What resume writing tips can get you ahead in 2017?

An effective resume is the foundation of every successful job campaign. Most people only get to write their CV when they are seeking employment but resume writing skills is important for both fresh and advanced graduates who are seeking career advancement.

A good resume’s purpose is to summarize the key element of your past experience that you would like employers to consider when you are seeking employment. Therefore a good resume must tell a better version of your career life story.

Common Mistakes People Make With Resume

A lot of people make mistakes when writing their resume. Here are some of the common mistakes

Having one version for all job application
Using the same old resume continually without updating
Typographical and spelling errors
Unexplained gaps
Adding unnecessary information


Four Common Resume Format

There are several formats for resumes but the 4 common formats are:

Chronological resume.
Functional resume.
Combination resume
Targeted resume


The Component of a good resume

A professional resume should always contain the following:

Bio-data: This includes identification information such as your name, address and current phone number. You may add an additional phone number which must also be a working phone number


Objective: The objective section contains a single phrase expressing the specific type of employment you are seeking and or the principal skills you want to use on the job. Once you have a clear objective, you should use it as a thesis for the remainder of your resume; only information that supports your career objective should be included on the resume.


Education: This section should contain information about your education with the most current stated first. It should include details about your education, including location, degree, date of graduation, major or related course work and grade. If you have attained any higher educational qualification, you do not need to include information about your secondary school.


Employment history: This segment comprises the summary of previous employment to date. Start with your current position and work backward. Make sure you include all employment relevant to your career objective in any way. Internships can be listed either employment or under. Provide the name of the employer, the employer’s location, your job title, dates of employment, and simple verb phrases to summarize your main activities on the job (see “action verb” list). Whenever possible quantify and qualify data with specific details and statistics that illustrate your potential.




Activities/Honors/ Skills/ Publication: Additional areas that may be included on the resume if space allows. List all major activities and awards as well as any skills that are relevant to your career objective. These can show leadership, organization, critical thinking, teamwork, self-management, initiative and influencing others.


References: There is no need to list your references on your CV. Rather; the transcripts can be listed as “available upon request”. (Make sure you have references, phone numbers, and business addresses ready on a separate sheet whenever you go to an interview.)


Important Tips to Remember When Writing your Resume

Personal information like height, weight, sex, and marital status should not be listed on the resume. Such factors are irrelevant and cannot legally be considered in employment decisions.


Remember to keep all information on the resume concise and clear. A one-page resume is best, although people with extensive experience or advanced degrees may have to use two pages.


Be scrupulously careful when you proofread: Some employers will refuse to consider candidates who submit resumes with spelling or typographical errors.


ACTION VERBS to Use on Your Resume’s JOB DESCRIPTIONS

Words are important when writing your CV, especially when describing your previous job responsibilities.

In order to make your CV stand out, you have to use verb phrases. Imagine you are telling someone about your job. You usually will begin a sentence with “I. . . . ” For example, “I supervise ten employees. On the resume, instead of starting with “I”, you simply omit it and use only the remaining verb phrases to describe the work you do e.g. “Supervise ten employees or organize mass mailings.”

If you are having difficulty finding the right verbs to describe your work, choose from the following list:



accomplished achieved acquired acted

adapted addressed adjusted administered

advanced advised allocated analyzed

applied appraised approved arranged

assembled assigned assisted attained

audited author automated balanced

brought budgeted built calculated

catalogued chaired changed clarified

coached collected communicated compared

compiled completed composed computed

computerized conceptualized conceived concluded

conducted conserved consolidated contained

continued contracted contributed controlled

coordinated corrected corresponded counseled

created critiqued cut decreased

delegated decided defined delivered

demonstrated determined designed developed

devised diagnosed directed dispatched

distinguished distributed diversified drafted

edited educated eliminated enabled

encouraged engineered enlisted established

ensured estimated evaluated examined

executed expanded expedited extracted

fabricated facilitated familiarized fashioned

finalized focused forecast formulated

founded gathered generated graded

guided handled headed up identified

illustrated implemented improved increased

indoctrinated influenced informed initiated

innovated inspected instructed insured

integrated interpreted interviewed introduced

invented investigated kept launched

lectured led made maintained

managed manufactured marketed mediated

moderated modified monitored motivated

negotiated observed operated ordered

organized originated outsold overhauled

oversaw participated performed persuaded

planned prepared presented presided

prioritized processed produced programmed

projected promoted proposed provided

publicized published purchased recommended

reconciled recorded recruited reduced

referred regulated rehabilitated related

remodeled repaired reported represented

researched restored restructured retrieved

reversed reviewed revised revitalized

saved scheduled schooled screened

selected serviced set shaped

screened selected simplified skilled

sold solidified solved specified

stimulated streamlined strengthened suggested

summarized supervised surveyed systemized

tabulated taught tested trained

translated traveled trimmed updated

upgraded validated worked wrote

Alright

Informative topics just dey lekwue full for front-page this morning

...

