How to write an effective resume

Resume layout and resume design: graphics and illustrations

Aesthetics, uniformity, and representations are still reliant on our first experiences. For an interview with consideration, we pick our outfits, so why not bring a similar commitment to the presentation of your resume? It's our sole envoy before the initial physical interview. An employer reviews a resume for not more than 7 seconds. An implicit judgment happens during this brief period relying on the appearance of your resume. The recruiter is likely to value it for a while if it is clean and elegant. If you're a skilled artist, you may develop your designs, but it might be better to focus on tried and tested templates. The design templates represent a personality, tone, focus on imagination, reliability, precision, and other virtues. During such a short time, an implicit decision is produced based on your resume's visual appeal. Hipcv features are centered and built on these philosophies, which is a better match for certain professions, industries, or the background of the work vacancy.

Resume format

Since we have discussed the appearance of a resume, let's proceed with the design and structure aspects. The underlying region of text in the resume is a relevant content format;

• Reverse-Chronological order - The reverse-chronological format is the most common and usually accepted among prospective employers and companies. The main advantage of this format style is simple, easy to follow, and sequential composition. It conveys your present and prior work experience from latest to oldest. It works well when you have a consistent job record to display, and you can demonstrate some recent positions. And if you're a new graduate or have a void in your work experience, then the functional and hybrid formats come into play. 

Structure of reverse-chronological format

• Name and contact details
• Title – job title
• Profile - an overview of stating relevant experience to the job posting
• Skills - technical and interpersonal skills
• Experience – title, dates, contributions, responsibilities, company
• Education – Formal or industry certifications
• Optional – company membership, volunteer work

Advantages of reverse-chronological order

1. For employers, the style is natural, so it is simple for them to read and comprehend.
2. Incorporating this format is like a piece of cake as there are several example resumes and templates available online.
3. It indicates contributions made to former employers, which might be what an employer is seeking.
4. This demonstrates acquaintance with other businesses in the field, which represents your relationships and understanding of industry challenges and opportunities.
5. With rising experience, duties, and commitments, it tells the tale of professional advancement.

Disadvantages of reverse-chronological format

1. Distinguishing yourself from the pool of applicants when everyone uses this format is challenging.  
2. It can reveal gaps in jobs. These may be genuine, but in a resume, they are impossible to articulate.
3. It can highlight job switching while evaluating you, which causes the recruiter to halt.

If you writing a cover letter for your job application, then here is a guide on how to write a cover letter, how to format a cover letter.

• Functional - As its primary focal point, this format relies on interpersonal and technical skills. You can use this style if you are an entry-level job hunter or are in the transition of switching to a new field. By listing past ventures, social programs, experience in other domains, you can indeed make the resume more comprehensive.

Structure of a functional resume

1. Name and contact details  
2. Title- job title 
3. Profile - Description of relevant skills and any professional experience for those specified in the job advertisement.
4. Hard and soft skills - These are the abilities specifically associated with the work, while interpersonal capabilities that suit the job.
5. Education-Formal, technical and corresponding training in particular competencies.
6. Experience-a short-list of companies, dates, and job titles.
7. Field-related certification - Certifications associated with the field
8. Volunteering work

Advantages of functional resume

1. Your experience is complex and does not lead to a centered career trajectory.
2. You want to step into a radically different area from the one where the bulk of your expertise lies.
3. In your job history, you have wide gaps when you were not working.
4. If you have switched the number of jobs in a limited time and you do not want to give the impression that you are a job hopper.
5. You are new to college and want to highlight your skills rather than your job experience.

Disadvantages of functional resume

1. Some employment boards do not recognize them, like monster.com.
2. Recruiters do not appear to acknowledge them.
3. Questionable recruiting managers may suspect that job applicants who use functional resumes want to conceal something.
4. Only mentioning it as a skill for an employer might indicate you read it online about it.

• Hybrid - Consider a hybrid resume format just like the Goldilocks zone. A hybrid format puts an explicit focus on skills and professional experience and is thus ideal for many careers in the technical field.

Structure of a Hybrid resume

• Name and contact details
• Profile statement
• Skills
• Employment 
• Education

Advantages of hybrid resume

1. It emphasizes skills and achievements
2. Tends to take off the burden of the background of work and gaps
3. The highest level-loaded style first reveals the most useful knowledge to recruiting managers.
4. The inclusive format corresponds to conventional and non-traditional recruitment executives.

