IR Theory

Crafting a winning resume is truly a kind of art. It’s not something you can treat similar to creative writing. Today, resume writing is highly standardized and has its own rules and best practices which you’d better know.

However, many people find it hard to define what accomplishments deserve to be on the list. Some are humble enough to count their achievements as regular duties. Others feel hesitant when they try to define what achievements are relevant.

If you want to land an interview, you have to go the extra mile and make your documents outstanding. In this light, hiring a professional CV writing service makes sense. After all, this is time-consuming work that requires writing talent and industry-specific knowledge to put it right.

We, however, believe that regardless of the path that you’ve chosen, knowing best resume practices is a must. Even if you don’t intend to create a bot-beating resume on your own, you should be able to check the accuracy of the document provided to you.

Here are the key rules of resume writing that everyone should know.

Applicant Tracking System

We start this list with the biggest thing you should keep in mind when working on the application package – the ATS system.

ATS-compliant resumes can help you get more interviews. This must be your goal. To make your resume ATS-friendly, you need to choose a simple, black & white format free from tables and objects.

Also, you need to make sure your sections are located in the order that the ATS system can easily recognize. Most often, the flow is the following:

• Summary
• Experience
• Additional Experience
• Volunteer Service
• Certifications
• Education
• Skills

Keywords

Another thing that we need to highlight when we talk about resume writing is keywords. We have seen lots of resumes that end up misevaluated because they don’t get through resume-scanning software.

The reason is missing keywords. This is so common that sometimes, a graduate student trained in writing resumes can outperform someone with a mid-career level. How is that possible? The thing is, that professional is ignorant about the keywords that are used in their field.

Relevance 1.0

Candidates should understand that a resume is not a tractate. You don’t have lots of space to include all the facts you want to explain about yourself. Even if you believe your hobby helps people, you may need to omit it to stay professional.

How do we decide what things are relevant? By asking a question: “So what?” For example: “I am going to be an account manager and I can play the piano.” So what? The piano is not relevant to account management at all. This information does not add anything to your profile.

Another example, however, is relevant. “I am going to be an account manager, and I attend public speaking courses.” So what? Account management and sales require lots of communication and presentation. Public speaking or acting courses may be a plus.

Relevance 2.0

Now, we have to look at relevance from a different angle. It’s not only about miscellaneous information one puts in their resume. It’s about how recent your experience is. For example, if you have 20 or 25 years of professional experience, don’t describe all of it. 

On the contrary, include details for the past 10-15 years, ensuring that these achievements wow your readers. Don’t list duties too much. Explain moments when you went the extra mile and it went well for everyone.

In other words, filter things the recruiter can find online. Write only those facts that make you stand out.

Short Bullet Points

“Concise but precise” should be your motto. The rules say that a great bullet point should be two lines long. Three lines are possible if there is no way you can cut it.

This is the biggest complication for many applicants. They can communicate their achievements, but they can’t find the right words. Or they use too simple words to highlight their significance.

The best thing you can do is to use the following formula. Start with an action verb, describe the nature of your accomplishments, and explain its results. Add metrics where possible.

Certifications and Licenses

Professional training or proof of continuous learning should go directly to your resume. However, they must be relevant. No exceptions to this rule are accepted.

If you have a few courses and certifications to add, that’s absolutely great. Recruiters and hiring managers are especially keen on seeing that candidates love developing.

However, they are not fans of irrelevant information. So, don’t try to sell them something you don’t find valuable. Space is priceless in the resume.

One Page Is a Golden Standard

Many American recruiters would say they prefer one-page resumes to all others. True. It is easy to read and quite often is enough to communicate your potential. However, military and federal resumes cannot be one-page.

Therefore, do not bound yourself to one page if you feel that you have more to tell. For example, if the list of your employment places reaches five or six companies, don’t try to condense it much. Your resume can be one and a half or two pages long if your experience permits.

Takeaway

The above mentioned are only a few rules that are on the surface. When you start writing, you’ll go deeper and deeper into standards and best practices. Yet, this comprehensive guide is enough to start off resume writing and ace it.