Nice one there OP... See the best way to write a resume explained on this thread https://www.nairaland.com/283848/correct-write-resume

Very informative. Well, this doesn't apply to the Nigeria labour market. "Who do you know settles it all"

It's long no be joke o
Almost took the full frontpage

Nice one!

Noted! Thanks op

Good effort OP

This comprehensive article I wrote on CV writing will be an eye opener. It includes "Step by step guide and useful sample":
www..com/complete-step-step-guide-writing-successful-cv/

You may view more samples here:
www..com/cv-samples/

.

What nonsense......I can't believe I read all of that

Btw, why is two same topic making it to the front page

Lalasticlala iyyaf sleep

Ok na

u just dey update awa brain any yaw

Following

This is the type of stuff that shud hit FP daily...

Issokay

Get the MyJob app to build your CV.

It is pre-loaded with these action words

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=myjob.akinola.com.myjob

alternatively, the CV Builder App

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hydraapps.cvbuilder

Brownville007:


Its easy to criticize another why ilat the same time not even able to lift a finger in helping. Ask your self what the OP's intention was in writing this (Help People Shey). But you . What have you done to help out . Don't get me wrong . While I don't support mediocrity at any level, castigating and wearing down a good intention of another while not trying to show him the right things is a premium version of mediocrity . I want to read your post on FP tomorrow while pointing out these differences cos I wanna learn from you .

I am not criticizing him. If you read through the post, you'd notice so many inconsistencies, particularly on the use of 'CV' and 'RESUMÉ'. I might as well do that today, not to prove a point but to help people who can't tell the difference between both. My concern is that most people would innocently model their resumé after what he wrote and call it a resumé when infact it is not.

Am hia

booking space

Itaftai is not working

Sanchez01:

I am not criticizing him. If you read through the post, you'd notice so many inconsistencies, particularly on the use of 'CV' and 'RESUMÉ'. I might as well do that today, not to prove a point but to help people who can't tell the difference between both. My concern is that most people would innocently model their resumé after what he wrote and call it a resumé when infact it is not.

OK bro. It would really be nice if you do so cos a lot of people will keep on making the same mistake of interchanging them .

seen
motiri
na gan ni

My good people, anyone with an example of a written Resume' should please help me out with one. I want to start learning on how to write a good one as soon as possible. christianike90@yahoo.com. Thanks and God bless...

@ OP...


i fault your advise for people not to include references...


i got my last job because i listed mine. the head of recruitment saw a name she knew as part of the refrees and called the person to know how competent i was....

needless to say the feedback she got meant that the interview was a mere formality...


you can then imagine how much more your chances are when you piut three references....you open yourself to the entire network of pple of those referees.

Sanchez01:
Pure rubbish. You listed core things to observe in writing a CV and not RESUMÉ. I still find it very difficult to believe that some people are still yet to know the differences between the two.

You wonder why most HRs don't look at some RESUMÉS twice or probably dump them the moment they peek at them. It's sometimes because of threads as this that misinform young job seekers.

Anyone who adjusts his RESUMÉ while believing the OP is as good as dead in the Labour market.

You just criticise so harshly with no substance whatsoever why you are of a different opinion to what the OP wrote.

Learn to be civil and constructive in your criticism.

I Wil take the OP more serious than you. Cos you said nothin to support your opinion that write up is flawed

careernaija:
What resume writing tips can get you ahead in 2017?

An effective resume is the foundation of every successful job campaign. Most people only get to write their CV when they are seeking employment but resume writing skills is important for both fresh and advanced graduates who are seeking career advancement.

A good resume’s purpose is to summarize the key element of your past experience that you would like employers to consider when you are seeking employment. Therefore a good resume must tell a better version of your career life story.

