Effective Resume Writing

best font size and type for effective resume writing fonts medical school bartender Resume Effective Resume Writing

Rosemaria Téa December 20, 2020 Resume

Use Key Words – Computer programmers understand logic and algorithms. Use this to your advantage by applying this approach to your resume. The prescreening process is very methodical. In many cases, these screens are done using logic in software applications especially if you apply online. Additional screenings may be completed by human resources or other non-technical personnel who do not always understand the technologies required for the position for which you are applying but are merely using a checklist for resume screening. Hopefully you are beginning to see why it is so important to use key words on your resume. Let me clarify that, it is so important to use the RIGHT key words on your resume.

This technology presents some risks for you as a potential job candidate, so you must understand how they work. Many of these so-called applicant tracking systems do not recognize items in table format, text boxes, or other graphical elements. They are very text based. Therefore, you should avoid embedding anything important into graphical elements such as text boxes or tables to make sure they are not missed by these applicant tracking systems.

Present Your Work Experience in a CAR – Not a literal car, but an acronym CAR to help guide your resume writing.

First, for each position listed on your resume, provide a short paragraph that describes your roles and responsibilities. This tip is designed to make sure you use keywords related to the position that the software may be searching for in your resume. If done correctly, it should allow your resume to earn a higher ranking in the system.

Provide an Experience Summary – If the reviewer of your resume determines you have experience with the required technologies, the next thing they will attempt to do if to figure out how much experience you have with the specific required technical skills. Your job is to make this process easy for the reviewer, which will then improve your odds for passing the complete resume screening and get an interview. Remember that, in general, resume reviewers do not dedicate much time to each individual resume. If it is too much work for a reviewer to verify your experience against the job requirements, they will most likely move on to the next candidate.

Spend the Most Time on the Most-Read Part of Your Resume – Contrary to what you might think, the most-read part of your resume is not your name. When there are hundreds of resumes to review, names matter little in initial evaluations. The most read part of your resume is your Profile or Experience Summary. If your resume is missing this section, you are losing your best opportunity to create interest. It used to be common to put an Objective at the top of your resume. However, the Profile or Experience Summary section has completely replaced the Objective section. Why? It is a quick 3-4 sentence overview of your qualifications. This acts as an Executive Summary for a reviewer where you clearly point out why you are the best candidate for this specific position. If you don’t generate interest in this section, your chances of further review or even an interview are slim.