What You Need on Your Resume

1. The format of the resume must be simplistic! The best format for submitting your resume is through a Word Document. Many companies cannot open PDF documents, nor can some computers conduct keyword searches in PDF files. If you are currently applying with PDF, that may be the reason for why you are not receiving as many interviews. Your residential address and phone number will also directly affect your chances of an interview. An area code far from the application company may make the recruiters wonder whether you would be willing or happy to trek to work every day and whether you can continue to commit to the job.

2. The Summary section is very important. This section is the very beginning of the resume and what most recruiters look at the longest. Just like the catalog of a book, recruiters will often decide whether they want to interview you after reading your summary. Therefore, making this the top priority of a resume. When applying for each job, be sure to modify the relevant skills and background according to the position’s requirements.

3. Educational background and academic qualifications are more important for people who are currently in school or have recently graduated. If you have 5-10 years of work experience in the related fields, the education section should be written at the end of the page. The points you want to emphasize must appear at the beginning of the page. When comparing importance, the most important thing should be your related work experience, then are your professional certificates, and lastly your academic qualifications.

4. Professional experience is all your collective experiences. It can include work experiences, volunteer experiences, internship experiences, academic practices, school courses, and extracurricular projects. You should choose to write about the relevant experiences and not blindly show-off all of your experiences. Too much irrelevancy will make the recruiter question what you want to do.

5. Key Words are crucial to assess whether the applicant can successfully get an interview. If a resume does not contain the keywords included in the job description, it would be difficult for recruiters to receive the resume from its database because it would not have passed the initial digital screening. The process of selecting your resume is just like searching on the Internet. Similar to when you search for jobs on job boards, suggestions would pop up based on the keywords you type into the search engine. If your resume lacks keywords, finding you will be as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack.

‍