You’ve uploaded your resume to all the job sites you could think of. You’ve also been applying to companies directly and still have not received any responses. You eventually tell yourself that maybe you’re not experienced enough, or maybe the position has been filled. Both of those things could be true, or it could be that even though you meet all of the criteria in your head, you are missing key elements on your resume.
The truth about reviewing resumes that you’ll rarely hear is that the first thing most employers do is perform a process of elimination. When employers receive hundreds of resumes on a daily basis, they have to pick the ones that immediately meet certain criteria. No matter how skilled you are, if your resume does not display that, it will be eliminated. When uploading your resume to any online platform or sending it out to a potential employer, you want to ensure two major things.
- Your resume comes up in keyword searches
- Your resume has all the required information upfront
Here are the top 5 things that should always be on a resume.
1. Professional Objective
The professional objective outlines the type of role you are looking for. Briefly, outline the position or role that you are interested in. You should also include any work experience that will be vital to the role or company. Very often professional objectives are utilized when you are changing careers or if you have little experience in the industry you are targeting. For example, an entry-level professional would definitely want to include a professional objective on their resume.
Example: Seeking an Administrative Assistant position in the bookkeeping industry where I can utilize my office management, communication, and record-keeping skills to contribute to the success of a prospective employer.
2. Career Overview
The Career overview outlines your roles and job descriptions. Most employers like to skim through resumes until they see what they are looking for. While your job titles and job descriptions may have everything an employer needs, it’s better to provide a nice highlight of your career. If someone is skimming resumes for the most qualified candidate, seeing a really nice career overview will make them more interested in reviewing the entire resume. The career overview section is very key for experienced professionals. In most cases, your resume may be more than one page so it’s vital that you give an overview.
Example: Technology professional, with 10 years in the Software testing industry. Experience includes but is not limited to, Ad Server testing, Analytics testing, Video Player testing, Pharma, Oil & Gas, and SaaS platforms testing experience.
3. Education
Many job descriptions still include educational requirements even for experienced professionals. So it’s important to include your educational experience on your resume so that it is not overlooked. Educational experience includes but is not limited to, GED, High School Diploma, College Degree, and Certifications.
Example:
EDUCATION
Johnson & Wales University
B.S. Information Science
A.S. Applied Computer Science
CERTIFICATION
Certified Scrum Master
4. Memberships
If you have any memberships that are vital to your industry or a particular job, include them on your resume. Employers like to see that you are active in your industry and that you are trying to make a difference. This is something that definitely sets you aside from the competition. Being a member of any relevant organization keeps you ahead of the curve in your job search, as you have access to all of their resources and networks. Employers who are trying to innovate look for things like that specifically.
Example:
MEMBERSHIPS
Scrum Alliance
5. Summary of Skills
This is the best part! It’s the part where you get to outline your hands-on knowledge. While your job descriptions in the ‘experience’ section have all the tools you’ve used buried in them, the ‘summary of skills’ section lays them out. This is a very important section, so you must be sure that you include all industry relevant tools and knowledge. In order to be sure what you should and shouldn’t list, you should do a google search for the most used tools in your industry.
Example:
Operating Systems: Windows 8, Windows 10, Mac Os
Databases: MySQL Workbench, Oracle11g, MongoDB
Programming Languages: Javascript, HTML, Java
The key to a great resume is creating a great foundation. After that, the rest is history.
Featured photo credit: LEEROY Agency via pixabay.com
