How to Build a Stellar Resume

Building a strong and stellar resume is an important part of growing up and becoming part of the “real world.” While this might sound like the most boring and menial task you might encounter, it is essential to secure a good job and other career opportunities in your future! A document that highlights your skills, experience, and other accomplishments is the best way to impress potential employers and companies. 

THE RIGHT FORMAT

Choosing the right format for your resume is a crucial step in building a stellar resume. Being sure to tailor it to your own experiences and what the job asks for as well is important. There are many different formats you can choose from, but we will discuss three different ones here. The first one is a chronological format. This emphasizes your overall work history by going in order of what you’ve done and when you’ve done it. The next one is a functional format. This means that it focuses on just skills and achievements (better if you’re younger or fresh out of school and have minimal work experiences). Lastly, the combination format is a combination of both. It features a chronological order of your work experiences and also showcases your skills and achievements. Based on how much experience you have, choose the best format for you and find a suitable template to follow. 

KEY SKILLS

Another very important part of creating a stellar resume goes past just listing out previous job experiences; you have to showcase and highlight your personal skills. Create a bulleted skills section where you highlight relevant skills to the job. Add hard skills like programming skills or other computer knowledge and soft skills such as communication or leadership skills. List your job experiences and under that, emphasize what you did at these jobs. Focus on quantifiable achievements that tie in the skills you previously listed. Provide as much detail as you can without using too many words. 

ADDITIONAL INFO

This is the part that makes you stand out the most. Many of those who you might be competing with for a job have the same level of education as you. To really wow the employer, you need to showcase your other skills and add them on your resume! Make a section to list other things such as certifications, awards, volunteer experience, or professional affiliations related to your job. Be sure to tailor this section to the job description; don’t just throw in any additional accomplishment you have and think that will make a difference. Doing all of this helps your resume to stand out more compared to your competitors and also helps it not to get lost or discarded upon submission, since your resume matches the job description and what they are looking for!  

SLEEK FORMATTING

Some people might try to make their resume as cluttered and busy as possible to make it look like they’ve accomplished a lot and have a lot of prior experience. In reality, this hurts your chances of getting a job more than it helps. Using a clean and professional design with minimal crowding or disorganization is the best way to go! Choose a simple font like Times New Roman or Arial and keep the font size small but not minuscule. Use proper headings and bullet points to effectively organize all of the sections containing the information you are presenting. Be sure to keep the resume as concise as possible, as well. Don’t exceed more than one (maybe two) pages and keep short and sweet bullet points about each subject you mention. Be sure to proofread for any grammatical or spelling errors and ensure all personal information is correct before sending it off!