Resume Writing Advice - To Secure That Interview

When it comes to putting your resume together you need to ensure that you are demonstraing how you have the skills, training and experience to meet the requirements of the job.

As I said earlier, possibly the most important piece of resume writing advice is that your resume is the way to get the interview! So let's take a look at how you should approach writing your resume.

Keep It Short

Firstly you need to ensure that it is short and easy for the people reviewing it to understand. Don't forget that the reviewer will possibly have dozens if not hundreds of resumes to review for each job they are advertising.

You want your resume to stand out from the crowd and get you in front of an interviewer. That's when you will be able to give a detailed explanation of your experience.

My experience of reviewing resumes is that I skim them looking for key phrases and evidence to support inviting someone for interview. So potentially an employer might spend little no more than half a minute on each resume.

Focus On Your Skills

Give a broad outline of your key skills. You should again aim to keep them brief and ensure that put your areas of greatest skill first. Don't just focus on your technical skills but do include soft skills such as being an effective communicator, being a team player, and any leadership skills.

Everybody lists their skills, that is more or less a given. However, you should make yourself stand out from the crowd by listing them in a way which highlights how you have demonstrated them. So for instance "delivered a well received presentation to 20 new members of staff at their induction which was rated 10/10 in their evaluations" would be a good way of demonstrating how you are a good communicator.

Do also include your technical skills and again show how to developed them or have used them.

If you are going for a role in the same functional area of expertise as you currently work in then ensure that you mention it. Highlight any specialist skills and certifications earned. In today's work environment we all know that computer skills are important, so you should mention them. However, make sure that you focus on any that are highlighted as being required for the position you are applying for.

Good luck!