Writing A Winning Job Resume

Your job resume will be the first part of you that a prospective employer will ever see. In this age of depressed economy and higher unemployment, you are likely to be competing against more applicants for any job. Because of this, it is important that you understand how to make your job resume stand out. The method of "listing your previous jobs and hoping for the best" used to work just fine. But you will be limiting yourself if you take this approach these days. Instead, you should write a resume that causes a prospective employer to feel like they have to call you; you can do this by learning to make your resume stand out.

When writing your resume, it is extremely important to consider its design. Considering the prospective employer's perspective will help you understand why this is an important place to begin when writing your resume. The person reading your resume has likely been at their desk for hours, poring over a huge pile of resumes. According to studies, each resume gets about 15-20 seconds of attention the first time through the pile. You will not make tired eyes feel kind toward you if you fill the resume with small font and big, blockish paragraphs. Instead, design your resume with clear headings and lots of white space on the paper. In this way, tired eyes are likely to feel pleased when your resume comes to the top; who knows, they may even spend more than 15-20 seconds on it during their first glance!

The next thing to consider is the qualifications and accomplishments section, which will go a long way in setting you apart from other applicants. Never fabricate this section, but make sure you dig deep to uncover things that might not have popped into your mind right away. Think about everything that might lead a prospective employer to pick up the phone and give you a call, and include all of it in this section!

Finally, the section of your resume where you list your qualifications will be a big selling point. In this section, you should aim to set yourself far above the others who might be applying. Think of this section as an advertisement, where you tell the prospective employer all the reasons why they should "buy" you.

Although searching for a job can be frightening in these uncertain times, knowing the steps to a winning resume can make it a whole lot easier.