It's Time You Started Writing Your Own Résumé!

The world of résumé writing is a hot button these days. And, there are many, many articles on the Internet that give you advice on how to write one. Some are helpful, and some are not. Many people will tell you they are good at writing a résumé, when they are really not. A good reason for you to just do it for yourself.

Your résumé should clearly and quickly communicate the value you can bring to an organization. It must be easy to read, it must look good, and it must be filled with action verbs that carry the most impact. You should talk about those things the employer is looking for. Write your résumé as if you were the hiring employer. Would you hire you?

Most people can write their own résumé if they put a little thought to it. But, there are some rules you should follow. Unfortunately, this is most likely how an employer will get to know you. First impressions are lasting, so you want to make it good.  So let's get started!

Before we begin here is a résumé checklist:

Margins should be the same size. Most people use one inch all around but if you must use less don’t go below eight and a half inches.

Always use a font that is conservative, fancy won’t get it. Some examples of font types are; Calibri, Ariel, and Times New Roman. These fonts are very common and they are on most computers.

Using a combination font size is good, twelve inch and fourteen inch or twelve inch and eleven inch, you'll see why later on.

Check your spelling, punctuation and grammar. They have to be perfect! There is no room for error when it comes to this.  Your sentences/phrases should start with a capital letter.  Sounds silly but I have seen otherwise.

Remove that Objective Statement. Objective Statements are outdated and no longer used. Employers feel they are useless and that space can be used for something else more valuable.

The best way to write your résumé is by using a format that shows your value. It must be accomplishments / achievements driven. We call this a “value-based” résumé. That’s the format professional writers use. And, that’s the type talked about on this blog.




One of the biggest mistakes that job candidates make is to write their résumés listing only job responsibilities and the daily tasks they do. The problem is, their value is missing and nothing separates them from the next job candidate. Everybody sounds the same! What makes you unique or different from the next job candidate? That’s what you want to include in your résumé, not the daily tasks you do.

The purpose of your résumé is to get you a job interview. You may have heard from other sources that you have about 8-10 seconds to draw the reader in? Well, that has some truth to it. And, that’s why you should put the best at the top! Time is of the essence and you want to spark the reader’s interest within those 8-10 seconds. Why leave the best for last? They may never get there, and you can’t take that chance. Don’t assume the person that picks up your résumé is going to read it entirely. Most of the time they won’t and that’s why you didn’t get called into an interview. In my next post we are going to talk about formatting your résumé in such a way that your value shines through.

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