The Best Way To Build Your Resume

Resumes are a crucial part of the recruitment journey. Think of them as your first impression on a date: once that impression is made it can’t be taken back! And when dating, or looking for a new job, you want to put your best foot forward and display the best things about yourself.

To do this properly, not only do you need to layout your resume in a clean and digestible way, but you need to find ways to show off your talents that makes the recruiter think, “We need this person on our team.”

The best way to do this is to take your experience and skillset and create a beautiful resume that shows who you’ll be as a team member and the value you’ll bring to a team.

Having a general resume to use as a building block is a great place to start. However, every role is different and every company has different values. Therefore, it’s important to customize your resume to your audience.

When applying for a role think about what that company has been missing without that position filled and how your skillset and past experiences would complement them. Put yourself in the hiring managers shoes. Determine how you could make their life easier, then share the experience that most aligns with that.

The most important way to share your experience is through the impact it made on your business. Show that you have the skills to execute a project, and that your work had a big impact on the overall business.

The best way to do this is by sharing the exact impact your work made with numbers and percentages. An example would be, “Launched a social media brand campaign which led to an 88% increase in page views to our landing page during the campaign.”

What’s great about that example is that it shows that you helped to launch a social media brand campaign, displaying your skills in campaign management and social media. It also highlights the impact that your work had for the brand.

Another important piece of your resume is emphasizing the additional things that set you apart, including volunteer work you’re passionate about and side hustles. When you’re able to display your skills in a different way that also shows the impact you made in a community outside of your work, it will show your dedication to your craft.

For example, if you’ve got a wealth of sales experience and have spent time volunteering at colleges and universities to share your expertise with students, highlight that on your resume. Quantify your volunteer service in hours served or the number of different organizations you’ve worked with. If you’ve won any awards for your volunteer work or have any certifications related to your service, make sure to include those too!

Another great way to highlight your passion for working in your field is through your side hustles. Say you’ve been working in social media but have always had a passion for food and started writing on that love through a blog. Highlight that blog as a proof point of your skill. Not only is that blog a fantastic way to show off your writing, but it can also show your marketing savviness and ability to write in many different formats.

Once you’ve filled your resume with these extra skills and experiences, it’s time to lay it out. You want it so that a recruiter can quickly and easily comprehend your experience and skillset.  

The most important thing to remember is consistency. If you list out your roles with the title, then location, then dates you worked, make sure to do that for each role. Keep each section concise and avoid long sentences by using bullet points to get your point across. Reading your resume should be quick and easy and give the recruiter a good idea of your experience.

When your resume is ready to go, give it one last look to check for typos and misspellings. Those little mistakes distract from your skillset and may be the reason that a recruiter doesn’t give you a call.

A resume is your first interaction with your future employer, so putting your best foot forward is important. Use your resume to propel you to your dream job and help achieve your professional goals.