Why Your Resume is Easier Said than Written

Ever heard the phrase “easier said than done”? Well, if you’ve ever worked on your own resume then you know it is most likely “easier said than written.” In other words, it’s easier to say that you’re going to write your resume than actually write it.

However, this doesn’t mean that writing a resume is impossible. People do it every day. The key is to complete a few key steps first to make sure your start-to-finish process is one that results in a fantastic finished product.

Get Organized

The first step in creating a great resume is to make sure that you’re organized. You want to collect about 20 companies (after conducting research on them) that you would like to apply with and make sure that they all suit your needs – and that you can suit theirs.

In addition, it’s important to round up your skills and accomplishments. When this is done, you’ll be able to move on to the next step, which is choosing a focus.

Choose a Focus

When writing your resume, you need a focus that’s greater than your desire to just get hired. You need to know what it is that you want out of your career and how your next job can help to move you to that next level. As you acquire a focus, you may start to see some of your chosen companies fall out of the ranking. But this isn’t a bad thing; it just helps to make sure you’re not wasting anyone’s time as you apply for jobs.

Add Keywords and Action Words

Once you’ve chosen the companies and know exactly what you’re looking for in your career and next position, it’s time to write resumes for the companies you’re applying with. In addition to the obvious elements that you’ll add (career summary, job history, education, accomplishments, highlights, rewards, etc.) you want to add keywords that pertain to your industry and action words (ex. managed, initiated, developed, organized) that show that you’re able to initiate actions, not just do what you’re told.

Proofread then Proofread Again

After you’ve written your resume, you want to make sure that you proofread it again and again before ever submitting it. If you make a spelling error, grammatical mistake or simply have a typo in the mix, the hiring manager will see it and suddenly feel very leery about your ability to produce polished work if hired.

Don’t be Afraid of Professional Help

If you’ve been spending time working on your resume and feel that you’re not able to get the job done on your own, don’t be afraid to ask for assistance. There are plenty of professionals offering resume help at a reasonable price that could churn out a quality document in no time.

There’s no doubt that working on a resume is a much bigger project to take on than it seems. In a sense, it plays a major contributing factor in your financial future. So spend time working on it and treating it as the important document that it is. This way, you give yourself a greater guarantee that it will produce the results that you desire.