Disadvantages of hybrid resume

1. If you were not working for more than six months and fewer than five years old in your job history. It indicates a gap in your career record.
2. If you are a recent graduate or student with no experience, then this format is not useful.
3. If you have changed companies in less than two years, it doesn't display an impressive image of you. 
4. If you lack the necessary abilities for the job position, this style is not helpful.

Resume segments

There's always a lot of doubt about what bits to feature in your resume.

It is not unusual because depending on your occupation, industry, and the quality of your experience, their significance will differ. We will break section types into mandatory and optional ones. Since the reverse-chronological style is one of the commonly used layouts, so here is a list of things to consider when creating your resume sections;

Mandatory items

• Contact information
• Profile Summary or Objective
• Employment history
• Skills
• Education
• Achievements and successes

Optional items

• Social projects and volunteer work
• Accolades, certificates
• Hobbies and interests

Even so, these are not stringent laws. Based on the tasks itself, often, some parts alter their relevance.

Avoid adding information to the resume.

When writing your resume steer-clear-of these things;   

• Do not include personal information like age, gender, race. Placing these could reject you from being interviewed because of discrimination-related issues.
• The modern resumes do not contain references or even a declaration like references available upon request.

If you don't know how a CV and resume is different from one another, then here is a resource on difference between CV and resume.

Profile summary versus objective statement

Resume Profile summary

Most resumes sound flat or devoid of personality because of the essential requirement of making your resume brief. Your best opportunity to apply some style, life, and character to your resume is the profile overview. It shows your commitment, optimistic attitude, and carries dry information with some feeling. The summary consists of approximately four lines of text. If your sentence is a bit long, it's not doomsday, but try to remain within the approximate ballpark. That is, your statement should add a unique touch to your resume, and it does not matter if you eliminate it. And besides, in your job application, you involve nearly the same details, in which you clarify what renders you a suitable fit for the job at hand. As a means of accounting for the systematic existence of your curriculum vitae, it is acceptable to follow a somewhat more personal approach.

The essential elements of description should include:

1. Title, feature, or specialist category (such as Committed and dynamic media assistant )
2. Outstanding successes and statistics
3. Interpersonal and technical abilities
4. Work-specific pitch or expert training ideal for the specific job

With the help of keywords and descriptive sentences, efficiently convey the synopsis. Stop long sentences that are factually complex. It makes the contributions and details pop out. A profile overview is a more comprehensive and consistent instrument. In some contexts, for instance, when you have no work experience, then the resume objective may have its place. A profile summary is a descriptive outline of your career skills- it is a responsive cover letter. It could include priorities, relevant experience, training, required skills, or relevant projects. The profile is somewhat longer than the objective and can convey clearly to an employer why you are a suitable candidate for the role.

Many companies prefer a description over an objective as they can usually discover more about the history of the applicant.

Resume objective

A resume objective is a concise declaration of one or two sentences that expresses your professional goals. It also indicates the kind of work or business you are aspiring for or the particular skill set you want to develop. For one who recognizes the specific job and field in which they want to be, and also whether that work or market is lucrative, an objective might be a reasonable option.  By explicitly stating it on your resume, it can be helpful for executives to precisely recognize what you want in a profession.

Another alternative is to leave the profile and objective off and go directly into your associated expertise or necessary skills. Remember the level of competence and type of work you are applying for when making your decision, and what detail your employer may like to know beforehand. If you want to add a summary along with an objective statement, note that the longer your overview, the less possible it is for recruiters to read it in detail. 

A profile summary is a more integrative description of the skills and experiences that consider you the right candidate for the job, and a resume objective is a simple declaration of purpose for employers to know what you are seeking.

Job experience listing

If you have picked the reverse-chronological format, then this segment is the cornerstone of your successful resume. It is not only the spot where you display your quite incredible previous jobs, but by presenting essential facts, accomplishments, and numbers that define you as an excellent professional, you can also expand on each role.

It's not necessary to provide your whole record of jobs. Customize your career descriptions so that for a particular job post, you inspire your potential employer with the most appropriate job experience. It makes your resume brief, tidy, and precise as well.

If you want more information for writing an employment section of the resume, then check out this post on how to write relevant experience on a resume.

It is useful to establish each role in the following format:

• Title of work, name of the business, place of employment
• Employment start and end date   
• Describe the outcomes and job position in the prior companies by using bullet points.

It is a better idea to keep a proper file or list of your progress, successes, tasks, and figures to consider. You will have a collection of insightful details available to incorporate into your resume.

