What is a Resume?
A resume is a brief summary of personal and professional experiences, skills, and education history. Its main purpose is to show off your best self to potential employers.
When applying for a job, you’re (in most cases) going to be asked for a resume accompanied by a cover letter.
If you manage to create a “good” resume, you’re going to 2x your chances of getting hired. Want to learn how? Check out our complete guide on how to make a resume.
How to Write a Resume for Your First Job?
The process of writing a resume might seem super scary to you. After all, most resume examples you see on the web are 80% about work experience. So, what the heck can you include in your resume if you have none?
Well, here’s some good news. If you’re applying for an entry-level job or an internship, no one expects you to have ANY work experience.
Instead, you should focus on what you DO have: education, projects, volunteering experience, hobbies & interests.
For a complete guide on how to make a resume with no work experience stand out, check out our article.
How Long Should a Resume Be?
Ah, the most popular resume question in the world: “how long should your resume be?”
Short answer: one page. If you have a lot of work experience (10 years +), sometimes it makes sense to make it 2 pages MAX if everything you mention is super relevant for the position you’re applying for.
Long answer: check out our guide on how long should a resume be.
P.S. all of our templates are one-page resume templates, so you shouldn’t have a lot of trouble sticking to the one-page limit!
How to Write a Resume Summary?
Your resume summary is a “hook” that goes on top of your resume. Think of it as an introduction to the rest of your resume. It should, in 2-4 sentences, explain what your background is, and why it’s relevant for the position you’re applying for.
Want your resume summary to stand out? Use this proven formula:
“Professional [job title] with X+ years of work experience in [job responsibility]. In the past Y years, I have [your top 1-2 achivements]. Seeking a position of [job title] at [company name]”
To learn more about how to create a resume summary that excels, check out our guide.
On the other hand, if you’re a student or just don’t have a lot of work experience, read our article on how to create a resume objective instead.
How to List Work Experience on a Resume
Work experience on a resume is one of those things that’s easy to learn, hard to master.
Each work experience entry should contain the following:
Position title
Company name/description/location
Achievements or responsibilities
Dates employed
Now, if you want to create a work experience section that stands out, you want to focus on quantifiable achievements. What this means is, instead of creating an entry like:
“Carried out sales operations”
You list an achievement:
“Hit and exceeded monthly sales KPIs for 5 months in a row.”
This shows the employer that you’re not just a random candidate, you’re an A-player! To learn more about how to list achievements in your work experience (and land the job), check out our article.
How to Make a Cover Letter For a Resume?
Every job application asks for a cover letter (in addition to your resume). Here are some of our tips on how to do this right:
Customize your cover letter to the employer. The more personalized it is, the more likely it is for the recruiter to like you
Outline your general background (work experience, profession, etc.) and mention your top 2-3 achievements to show off your skills
If you really want to stand out, create a cover letter that matches your resume template. To do this, you can use one of our cover letter templates here.
If you want to learn more about how to write a convincing cover letter, check out our comprehensive guide.
What is the Best Resume Template?
There’s no such thing as “the best resume template” - every recruiter/employer has their own personal preference. Our general recommendation is to do your research on the company and what their values are.
Click Here to Build your Resume: For example, if you’re applying for a position at a bank, you’d want a more professional resume template. On the other hand, if you want a job in a startup where they value innovation more, you should stick to a creative resume template.
Finally, if you’re still not sure which type of template is right for the job you’re applying for, you can just use a simple resume template just to be safe.
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