5 Tips for Creating a Professional Resume

If you are looking for a job in a new industry, it’s vital to create a professional resume for the job hunt. It’s usually the first point of contact with prospective employers and can make the difference in whether or not they pursue you as a candidate. ResumeSOS.com, located in Rochester, is one the country’s leading companies in career coaching and professional resume writing.

According to Managing Partner and Certified Professional Resume Writer, Arnie Boldt, these tips will help you to create an effective resume:

• Simple & Organized: Make sure you aren’t overloading the employer with a high volume of information. Use bullet points instead of paragraphs, include the most recent 10-15 years of work experience, and lead with a summary that makes a powerful statement about your brand. You should use a simple, legible font and an appropriate amount of white space.
  
• Contact Information: Make sure you include a daytime phone number (with voice mail or an answering machine set up to capture calls), a personal e-mail address that should be a version of your first and last name, and a link to your LinkedIn profile. It's no longer necessary to include a mailing address, but still acceptable if you choose to do so. Be sure that the greeting on your voice mail / answering machine is professional sounding and will create a positive impression with callers.
• Job Details: When listing your experience, list your most recent position at the top, followed by the next previous, and so on. Include the job title, company, and the dates that you were employed. If you’ve had gaps in your job history, it might be a good idea to highlight your acquired skills in the experience section before listing specific jobs.
• Highlight Your Accomplishments: Many people focus on listing job responsibilities instead of accomplishments. Start with one or two sentences describing your general duties followed by bullet points that demonstrate your accomplishments. Begin each bullet point with an action verb that describes what you did; be sure to include measurable results whenever possible that show how you were successful in achieving a goal on a particular project or in solving a problem. Examples of legitimate accomplishments include leading a project team, implementing new strategies, or saving your employer money. Employers want to see how you’ve gone above and beyond routine duties to improve things for the company and/or its customers.
• Cater To Your Industry: Your resume should reflect skills and experience in the industry where you are applying. Highlight skills and achievements that are relevant to the position you are targeting. If you have additional jobs that aren't relevant or you ran out of space, let the reader know you can provide further information upon request or add a URL to your LinkedIn profile—this useful social media site is used by most employers and is a great place to expand upon your skill set.



Creating a professional resume is the first step to landing interviews that will lead to the job you’ve always wanted, so make sure to invest the time and effort to put your best foot forward. If you are looking for someone who can offer top-notch resume writing, interview preparation, and career transition coaching, visit the experts from ResumeSOS.com in Rochester online, or call (585) 383-0350 today.