Always Include These Nine Things on Your Resume

John Krautzel
Posted by in Career Advice •


Your resume is one of the most important aspects of your job search, as it helps form the hiring manager's first impression of you as a potential candidate for employment. Before you mail out this ever-important document, make sure you always include these nine elements of a successful resume.

1. Your Contact Information

Present your contact information prominently in the header of your resume so it's easy for the hiring manager to reach out to you. Include your name, phone number and email address. Experts agree that your home address is not necessary.

2. A Career Summary

Forget about the tired objective statements of resumes past; focus on a well-written career summary instead. In a few sentences, demonstrate what makes you unique by explaining your skills, experience and job interests.

3. Well-Chosen Keywords

Scan the job description, and pick out some of the most common keywords and phrases. Sprinkle a few of these keywords throughout your resume, illustrating how you used those skills in previous positions. This ensures your resume fares well against applicant-tracking software.

4. Notable Achievements

Let the hiring manager know what you can offer his organization by discussing the significant contributions you made to previous employers. Include service awards you won or sales goals you exceeded.

5. Quantitative Data

Back up your resume-worthy achievements with some impressive metrics to quantify your accomplishments. Rather than just saying that you broke a sales record, explain how you increased department sales by 200 percent in the third quarter.

6. Action Verbs

Action verbs help to illustrate your unique job skills and demonstrate your past accomplishments. Rather than including a bulleted list of job duties, be sure to use strong action verbs to describe your previous work. For example, replace "responsible for marketing projects" with "spearheaded successful marketing projects to boost company sales."

7. Certifications

If you hold certifications or credentials that are relevant to the position for which you're applying, certainly include them on your resume. To make sure it gets noticed, add the appropriate acronym, such as MBA, after your name in the resume header, as well as listing the credential in the education section.

8. Social Media Links

Include the URL of your LinkedIn profile, online portfolio or career-related blog in the contact information section of your resume. This helps to build your personal brand.

9. White Space

Ensure your resume doesn't contain too much text that it becomes overwhelming to read. Include only the most relevant information, and try to limit the document to one page. A standard font size and fair amount of white space offer a clean, professional presentation.

Remember to always include these nine elements on your resume, and spend extra time proofreading the document before you send it to a potential employer. Customize your resume to suit the needs of the employer for every position instead of settling for one generic version.


Photo courtesy of Ploymint HQ at Filckr.com
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  • KHADISHAT PALMERI
    KHADISHAT PALMERI •

    Veriy nice, i Lake.

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    @Dennis S thanks for your comments. However, most companies are still requesting one page resumes only. All tenses are considered to be past. Adding your MBA in the header is not really ostentatious. Just proud of it and want to show it. Shows that you are a go-getter. I guess everyone has their own way of doing things. The sources that are used in the creation of our articles are all current (within the week) sources. So not all companies are doing it the way that you indicated but it's always nice to have another opinion.

  • Dennis S.
    Dennis S. •

    Some good points and some out of date advice. 1. One page resume rule is passe unless you are just out of school or haven't worked much. 2. Be very careful to avoid the passive voice in writing. 3. Current job is written in present tense, all others in past tense. 4. Adding your MBA in the header is ostentatious, unless you are a doctor. 5. Show that you are an achiever, not a doer. A doer shows up to work and does their basic job... ie office worker files papers, answers phones .... everyone knows that. An achiever creates a new way to organize the files that makes easier for everyone to use them.

  • Annie I.
    Annie I. •

    Wonderful advice! It's been far too long with too many changes concerning the correct way of putting together an eye-popping resume! Thank you!

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    @Elinor Sarao thanks for your comment. It's hard to bridge the gap when it's been years since you worked in one type of position. All you can do is show what you did there and then what you have done since that. Try to up play that time in your career and downplay what you have done since when you are applying for a position in that previous industry. But you have to know, if it's been ten years or more, they probably won't consider you since they would feel that your skills are out of date. Is there a refresher course you could take to get up to date with the skills required in that field? That would certainly help.

  • Elinor Sarao
    Elinor Sarao •

    HOW TO BRIDGE THE GAP IN THE YEARS SINCE WORKING IN ONE FIELD

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