Common Mistakes People Make With Resume

A lot of people make mistakes when writing their resume. Here are some of the common mistakes

Having one version for all job application
Using the same old resume continually without updating
Typographical and spelling errors
Unexplained gaps
Adding unnecessary information


Four Common Resume Format

There are several formats for resumes but the 4 common formats are:

Chronological resume.
Functional resume.
Combination resume
Targeted resume


The Component of a good resume

A professional resume should always contain the following:

Bio-data: This includes identification information such as your name, address and current phone number. You may add an additional phone number which must also be a working phone number


Objective: The objective section contains a single phrase expressing the specific type of employment you are seeking and or the principal skills you want to use on the job. Once you have a clear objective, you should use it as a thesis for the remainder of your resume; only information that supports your career objective should be included on the resume.


Education: This section should contain information about your education with the most current stated first. It should include details about your education, including location, degree, date of graduation, major or related course work and grade. If you have attained any higher educational qualification, you do not need to include information about your secondary school.


Employment history: This segment comprises the summary of previous employment to date. Start with your current position and work backward. Make sure you include all employment relevant to your career objective in any way. Internships can be listed either employment or under. Provide the name of the employer, the employer’s location, your job title, dates of employment, and simple verb phrases to summarize your main activities on the job (see “action verb” list). Whenever possible quantify and qualify data with specific details and statistics that illustrate your potential.




Activities/Honors/ Skills/ Publication: Additional areas that may be included on the resume if space allows. List all major activities and awards as well as any skills that are relevant to your career objective. These can show leadership, organization, critical thinking, teamwork, self-management, initiative and influencing others.


References: There is no need to list your references on your CV. Rather; the transcripts can be listed as “available upon request”. (Make sure you have references, phone numbers, and business addresses ready on a separate sheet whenever you go to an interview.)


Important Tips to Remember When Writing your Resume

Personal information like height, weight, sex, and marital status should not be listed on the resume. Such factors are irrelevant and cannot legally be considered in employment decisions.


Remember to keep all information on the resume concise and clear. A one-page resume is best, although people with extensive experience or advanced degrees may have to use two pages.


Be scrupulously careful when you proofread: Some employers will refuse to consider candidates who submit resumes with spelling or typographical errors.


ACTION VERBS to Use on Your Resume’s JOB DESCRIPTIONS

Words are important when writing your CV, especially when describing your previous job responsibilities.

In order to make your CV stand out, you have to use verb phrases. Imagine you are telling someone about your job. You usually will begin a sentence with “I. . . . ” For example, “I supervise ten employees. On the resume, instead of starting with “I”, you simply omit it and use only the remaining verb phrases to describe the work you do e.g. “Supervise ten employees or organize mass mailings.”

If you are having difficulty finding the right verbs to describe your work, choose from the following list:



accomplished achieved acquired acted

adapted addressed adjusted administered

advanced advised allocated analyzed

applied appraised approved arranged

assembled assigned assisted attained

audited author automated balanced

brought budgeted built calculated

catalogued chaired changed clarified

coached collected communicated compared

compiled completed composed computed

computerized conceptualized conceived concluded

conducted conserved consolidated contained

continued contracted contributed controlled

coordinated corrected corresponded counseled

created critiqued cut decreased

delegated decided defined delivered

demonstrated determined designed developed

devised diagnosed directed dispatched

distinguished distributed diversified drafted

edited educated eliminated enabled

encouraged engineered enlisted established

ensured estimated evaluated examined

executed expanded expedited extracted

fabricated facilitated familiarized fashioned

finalized focused forecast formulated

founded gathered generated graded

guided handled headed up identified

illustrated implemented improved increased

indoctrinated influenced informed initiated

innovated inspected instructed insured

integrated interpreted interviewed introduced

invented investigated kept launched

lectured led made maintained

managed manufactured marketed mediated

moderated modified monitored motivated

negotiated observed operated ordered

organized originated outsold overhauled

oversaw participated performed persuaded

planned prepared presented presided

prioritized processed produced programmed

projected promoted proposed provided

publicized published purchased recommended

reconciled recorded recruited reduced

referred regulated rehabilitated related

remodeled repaired reported represented

researched restored restructured retrieved

reversed reviewed revised revitalized

saved scheduled schooled screened

selected serviced set shaped

screened selected simplified skilled

sold solidified solved specified

stimulated streamlined strengthened suggested

summarized supervised surveyed systemized

tabulated taught tested trained

translated traveled trimmed updated

upgraded validated worked wrote

Nice Awesome Great hmm hmm ...intelligent

nice write up. http://careersome.com