5 answers
Sabrina
Student
Bay Ridge, VA
1
Question
Updated
385 views
What are the most important parts of a resume?
I know I have to build a resume in order to properly apply for jobs, but everytime I ask for advice from people they tell me I should already know. I feel like I need to know what is really important, because when I look at examples online, they're often fancy and filled with too much information.
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5 answers
Doc Frick
Career Coach and Mentor
1349
Answers
California, CA
Updated
Doc’s Answer
Let's face it Sabrina — writing a resume can be intimidating. And the pressure to make it standout can make the prospect of getting started that much scarier. But writing the perfect resume doesn't have to be terrifying. In fact, it can be easy — if you know what you're doing.
HEADER AND CONTACT INFORMATION
At the top of your resume, always include a header containing your name. Your contact info (typically your phone number, personal email address and sometimes links to social profiles or personal websites). After all, you don’t want there to be any confusion over who the resume belongs to, or make it difficult for recruiters or hiring managers to reach out to you.
PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
The professional summary is a brief, one- to three-sentence section featured prominently on your resume that succinctly describes who you are, what you do and why you’re perfect for the job. Describe the type of career opportunity you’re looking for — professional summaries aren’t about what you want. Instead, they’re focused on the value you could bring to a potential employer.
SKILLS
This section once relegated to the bottom of resumes as an afterthought, has become more and more important as recruiters and hiring managers increasingly look for candidates with specialized backgrounds. Rather than making these folks reading your resume hunt through your bullet points to find your skills, it’s best to clearly list them. If they see right away that you have the ability to get the job done, they’re much more likely to take your resume seriously.
WORK EXPERIENCE
This critical section of a resume is where you detail your work history in a consistent and compelling format. The Work Experience section should include company names, locations, employment dates, roles and titles you held and most importantly, bullet points containing action verbs and data points that detail the relevant accomplishments of each position.
EDUCATION
Since many jobs require a certain level of education, it’s important to mention your academic credentials on your resume. However, this section shouldn’t take up too much space. In most cases, simply listing where you went to school, when you attended and what degree you attained will be sufficient.
I hope this was helpful Sabrina
HEADER AND CONTACT INFORMATION
At the top of your resume, always include a header containing your name. Your contact info (typically your phone number, personal email address and sometimes links to social profiles or personal websites). After all, you don’t want there to be any confusion over who the resume belongs to, or make it difficult for recruiters or hiring managers to reach out to you.
PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
The professional summary is a brief, one- to three-sentence section featured prominently on your resume that succinctly describes who you are, what you do and why you’re perfect for the job. Describe the type of career opportunity you’re looking for — professional summaries aren’t about what you want. Instead, they’re focused on the value you could bring to a potential employer.
SKILLS
This section once relegated to the bottom of resumes as an afterthought, has become more and more important as recruiters and hiring managers increasingly look for candidates with specialized backgrounds. Rather than making these folks reading your resume hunt through your bullet points to find your skills, it’s best to clearly list them. If they see right away that you have the ability to get the job done, they’re much more likely to take your resume seriously.
WORK EXPERIENCE
This critical section of a resume is where you detail your work history in a consistent and compelling format. The Work Experience section should include company names, locations, employment dates, roles and titles you held and most importantly, bullet points containing action verbs and data points that detail the relevant accomplishments of each position.
EDUCATION
Since many jobs require a certain level of education, it’s important to mention your academic credentials on your resume. However, this section shouldn’t take up too much space. In most cases, simply listing where you went to school, when you attended and what degree you attained will be sufficient.
I hope this was helpful Sabrina
Karina B
Educator
85
Answers
India
Updated
Karina’s Answer
Hi,
The most important part of your 1 paged US professional resume would be the section of your 'Experiences' (professional experiences, academic projects, research projects/experiences, other projects) which would be 50% or more of your 1 paged resume.
Overall, the sections on your resume can be:
1) Header: name, address, phone number, mail, web page or LinkedIn page whichever you prefer
2) Education (schools, degrees, relevant coursework)
3) Experience (professional projects, academic projects, other projects)
4) Skills (including soft skills)
5) Interests & activities
Hope this helps.
The most important part of your 1 paged US professional resume would be the section of your 'Experiences' (professional experiences, academic projects, research projects/experiences, other projects) which would be 50% or more of your 1 paged resume.
Overall, the sections on your resume can be:
1) Header: name, address, phone number, mail, web page or LinkedIn page whichever you prefer
2) Education (schools, degrees, relevant coursework)
3) Experience (professional projects, academic projects, other projects)
4) Skills (including soft skills)
5) Interests & activities
Hope this helps.
Anna Oliver
Digital Leader
7
Answers
London, England, United Kingdom
Updated
Anna’s Answer
Hello there! In my experience when reviewing CVs and conducting interviews, it's always uplifting to witness how an individual's previous experiences can greatly benefit the job they're applying for. Your unique blend of natural strengths and personal interests truly sets you apart from others. Furthermore, your dedication to education and continuous learning is incredibly inspiring and a testament to your growth mindset. Wishing you all the best on your journey!
once your CV is created get a second opinion from someone who maybe does no know you as well.
