary, and accomplishments.