Tips For Preparing Your Resume

So you're about to apply for a job and you've been asked to present your resume or as others might call it, a CV.

How do you ensure that your resume stands out from the crowd? After all, there are probably dozens, if not, hundreds of other applicants going for the same coveted role.

Here are some tips which you might find useful to bear in mind when constructing your CV.

1. Less is more
So many applicants make the fatal mistake of over-crowding their CV with too much information. Try to remember that your employer's time is precious, and they are unlikely to want to spend more than a couple of minutes on each application. Try to keep your resume ideally to under 2 pages. No one wants to plough through 4 or 5 pages of information. If you've had multiple jobs in the past, focus on your last 3 roles and provide a little bit more detail about those.

2. Key roles and achievements
For your last 3 roles, start off by listing the start and end dates, your job title, the organisation's name and include a short run-down of your duties, preferably in 1 or 2 short sentences. Then include 3- 4 bullet points outlining your key achievements in that role. Many employers LOVE metrics, so where possible, try to quantify how your stint contributed to the organisation's performance. For example, an idea you came up with delivered 25% less wastage in the first 6 months, or a team your led increased customer satisfaction by 15%. Be mindful of using sensitive information from your previous employer. For this reason, percentages work well in painting a picture without revealing too much.

3. Other roles and interests
For other roles that go beyond your last 3, do the same as for your key roles but limit the description of the role and achievements to 1 or 2 bullet points. This can be challenging, but it does force you to consider what REALLY matters. If there is only one thing you could say about the role, what would it be? Does it grab the reader's attention and make them want to find out more during the interview?

4. References
Building a resume is more than just an exercise you do on your computer. Career-oriented individuals understand that every job they do CONTRIBUTES to the building of a robust and interesting resume. In other words, you are ALWAYS building a resume. For this reason, it is important that you make a great impression on your bosses and co-workers as you could be calling on them to provide a reference in the future. References can make or break an application, so you want to ensure that you have great relationships with your potential referees. Also remember to ask the referee for permission before including their name in your CV. There is nothing more embarrassing than a referee telling a prospective employer that they barely remember you, or worse yet, tell your prospective employer things that fail to match expectations set in your application.

5. What if I have very little experience, e.g. still in school?
It's okay if you haven't worked before. Include details of your academic achievements as well as your participation in school teams, clubs and organisations. While being good at school helps, employers also want to get a sense of your attitude and aptitude for work. Anything you can include to demonstrate leadership, organisational skills, initiative and drive will help.

6. Design, design, design
It's amazing how many people overlook this in building a CV. Keep your design clean, easy on the eye and professional. Unless you are applying for a job at Disneyland, I would probably steer clear of fancy fonts in lilac. There are plenty of resume templates available on the internet, so it's almost impossible not to find a design and layout that works well for the role you are applying for.

Good luck!

Get started on your CV now with Student Edge's resume template: