Writing a Resume: Be Competitive

Writing a resume is one of the most important skills you should hone as an aspiring employee. In the past, all you need to do to get a job is to visit the company of your interest, and ask for work on the spot. But now, writing the resume is an integral part of the process. Most of the time, your resume is your first chance to make a right impression. It can even be your last.

Since most companies require writing one before they even think of considering you, a resume that’s competitive and high quality is a must. You have to get it right.

Writing a Resume that’s straight to the Point

This is very basic information, and yet some people don’t know what to include when writing a resume. To start with, these are the sections of a resume:

• Employment history
• Personal characteristics
• Computer or technical skills
• Educational background and results
• Relevant accomplishments

But writing one doesn’t mean you write five paragraphs for each section. You have to be straight to the point. This is because the people hiring you are most likely going to be reading through hundreds, if not thousands, of resumes in a single work cycle. You have to make your resume stand out. And that won’t happen by writing a resume that’s too long.

How can you write a resume that’s straight to the point? Firstly, figure out your purpose, and communicate that conviction. Ask yourself: what do you want to achieve?

This involves examining what company and what type of job you’re looking for. The job you want to get reflects the direction of your resume. You need to highlight the aspects of your resume that’s suited to the work and company you’re applying to.

For example, when it comes to relevant accomplishments, you can include a public speaking award or a top marketing award that you received in your school days or past jobs, but only if your prospective job will require great communication skills. If you’re applying for a position in the budget or technical support, then those achievements won’t help. And they’ll be treated as clutter by the people reviewing you.

Further more, you don’t need to include your whole life history. They’d rather read someone else’s resume. So while you should include your GPA (if it’s over 3.0), you shouldn’t include any random spelling quiz bee or family event when writing a resume.

So to be competitive, you have to filter out information and be straight to the point. Stand out from the other resumes by asking another question: what do these companies want from you?

Strategy for Writing a Resume

We’ve already mentioned that you should highlight skills and qualities suitable to the job you’re applying for. If you want a job that requires attention to detail, mention it if you have experiences related to that ability. Same with other characteristics like leadership, flexibility and so on. This clearly highlights how the company can benefit from you.

But go back to the question: what do these companies want from you?

The best way to narrow down that question is through systematic research. By getting as much information as you can, writing a resume that’s suited to the company will be easy.

Writing resumes with a target in mind is the competitive way to write a resume. You can figure out this target by researching the whole industry that the company belongs to. If you have a good network, you can ask professionals and acquaintances you know who are also involved in that industry.

You can also look at other sources, such as the newspapers and internet. The job advertisements that caught your eye may also give you clues. These ads usually mention the qualities that the employer is looking for.

But the best strategy in writing a resume is to look at the website of your prospective employer. Go to the company’s page and read about their history, mission and vision, statement and goals. Look at how their company operates. At the very least, you can get a picture of what the company values. And then you can highlight those values when writing a resume.

This knowledge will pay off. A generic, run-of-the-mill resume will get you nowhere. A rambling, crowded resume will also do you no good.

Writing resumes with a directed and concise style will get you that job interview sooner than you hope.

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