If you are thinking of switching careers and don't know how to write a resume, then this resource covers everything you need to know on how to write a resume for changing careers.

Resume Skills

The expertise is your technical description, your building blocks, or skills.

That's where you undergo the proficiency check. This segment is more concrete than the summary, as hiring managers and computer systems will review the credentials based on a checklist. Also, there are a few valuable skills that are considered essential for a job.  So here are two vital bits of information: evaluate and examine the job requirements on what to include. Space is limited, and there can be many skills that you can mention in your resume skills segment. Ensure that those you define are at the top, and they are as per the requirements of the job.

Resume Education

Based on the occupation and business, the education segment varies in significance. There is no one size fits all solution to educational sections, as with many other cases. Professions such as lawyers, surgeons, and positions in hard sciences would have a heavy focus on formal qualifications. For some of these, in your education section or a different category, you may want to incorporate academic or related journals in your resume.

It is useful to remember that in the present times of digital information and technology, you can mention electronic certificates, boot camps, workshops, or services to your education segment.

Electronic and automated tracking systems

In writing a career-winning, eye-catching resume, we have covered a lot of the significant aspects you need to know. Yet, there are two vital components to making a proper technical key for your resume. Understanding the candidate monitoring systems and discovering how a hiring manager evaluates your resume. In several advanced nations, Applicant tracking software has become commonplace for large and medium-sized employers. With the number of applicants and prospective employees coming in every month, it is not always possible for personnel experts to maintain the pace.

So, so rather than extending recruiting teams to extreme levels, employers use electronic systems to assist with recruiting. An ATS has the purpose of analyzing, filtering, and rating your resume based on specific keywords. The fact that tracking software is always static is among the primary reasons for using online applications rather than text editors. Relevant to a particular framework, they analyze your resume. A significant proportion of resumes are filtering out irrespective of their technical material due to design glitches, photos, charts, disturbed header information, etc. That is why it is so crucial to use proven instruments that deliver a perfect resume without secret layout drawbacks. Industry information is dependent on your qualifications and analysis. You may depend on your experience or job-related lead.  It is, therefore, always an excellent idea to study the company's website. In choosing ATS terminology for your resume pages, the job role is your most valuable support. The core qualifications and interpersonal skills for the position are also present in job postings. Be ready to identify and include these in the content of your resume. Don't forget, if the job specification is too wordy, there is a useful resource for making sense of it: Tag clouds. For example, using wordle or tag crowd, you can easily copy-paste a job posting text and get a visual display of its words. 

Shifting on to the human element of recruiting: note two main points about how a hiring manager perceives your resume. First of all, consider the number of applications filed. For some businesses, the fact is hundreds of resumes. Stop being uninteresting, low-energy. Do not overdo it, but you should evaluate if your document is too low-key or an exaggerated resume.

Never use technical terms to confuse hiring managers. The vocabulary and 'internal jargon' of all occupations, but not all headhunters know. Present the technical knowledge, but ensure they are stretched out, and the interpersonal skills and strengths sound understandable and rational.

Country-related resumes

Lastly, remember the regional complexities of recruiting if you're trying to move or find another job overseas. When it comes to quality resumes, every area or even nation has cultural, ethical, and technological complexities. In some ways, Asia, Europe, and the United States can be radically distinct.  It's a better idea to do your study on the country and region-specific industry also. To extend your expertise, discover foreign communities, communication events, and reference materials.

List of things to know when writing a resume

Job Description Keyword Search

The best strategy when planning to write a resume is to research the job listings that attract you. You should review every job requirement for phrases that indicate what the recruiter is searching for in a suitable candidate when you apply for various jobs. Where appropriate, incorporate those keyword phrases in your resume. 

Analyze and consider industry-specific resume example 

You should review resume examples from your field for guidance and industry standards while tailoring your resume. Although there are several ways in which you can view a sample resume, you should search for these main points;

• The resume example that we have developed is direct and clear, as there is a minimum period for hr managers to assess your resume, so legibility is useful. It also means selecting a professional, spotless font.
• In our sample resume, there are the overview and experience details in every segment of the resume sample, and it is brief and well-defined. Using only the appropriate and applicable data ensures that hiring managers can collect more knowledge about you and evaluate your competence for the job fast.
• Your experience segment might also have facts and figures. Statistics make it easier for them to appreciate the advantage that you can add to the organization.

