Write Your Resume

[Enda Goodwin]

When writing your resume, the goal is to align your accomplishments with your targeted job while at the same time capturing your experience with the right amount of detail. It’s no easy task, but we’re here to provide you with the tools and information to get it done!

The key to getting your resume right is refining. Don’t worry about making it perfect the first time around. Move through the process and get your information on paper. After you’ve completed a draft, go over it several times to make sure it’s organized properly and you’re using economy of words. Short and concise is the name of the game.

A typical resume will include the following components:
 

• Heading
• Professional Brand
• Summary Statement
• Employment History
• Accomplishment Statements
• Education
• The Extras
   

HEADING

Include your name, a single phone number, and a professional email address. If your current email is through Yahoo or Hotmail, for example, it’s time for an update. Consider creating a Gmail account.

Don’t include a physical home address. City and State are sufficient. Or, if you’re open to relocating, indicate this and be specific about your optimal geographies by including City, State, US (for example) to ensure the talent acquisition team and hiring manager are aware. You can also include this information in your summary statement, which is covered in more detail, below.

Lastly, be sure to include a direct link to your LinkedIn profile.
 

PROFESSIONAL BRAND

Use 2 to 3 words that describe what you want to do next professionally. This can be optimized by using the Job Title of the Job you are applying for.
 

SUMMARY STATEMENT

Your summary statement should encapsulate the experience, areas of expertise, and technical or professional skills detailed in the body of your resume.

The summary statement needs to correlate to the posted job description. Examine the particular wording and key words. Do your skills match the major talents your targeted job requires? Then work these key words into your summary statement. Most companies may put resumes through automated applicant tracking systems (ATS), which will weed out applicants who don’t have enough “key words” listed.

As the first major section on the resume, the summary statement needs to grab the interviewer right away. It needs to give them a strong reason to read more.
 

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Your employment history includes five parts and should only go back approximately 10 years:
 

• Employer: Your current employer gets top billing. Your other employers should follow with most recent first.
• Dates Employed: List the exact month and date you started.
• Job Titles: Include your titles so it’s clear what jobs you held throughout your career.
• Responsibility Scope: In 2 –3 lines explain your responsibility scope for the role. Did you manage a team, project, budget?
• Actions and Results of the SOAR: What did you do and what was the impact on the team, the process, project, product, functional team or the organization? Use the AR of the SOAR for the Bullet under your job title. Use action verbs to start your statements (never “I”). Then incorporate numbers and percentages to reinforce what you’re saying. This part of the resume has proven to be important since it demonstrates the measurable and quantitative impact you had on an organization, distinguishing you from other candidates with similar qualifications. It also gives hiring managers a basis to ask questions that will help them see the way you work -- not just what you’ve done, but how you did it.
   

ADDITIONAL PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

If you feel that your previous work experiences, past the 10 years, are significant for the role you are applying for, add this section with the Employer’s name and the job titles. Don’t include dates or descriptions.
 

EDUCATION, CREDENTIALS, CERTIFICATIONS

Your education is an important part of the package you’re selling. Make sure you convey it entirely and succinctly to the hiring manager. List your education completely, including the degrees that you’ve received.

If you’ve recently taken classes outside of work, make sure those are prominently included. Listing the actual dates of graduation is optional.
 

EXTRAS

If you’ve had specialized training or earned certifications throughout your career, you may

want to include them. It shows initiative and that you’re continually trying to improve your abilities. If you have specific skills pertinent to the position you’re applying for, also list those.

Getting your resume right is critical to getting noticed, but also to synthesizing the information and how you want to present it – and yourself – in the interview. The time you spend on sharpening your message and aligning it with your desired position will be well worth it!