6 Principles That Makes An Effective Resume

6 principles to use when writing your resumeThis is not your ordinary career site. I help the corporate worker who toils away in the company cubicle make career transitions. You want to do your job well, following all the rules -- .The career transitions where I can help you center on three critical career areas: How to land a job, succeed in a job, and build employment security.Top 10 Posts on CategoriesThere is an incredible amount of noise about writing your resume. Hundreds of rules, contradictory advice, many different formats â€" and no sense of what it takes to get the interview.Often, it is really overwhelming. So we give up. We take something chronological, slap it together, describe what we do on our jobs (responsibilities), and then throw that resume at a bunch of job boards.And, by the way, lose. Because writing a resume that way is asking, if not begging, to get your resume thrown into the nearest (digital) trash can.Why don’t we spend a few minutes going over the app roach, process, philosophy â€" whatever â€" you should use when writing your resume. Use these guidelines and get a much better resume out there. One that gives you a shot at getting you the interview.My philosophy towards resumes is simple: there is only one job for the resume and that is getting the interview. Not the offer. Not the face-to-face interview. Just moving you to the next step in the job search process.There are corollaries to this:Now, you may think that approach is crazy because you like some other pundit’s approach. That’s fine.The point is this: pick an approach. Use it. See if it works. (Mine does)For example, when you get to the section for your Professional Experience, follow the same format for every position you’ve had.Have your title first, then the company name, then the dates employed. Beneath that line, have one line of context around what the company does and, perhaps, your role in it.Then below that, list bullet points for the business results you achieved working in that position.Rinse. Repeat.And, by the way, when I say consistent structure, that includes your font. Use the exact same font for the entire resume â€" a sans serif is preferred. Regular, bold, italics â€" all the same font family. This blog post, for example, is done in the Open Sans font family.Action verbs are the bomb. Using them sets you up to have a great bullet point about your results.It even helps you get rid of passive language on your resume (the bane of my writing existence…).Depending on your age, of course. If you haven’t been in the workforce for ten years yet, put it all in.For those in the workforce for longer than ten years, look for a logical place to cut off the positions included in your resume. Consider accomplishments, though. If the biggest accomplishment you did was 11-years ago, make sure that you don’t cut it just because I said “ten years.” If job skills are the currency of resumes, accomplishments are the proof.I once got d inged in a background check because I simply said my college and “B. S. Business Management”. But I didn’t say I actually GOT the degree, just what the degree was.Fortunately, they came back and asked if I got the degree…yes…and then I changed my resume to “Degree: B. S. Business Management”. Just to be clear.Cheeeeze…The certifications show that you continue to learn, stay current in the industry you are working, and show initiative.My only caveat here is make sure the certifications actually relate to the industry you are working in. A masters certificate in gardening doesn’t help much when you are an IT developer.What you want to do is, when reading any advice on how to put your resume together, bump up that advice with these six principles.If it passes the so called smell test, great, the advice is worth considering.And like I said, if you don’t agree with this philosophy and approach, that’s fine â€" but make sure you pick an approach and follow it.Remembe r: it’s about the resume being able to get you to the next step in the job search process…the interview.This is not your ordinary career site. I help the corporate worker who toils away in the company cubicle make career transitions. You want to do your job well, following all the rules â€" .The career transitions where I can help you center on three critical career areas: How to land a job, succeed in a job, and build employment security. policiesThe content on this website is my opinion and will probably not reflect the views of my various employers.Apple, the Apple logo, iPad, Apple Watch and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. I’m a big fan.Copyright 2020 LLC, all rights reserved.