A guide to writing a resume

Writing a resume is an important skill to perfect. After all, your resume is usually the first contact you will ever have with a prospective employer. It's the equivalent of meeting someone's eyes in a bar. If they don't like what they see, you won't get the chance to prove yourself in an interview. Fortunately, writing a resume needn't be a difficult task. Here are some tips for putting together an effective resume.

One essential thing to ensure that you include when writing a resume is your contact details. Be sure to provide details where you can be easily contacted, such as a daytime phone number. If you are including an e-mail address, make sure it is a professional sounding address. You will also need to provide professional references, so ensure that you have the up to date details of these people.

A good quality resume will include relevant information about your education, experience, and skills. Depending on the type of job you are applying for, your resume may be weight more towards one of these than the others. For example, a recent graduate will probably emphasize recent qualifications and knowledge over career experience. In contrast, an experienced worker applying for a senior role will be more likely to provide a detailed overview of their relevant professional experience than details of a bachelor's degree received many years earlier. These are important things to think about when writing a resume.

A well-written resume will also include not only information about your previous roles, but about your achievements in those roles. Think about your duties and responsibilities in your previous role, and list them, making sure to highlight any important skills. If you contributed in a valuable way, make a note of that, too. For example, if you found a way to streamline a process, or to increase profits, you should include these details when writing your resume.

You may wish to consider including extra information when writing your resume. This section might include hobbies, organizations or groups that you belong to, or other qualifications or achievements. Including these details can help show that you are a well-rounded person in addition to being well-suited to the job you are applying for. Some useful things to include in this section include extra languages that you speak, or first-aid qualifications.

Last, here are some presentation tips to consider when writing your resume. Ensure that your resume is neatly presented and easy to read. Use good quality white paper in a standard size, and print it using high contrast ink. Avoid using graphics or fancy fonts. These will only clutter up the page and detract from the important information about your skills and experience. Make sure that you use wide margins, and that your text is neatly aligned. Make sure that your font size is large enough to be easily read. If e-mailing your document, make sure that it is presented in a standard file format such as a .doc or .pdf file. Always e-mail the file to yourself and print a test version before e-mailing your file to make sure that the document won't be garbled upon receipt.

By including these elements when writing your resume, you'll bound to end up with a strong finished product. Coupled with a thoughtful and targeted cover letter, your resume should do the trick in getting you that job.