What to put on your resume
This article will tell you all you need to know about writing a resume.
The important things that must form a resume are;
- Your contact information.
- Your profile.
- Your education.
- Your qualifications
- Your skills.
You can also add your achievements, certifications, or your hobbies.
For a high school student’s resume, or a resume for a first job, it will be appropriate to put your education above work experience.
KEY SECTIONS THAT SHOULD BE IN YOUR RESUME.
1.CONTACT INFORMATION.
- Your Name
- Professional title
- Phone Number
- Your Email address.
- Social Media Handles (Twitter and LinkedIn)
- A link to your Personal Website, Blog, or Portfolio.
It is important that all provided information must be recent and in use by you.
Your address is not important if the job you are applying to is in another state.
2.RESUME SUMMARY OR OBJECTIVE.
Resume summary and resume objectives, is quite similar. The both highlight your skills and career.
For students, scholarships, internships, entry-level candidates, candidates without work experience, career changers, and job seekers with career gaps are all to make use of a resume objective.
Every other category of persons not listed above is to use a resume summary.
3.EXPERIENCE.
This is the body of your resume. It is important that you do not clog this section by adding every job you have ever done. You are to only put jobs that are relevant to the role you seek or jobs between the last ten years, if applicable.
Ensure not to leave time gaps in your resume.
You start by adding your most recent job/role before listing the others. If you have worked for a company without knowing it’s name, describe what is done in the company and what you did. Use points to describe your roles and responsibilities at those jobs. Your achievements when you held these roles and responsibilities should also be listed.
Internships are to be listed as a fresh graduate or if internship was in a high profile organization.
4.EDUCATION.
If you have recently graduated, or are still a student, your education section is to come before that of experience.
Your most recent school of attendance should come first. You are to name your degree and your school, with your most recent degree appearing first.
Your type of degree, your major, the name of your university, and any honors and awards you received.
You can decide not to add your Gp, if you are a professional.
5.SKILLS.
For your skills, here is a list of keywords that the employer looks out for as skills;
- Communication (Written and Verbal).
- Leadership.
- Planning and Strategic Thinking.
- Analytical Thinking and Research.
- Teamwork or Collaborative Work.
6.HOBBIES.
This section is optional. It tells your employer about you and your personality.
7.OTHER.
- Students can fill in awards, honors and extracurricular activities
- If you are tech savvy, you can create an additional category for certificates, licenses and softwares.
- Publications or attendance at conferences and seminars.
- Number of languages spoken.
8.Ensure that your resume is tailored towards a job description.
DONTS OF A GOOD RESUME.
- Do not add your exact home address.
- Avoid adding your sex and marital status.
- Do not use an unprofessional email address. Photos are not necessary.
- Do not add salary requirements in the introduction.
- Only add exceptional GPA’s.
- Do not add short term jobs.
- Do not add skills that are irrelevant to your desired job opportunity.
- Do not add hobbies that relate to controversial topics.
- Do not lie in your resume.
