Most job applicants spend a lot of time worrying about the font, the letter size, or the executive summary's tone. Little that they know, these miscellaneous things should not be the main focus, or at least should not be focused in the beginning. In this post, I will focus on the single most important thing of your resume/CV: the job's bullet points. Below are the key points:
1) Always Start with A Past-Tense Verb. Most resume writers assume they can start each bullet point however they want; some start with a noun; some even start with "I" (I am not joking). Remember to always start describing action with past-tense verbs as this is a must. Note: I understand some may argue to use present-tense verb for the "current" job you have. Although this is technically correct, it is still far better to use all past-tense verbs to ensure consistency throughout the job section. 2) Results/Benefits from Actions. To pair with verb used in the beginning, you need to show results/benefits from that action. You usually should say that you have created either tangible benefits (usually money) or intangible benefits (usually involved with people). 3). The Methods. After showcasing the benefits, you need to explain further how you achieved these results. You can further emphasize either technical or soft skills that you use, and also people you collaborated with. 4) Not All Bullet Points Are Result-Oriented. Let's say you've worked in three relevant jobs and each jobs have three bullet points. It is difficult to have all nine bullet points talking about projects with beneficial results. What I like to do is to save at least one bullet point for showing a particular rare skill that I've learned or mastered from that job. Putting It All Together. I will give you an example of monetary-benefit bullet point. Let's say I helped Amazon make $500k with its partners. I would write : "Achieved $500k revenue by leading a team of 500 account managers to close deals with 500 international partners." Here is an example of non-monetary-benefit bullet point. Let's say I made customers happier at an Apple retail store. I would write: "Increased 90% customer satisfaction (via survey) by following up with customers three months after product purchase." Lastly, I will provide an example that you can showcase the skills you've learned at a job. Let's say I want to emphasize communication skill I've learned at Wells Fargo. I would write: "Mastered interpersonal communication skills/technique by attending specialized company trainings, and practicing with subject matter experts, peers, and clients." Voila, and congratulations! You've probably read one of the most important articles in your life because it will dramatically improve your career path. If you need help reviewing/writing bullet points, please feel free to book a session with me or you can always email me at theresumekid@gmail.com. Happy Hunting, The Kid
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Have you ever read others' resume and notice the paper's organization is nothing but chaos (aka a mess). Below, I will list the most common errors that make a resume look like it has been composed by 20 people.
1) Font and Size. I've seen half of a resume was written as Times New Roman, the other half in some random font. Make sure you only use one font throughout the whole resume. I recommend Cambria or Arial. 2) Tense of bullet point. Supposedly, you should begin your bullet points (under each job section) with past tense. Don't go on different tenses in each job section. 3) Number of bullet points. Ideally, you want around 2-3 bullet points for each job. I've seen some resumes with 1 bullet point for one job and 5 for another. I understand you might like one job more than another. However, keeping them in the same number of bullet points is critical. 4) Headlines. Similar to font and size, headlines should be formatted similarly. 5) Date and Time. Make sure date and time is in the same format throughout the paper. I recommend using only month and year. Now you should have a rough guideline, which will improve your resume dramatically. Go take some time and polish your resume or help other. Happy Hunting, The Kid I was in my senior year. I did not have any professional experience except waiting table at an Asian restaurant. I attended only a gaming club at college. What the hell would I put in my resume? It was precisely half of a page, which was way too short. Everyone told me I was screwed, my life would be over after graduation. Yes, they were right until I've found a secret weapon of rookies: Project.
