Writing an Effective Resume

Writing an Effective Resume

Your resume is the first and far most important document towards getting the job that you want! Some recruiters receive hundreds of resume per day and getting your resume to stand out among them can be challenging.

Your resume should be a well-organized profile of your qualifications for a career; it should also communicate enough information to an employer to keep them interested!

The experts at TorontoJobs.ca have come up with some suggestions to write an effective resume:

Writing with Style: Font size of the text throughout the resume should be 12 point and either Times New Roman or Arial style. Use 1 inch margins at the top and bottom and sides of your resume. Try to avoid using horizontal or vertical lines, graphics, or shading. If you’re mailing your resume, try to put it in an envelope that doesn’t require you to fold it. Try to avoid overusing italics, scripts and underlined words.

Use Effective Vocabulary: Define all experiences with as many actions words as possible, such as accomplished, delegated, achieved, conducted, coordinated, organized, etc.

Don't Get Too Personal: Your name, address, postal code, telephone number and email address is appropriate. Specific personal information such as age or birthdates, marital status or citizenship is not important. Also avoid using nicknames.

Objective: Write what you want to do and be specific. Explain in one or two sentences how your abilities will benefit the company or organization for which you are applying at the top of your resume.

Achievements: Show your unique skills and list the most important first i.e. clubs, languages, awards etc.

Work Experience: List experience in reverse chronological order; that is, your most recent experience should be listed first. Include the following information:

Title of position,
Name of organization
Location of work (town, province)
Dates of employment
Describe your work responsibilities and list specific accomplishments.

Volunteer Experience: List any related volunteer or community experience.

Education: Show your most recent education first and then go back in time, similar to how you show your work experience. Include the years you attended each school (e.g. 2001-2003) and any degree or diploma received.

Interests: List specific interests that will show that you have the skills and attitude needed by the employer.

References: Add a note that you will provide references if needed (e.g. “References Available upon Request”)

The finished product should look outstanding. Make sure your resume is neat, proof read for spelling errors and be honest!