Leading from my earlier post on resume pitfalls, here are some easy resume tips and practices that you may find useful.
Tip #1 – Keep a Master Resume
This is one of the most useful advice I have gotten from a senior at work when I was in my early years of working. This is the resume that does not need any fancy layout or polished writing but a document that you record key information about your work stint, key competencies acquired or used, and achievements made at the job. This document should be something you update at least once a year so that you do not end up with nothing to write for the job stint when you finally decide to update your resume to apply for a job.
Tip #2 – Include a Profile Summary
This should replace the section where resume objective sits. A resume objective is a trend of the past. What would be most important and useful is to put in 3 crisp bullet points that summarise your professional profile to let the recruiter know who you are. If you prefer to write a short paragraph, keep this within 3-5 sentences.
So what makes a good summary profile. As a guide, you could include the following:
- A professional title, if relevant
- Key experience(s)
- Top skills
- Top achievements
Tip #3 – Use Action-Oriented Words
Most of my clients struggled when asked to keep information into 3 bullet points per job experience because they felt that achievements alone would not provide the recruiter a flavour of the job complexity. I would recommend using the following format:
- One bullet point to summarise the job role. It is perfectly okay that this is not going to cover everything you have done at this job but just put down the most significant ones within a liner.
- 2 key achievements made at the job.
In writing these pointers, always start the sentence with an action-oriented word. For example, a job summary could start with “Strategise and lead a team of 7 to deliver … …” whereas a key achievement could start with “Set up a new team to drive a new initiative on … …”
Tip #4 – Leave Out Irrelevant Experiences
You may argue that it would leave a blank space on your work experience. I am not saying you cannot put that in but you need not adopt the same format as indicated in tip#3 to include information about the job role. This will leave you the much-needed space to put in information that truly matters.
Tip #5 – Set Up a LinkedIn Profile
You can create a LinkedIn profile and include more information about your experiences, as well as a professional photo on the site. Include a link to your LinkedIn profile on your resume and this will free up space on your resume to put in key and important information, while leaving the resume clean and easy to read.