The Do’s and Don’ts of Creating A Resume
Creating a Resume – while they may seem kind of intimidating and confusing, they’re actually not too difficult, and can be made fairly easily.
The DO’s of Creating a Resume
Do highlight your most relevant experience that applies to the position you are seeking. To do this, create a “Skills” section on your resume, listing specific skills you have obtained through your past employment or from schooling.
Do include past job titles and a brief description of what your core responsibilities were with each role. You want to ensure any potential employer clearly understands what your abilities are – something they may not get from just a job title.
Do include specifics. For example; state the types of machines you have operated, software programs you are knowledgeable in, the materials you’ve handled, types of products you have produced, or tools you have worked with. Having this information makes things so much easier on you, and your potential employer. When they are given a solid resume, that will create a lasting and great first impression.
The DON’TS of Creating a Resume
Please, I beg, don’t use cliche, boring, and objective statements like; excellent communication skills, hard worker, team player, detail oriented, people person, etc. These tell employers nothing. These are blanket statements that literally anyone can claim as skills. I understand that they’re hard to avoid because I’m sure you are a hard working people person, and you want to make sure the employer knows that. However, statements like those are just not necessary on a resume. They just take up space where valid skills should go.
Don’t use excessive formatting. Keep it simple. I have never heard anyone say “Wow, this Times New Roman, size 12 font is so distracting.” I would suggest bolding or underlining company names, but otherwise, don’t worry about making it look super flashy.
Don’t lie on your resume. Things like adding skills you don’t have, or fudging dates to avoid gaps are super easy to look into and figure out the truth, which could cause you to miss out on an opportunity! Having gaps on your resume isn’t a bad thing, just be prepared to explain why you weren’t working during those gaps in an interview.
Resources to Help
If you are unable to create your own resume at home, or are still stuck on where to start, you can utilize our resume builder on our website under ‘Job Seeker Resources’ – something you can do online, or at our office prior to meeting with a recruiter. You can also visit the Public Library for help as well! Use your resources!
Want to speak with one of our staffing specialists? Contact us!