Sounds simple enough! I've read many resumes from candidates who got accepted to various companies including Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Tesla, etc. Many of them did not have professional experience but they all had interesting projects. I remember one of them had a personal blog teaching people to how to code. Another one had a class project where she helped a local business create a social-media account. And another impressive guy who took a year off traveling Europe showcased his negotiating skills with 5+ successful deals all over the continent. In my situation, I put in my program helping high school and college students prepare for academia and career. This method seems to work great with people who have passion doing certain things (I bet you are all good at something). It does not have to be directly related to the jobs you're applying. Most jobs require human interaction (at least you have to report yo your boss); so if you have a project demonstrating your people skill, you should include it. It could be helping a fund rising, teaching kids how to cook, or anything. The only downside of this method is it seems to work better with creative companies like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, etc. But hey! If you are applying for a small/non-creative company and your resume is empty, what do you have to lose? So what is your story? What is your journey? If you feel as if you cannot include your true self in resume, it is a good sign that your targeted company is not a true fit. Happy Hunting, The Kid I was writing my first draft of resume and used the template I got from high school. The very top is supposed to be very easy because it is facts, simply how the employers can contact me. But wait a minute, what do they want to know? my Facebook? email? home or cell number? What the heck... What to do? Now I will give you some tricks that I wish I knew two years ago (this is also the order a typical resume should follow):
1) Intelligent name. If you have a middle name, make use to put in its initial. Studies have shown that people rate others with middle initial as being smart. In my case I put "Huy X. Tran". 2) CIA Address. I like this title since it makes me feel as if I am a special agent. You should not include your location, not address. Let me explain. Instead of putting "123 Wall Street, Queen, NY 11111", simply type "Queen, NY 11111". A lot of people include their full address and they should not do this because a) Protect your privacy. Uploading your info into various websites such as Monster, CareerBuilder, Hired, etc. means your privacy is at risk. A hacker can do a lot with just your email or phone number, imagine what they can do with your address. b) Show the employer that you care. You will not care about your privacy if you don't care about yours. This is critical if you apply for top firms like Apple or Google, where competition is intense and small things matter. c) Protect hiring bias. Believe it or not, hiring managers are very curious about where you live. If you have full address, they can use Google Image to figure out what car you drive, how ugly your apartment looks like. This is important especially when you apply for high-level jobs. d) Save space. Golden rule is resume should not be longer than 1 page and should not exceed certain size. So a few words may help. 3) Functional phone number. Please remember the area code and don't put home phone if you have 99 unopened messages. 4) Strategic email. Now we get to the fun part. Work email is prohibited (it looks like you are using current employer's time to apply for jobs). School email is fine, but would be best if you have a separate email for job hunting. I once had a customer put in "sexymofo@hotmail.com". Be an adult and use something appropriate. One more note, I suggest not put in anything related to your date of birth because employers can guess your age. You may not be hired just because you are too young or too old. 5) Personal website. This is not something we had 10 years ago. LinkedIn is the most popular now. It is easy to set up an account but take quite time to polish it (took me 6 months, no joke! or maybe... I'm a slow dude). If you have your personal blog page, it is quite nice since you can showcase your communication skill. Don't put in your Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram (unless you are applying for some very specific jobs like modeling). Employers already have motivation to stalk you as much as they can, don't give them what they want (at least faster). Happy Hunting, The Kid Have you ever wondered why most people, maybe including you, always start out a resume with a career summary/profile or objectives? Was it your original intention to include these and brag about your perfect self? The answer is NO! You include this section simply because you think you must have it and everyone else does it, so why not (plus it makes you feel good bragging about yourself).
Let me tell you some downsides of having a career... bla bla bla: 1) You waste space. The fundamental rule of writing a resume is to not go over 1 page. Otherwise, your file size might be too large and the system will automatically reject your masterpiece. Also, consider that Elon Musk (CEO of Tesla who have found 3 other large companies and more than 20 years of experiences). He only have a single-page resume. 2) It is non-sense. You have to ask yourself the question "So what?". Most people brag about themselves with no supporting evidence and then end up not focus enough other important sections on their resume 3) It is boring and not unique. I used to serve around 4 clients at a time and had a hard time telling which resume belongs to whom. Imagine, a typical recruiter who reads hundreds of resume per day. He/she probably says "f^&k this, I will move to the next one". Your resume will become one of the $1 cheese burger if you choose to have a career summary. It is clear now only the upside is you feel good, but the downsides are many, including the ultimate chance of not having any interview at all. Happy Hunting, The Kid |
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