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How to Make an Effective Resume

Posted in: Blog by admin1 on July 14, 2011

Expectedly, companies and employers receive a great volume of resumes. Due to this happening, employers now make use of a standard resume tracking system. This allows many tasks in candidacy tracking and it also heightens the possibility for them in finding resumes they received months or years ago. In line with the improving and changing technology, it is vital that you keep your resume in a certain format that shall pass the standards and interpretation of the said system. This is the reason why it has been referred to as a ‘scannable’ resume due to the hardware that scans the resume paper on the computer. Nowadays, careers and resumes are passed and received through electronic mails then are parsed and stored in a database.

The moment your resume has been stored electronically, employing companies use certain keywords to filter out applicants whose resume match with the available positions in the workfield. In order to find their resumes, employers usually type in keywords through Boolean search.

Since technology plays the main part in reaching your resume to the company you have applied for, it is important that you keep your resume format very plain and at its simplest. In other words, you have to avoid graphics, font styles, and other style effects which will only turn your resume to an event invitation card. If such practice is done, expect your resume to be not accepted by the scanner. A resume not properly and correctly formatted is more likely subjected for reject, thus won’t appear in a search when employers match keywords. When that happens, you have totally missed your chance on landing to interviews.

So now, let me give you some tips on how to write and format an effective resume. This will indeed help you out in increasing your chances for job interviews and hopefully, have the position you long desired.

First thing you have to remember is to use a simple font. This means that you have to do away with the decorative and stylish fonts. The most common use fonts for formal letters or papers and generally considered as the standard fonts for business communications are Times New Roman and Arial. These font styles are the safest to use when writing an effective resume. Another thing you have to consider is the font size. Do use fonts of 10-12 points which are known to be the norms in resume making.

Next, you have to avoid using pictures, tables, and other graphical representations in your resume. Resumes that have these rarely make it through. If there any information that needs to be in that format, consider an appendix to come along with your resume or linking a site that you have created which stores the necessary information. If your job requires you to show off your skills such as that of a web or graphics designer, you may also attach or distribute copies of your works during your interviews.

Be keen in the words you use in your resume. The keywords that you use in your resume will resolve how the employer tracks down your resume. Most of these keywords used are job titles, skills and responsibilities, acronyms, buzzwords, computer languages, educations and certifications.