Anna recommends the following next steps:
Mark Howard
Billing-related Contract Management
24
Answers
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Updated
Mark’s Answer
From experience, there is no such thing as a "perfect resume". Rather, you are looking to create the resume that will do two things: 1) pass a screening algorithm and 2) make a recruiter want to review yours. What is MOST important in a resume are things that relate to the position/role you are wanting to attain. That means each opening you want to apply for is a new resume.
John Frick's answer gave an excellent synopsis of the layout of a resume. His layout is geared to highlight what you bring to the table rathe than focusing on what you have done. There is an opinion that it is better to impart what you are going to do (for your new employer) rather than what you have done in the past. I believe a blend is important: you present the skills needed and show how you have used them in the past and the outcome of those skills (let's say you list skills of "efficiency" or "high volume processing" and in experience list you were a sales administrator and each month you processed 200 equipment orders worth $800,000 or you were an A/R analyst who recovered $120,000 of overdue payments from 55 accounts, reducing outstanding A/R by 18%; one shows production of top line revenue and the other shows improvements to cash flow). The art is in being factual, yet subtly flattering at the same time.
One key thing is to highlight those skills and experiences that meet the requirements of the posting. If you are going for an A/P supervisor's position, simply relate how your ability to recover receivables into methods to help others improve their recovery efforts. But what if you wanted to get into Sales? Believe it or not, a sales person that knows how to talk to their customers about paying on time and the benefits is an underrated skill. Yes, skills can be transferrable to other roles. It may take some consideration into how to work it in, and wording is important, but it can certainly be done. Example, in a former job as a rate entry specialist, I had to point out contract language that conflicted with the intended effect of pricing the customer wanted implemented. Once we verified exactly what the customer intended the pricing to do, I had to note how the language should have been written. This skill, and some time management skills, allowed me to move into a job writing contracts (a contracts manager) with a different company.
Analyze the posting(s) you are interested in, pick out the words you believe are the likely keywords, take an honest assessment of your skills inventory and then consider how what you can do will meet their stated requirements. Consider the skills you have that are complimentary to the required skills (example, if you want a position requiring you to present ideas/be a speaker, along with having a clear, distinctive voice, complimentary skills could be 'information retention', 'speed reading', 'breath control'. None of those will likely be listed as "required skills", but they can be important depending on the type of speaking role you will have).
John Frick's answer gave an excellent synopsis of the layout of a resume. His layout is geared to highlight what you bring to the table rathe than focusing on what you have done. There is an opinion that it is better to impart what you are going to do (for your new employer) rather than what you have done in the past. I believe a blend is important: you present the skills needed and show how you have used them in the past and the outcome of those skills (let's say you list skills of "efficiency" or "high volume processing" and in experience list you were a sales administrator and each month you processed 200 equipment orders worth $800,000 or you were an A/R analyst who recovered $120,000 of overdue payments from 55 accounts, reducing outstanding A/R by 18%; one shows production of top line revenue and the other shows improvements to cash flow). The art is in being factual, yet subtly flattering at the same time.
One key thing is to highlight those skills and experiences that meet the requirements of the posting. If you are going for an A/P supervisor's position, simply relate how your ability to recover receivables into methods to help others improve their recovery efforts. But what if you wanted to get into Sales? Believe it or not, a sales person that knows how to talk to their customers about paying on time and the benefits is an underrated skill. Yes, skills can be transferrable to other roles. It may take some consideration into how to work it in, and wording is important, but it can certainly be done. Example, in a former job as a rate entry specialist, I had to point out contract language that conflicted with the intended effect of pricing the customer wanted implemented. Once we verified exactly what the customer intended the pricing to do, I had to note how the language should have been written. This skill, and some time management skills, allowed me to move into a job writing contracts (a contracts manager) with a different company.
Analyze the posting(s) you are interested in, pick out the words you believe are the likely keywords, take an honest assessment of your skills inventory and then consider how what you can do will meet their stated requirements. Consider the skills you have that are complimentary to the required skills (example, if you want a position requiring you to present ideas/be a speaker, along with having a clear, distinctive voice, complimentary skills could be 'information retention', 'speed reading', 'breath control'. None of those will likely be listed as "required skills", but they can be important depending on the type of speaking role you will have).
Jessica Stewart
Human Resources
3
Answers
Orlando, Florida
Updated
Jessica’s Answer
Hi there! I am an HR Manager and deal with recruiting. You may not have a lot on your resume and that’s ok, just make the verbiage you have on there count! If you worked somewhere, write about the things you did that were above and beyond and how it helped that organization succeed. Do not just list tasks! Or, if you were in a club in school that you were passionate about, describe the things you did personally to help it succeed.
This does not mean you should write paragraphs, just a full sentence per bullet point (a few points per job/activity) is great. If you have this information while also providing it in an organized manner, it will help you to stand out!
This does not mean you should write paragraphs, just a full sentence per bullet point (a few points per job/activity) is great. If you have this information while also providing it in an organized manner, it will help you to stand out!