Resume Writing Essentials II
Credit:photoplasia
In this part of the series we will take a look on the process of writing a resume.
Reverse the chronological order
Your resume should follow the reversed chronological order. The logic suggests that your last position is of the highest importance. If it is not so, you can indicate importance by giving the most important position more space on the page.
Write about achievements
There is a continuous debate whether resume should revolve around responsibilities or achievements. European CVs often list the former, while the American resumes cite the latter. Generally, I would advise you to use achievements. It makes you more marketable, which is very necessary in times of economic crisis. Furthermore, achievements open possibilities to tell a story to a larger extent.
Use the STAR pattern
- S = Situation
- T = Target
- A = Action
- R = Result
Demonstrate your capabilities by giving the HR executive something to work with. Provide context as first, then outline your role. That’s the set up. Then you have to introduce your strongest weapons – a narative of what you did and how it impacted the company.
Below is an example. Say, I am applying for an HR position. In my previous job (junior entrepreneurship, +/- 8 people) I was responsible for the HR department. Suddenly, 4 of them had to leave for their master’s studies. I had to find replacements ASAP, which I did.
Sought out and hired 5 candidates when 4 members had left. Managed to change fast and keep the staff motivated. Performance did not suffer.
Before I started to work in HR, I used to be a PR Officer. Among other things, I had to manage media relations. Here is how it looks on my resume.
Pitched a story idea about junior entrepreneurship to Prague Post, and got a full page article with a profile of Impact as a result.
It is vital that you tell a story. Humans love narratives, and especially if they find them exciting. Thus, spicing up the resume with some extra information cannot hurt your chances.
In the next part of the “Job Hunt” series, we will visually customize our resume.
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