Blog Post: How to Write an Effective Resume

I can’t emphasize the importance of a well written resume! Having been a recruiter in the past, and currently a career coach and resume writer, I am constantly amazed at how many talented people merely “data dump” what they did in their last few jobs, put their name and education on there and expect it to get noticed! My recommendation for resumes is to spend 8-10 hours (yes, I said 8-10 hours!!) on the document so that it can be a Masterpiece of your career history and a document you can be proud to call your own!  Since most of us cannot afford the $200-400 required to have a resume professionally done, here’s how to write an effective resume from scratch.

1.       Data Dump:  First, write down all of the information you know about each job you have had for the past 10-12 years.  Make sure to include the employer, the city and state, the dates of employment, the title and finally all of the major duties and accomplishments you can remember achieving at that job.  Just get the words out – don’t worry about being fancy. 

2.       Expand Data Dump with Numbers:  Now go back over what you have written and expand your data dump even further with more numbers that indicate frequency, scope and what you achieved.   

3.       Synthesize Data Dump:  Then, synthesize. Put similar duties together (please don’t just repeat them).  Do not keep the big, hairy long list of what you did because it won’t get read! Group these like items in a category which you can bullet and bold. After you put like with like, prioritize them and put the most impressive thing you achieved first.

4.       Themes: As you are writing all of this down, do you notice any themes (things that repeat?)  If so, make notes on these themes and put to the side.

5.       Summary:  Write a summary at the top of the resume which includes what profession you are in, the areas within that profession you have experience with and the strengths you bring from that experience. Include the industries you’ve worked in the past 10 years and indicate what you are looking for next in your career. Next, go to what you wrote about your themes and include the things that repeat here in the summary on what I would call the Brag Line in your summary.  These are your transferable skills.

6.       Computer skills, Education and Training:  Write down all of your computer skills, your education information and all of the training classes you’ve attended, and the dates.   This should be included under the heading Computer Skills, Education and Training.

7.       Put it all together:  The order of the resume should be as follows:  First, Contact information at the top centered with your name in a larger font than the rest.  Be sure to include your phone number and email address.  Second, the Summary section should be written per #5. Third, Professional Experience which is a systematic listing of your work history in a prioritized way.  Finally, the section called Computer Skills, Education  and Training comes last. 

8.       Edit Yourself and Get Other Eyes to Review:  Once you have the resume in the above format, get as many people to look at it both in and out of your field as you can to see if they understand what you did, what you are looking for and whether or not they are impressed. Then, you guessed it, edit, edit and edit so it sounds compact, descriptive and high impact

9.       Edit Again with a Recruiter’s Help and Edit Again!  If you can, let a professional recruiter, career coach or human resources professional review it.  Then edit, edit, edit. Make sure there are no errors. 

10.   Send it out for a test Drive:  When you feel it’s been edited enough, go ahead and send it out with a networking letter to your network. This letter should indicate your background, what you are looking for, and how your network can help you find more contacts in your field.  Also, use this new resume to apply for jobs via the internet or through in person applications.

Bio information:  Coach Joan McMahon, SPHR is President of Career Solutions – Unleashing the Excellence Within!, a one stop shop for career services.  A trained Career Coach, Trainer and Speaker, Coach Joan helps people gain greater career satisfaction through identifying values, personality preferences and interests and by helping them through the difficult job search process.  She runs a free weekly job seeker’s networking group at the Delectable Egg at 200 N. Quebec on Wednesday mornings at 8am.  Her website is www.coachjoan.com and her email is coachjoan@coachjoan.com. Take advantage of her free resume review - go to www.coachjoan.com and click on "Free Resume Review" for more info.