Note that do not mirror these example resume when using resume samples. So, these example resumes are beneficial in your field and job title as illustrations of top-quality resumes.

Professional font

It should be straightforward and easily readable, as recruiters have only a limited time to examine your resume. You can use a simple, formal-looking font such as Times New Roman, Calibri, or Helvetica. If your resume font size is between 10-12 points, it will make your resume look more presentable by using a simple, readable font. Since the purpose of selecting a font should be clarity, you want to eliminate small or light fonts, as they can be hard to decipher on a screen.

You should also check that any unnecessary whitespace is negligible or deleted. Too much blank space may make your resume appear incomplete, confusing the reader, and maybe raise a valid concern. By reducing additional white space, you can make it convenient for the resume reviewer to dwell only on the substance of the curriculum vitae rather than the white space. By raising your font size to 12 points and probably adding an extra section like skills or achievements, you may minimize white space.

Position relevant information first.

Though you may have significant work or academic education, despite missing out on essential points, it is vital to keep your resume as concise as possible. The employers do not invest a great deal of time reading each resume. Studies have shown that recruiters invest just 7 seconds per resume. It can deviate from important information if your resume contains old or insignificant records, for instance, details related to your 10-year-old work experience or minor studies and accomplishments.

Aim to select only the most valuable job experience, accomplishments, qualifications, and skills as per the recruiter's requirements.  By reviewing the career description, you will identify the optimal attributes. To catch attention to specific experience and qualifications, you should give extra importance to crucial details on your resume.

Include action verbs and language

Terms that represent an action are action verbs. Action verbs are used in a resume to showcase your abilities, experience, and achievements. They are descriptive, explain your accomplishments, and carry your resume to a positive tone. Implementing specific and precise action verbs will improve the chances of catching an employer's interest and progressing to the next stage in the recruitment process.

You have a minimum time to capture their interest as the hiring managers skim through thousands of resumes. It's necessary to prevent weak and passive verbs when writing a resume, keep clear from business terminology or clichés, and look out for redundant terms and phrases.  Poor sentence construction will undermine the consistency and effectiveness of your resume. Alternatively, use strong action verbs to prevent overusing the exact words.

Listing important Accomplishments

Instead of describing your job duties under the experience segment, pick your top three or four overall valuable accomplishments in each position.   If appropriate, provide statistics for the specific successes to measure your progress. To explicitly outline valid achievements in your education, employment, voluntary work, or other experiences, you may also mention adding a dedicated Accomplishments or Skills portion.

Add appropriate headings and sections.

You will discover there are a few segments you do not require if you are using a resume template or building your own. For instance, you may want a resume overview or a resume objective, but you should not add both.

Don't include a blank work history segment if you are only graduating from college or school and have not yet taken a professional job. But, you may substitute related assignments, academic accomplishments, and other activities such as work placements or extra-curricular activities, projects for the experience category. If you have trouble filling a section, then you may find it functional to merge them.

Entry-level or Student Resume writing tips.

The main phase in the career of every young student is writing your initial resume. It is your chance to demonstrate why you are an exceptional applicant and how you have equipped yourself to excel in your first job. As you reach the job market and create a resume with no job experience, you want to reflect on other opportunities that have helped you build a specific skill set, discuss your best attributes and showcase your education. 

The majority of your resume will overflow with your job experience section after you have worked as a professional for many years. Before then, you must demonstrate how you develop skills that are relevant to the job you are applying for and showcase insights that reflect your skillset.

Experience: In each position, be sure to highlight the skills you have, especially those listed in the job application. Here you can also list any accomplishments you are glad of, including progress that you have made over time or unique objectives that you have completed. You can include the experience section with these;

• Part-time or temp jobs like babysitting or mowing lawns
• Extra-curricular activities
• Internships
• Volunteer work

Skills: The purpose of an initial job resume is to convey your potential as an applicant and reveal to hiring managers why their business will profit from hiring you. The foremost thing to do is research the job requirements and mention any particular abilities you have or criteria you may meet.

Note that companies are looking for a blend of soft and hard skills. Soft skills apply to almost any job, like team leadership or verbal communication. Usually, skills that you grasp through advanced schooling or on-the-job training, such as technical proficiency or fluency in a foreign language, are acquired abilities. When recruiting for entry-level jobs, since interpersonal skills are not easy to teach, and so many recruiters appreciate soft skills over hard skills.

Make sure that you only provide the details that are most useful to the job role. If you apply for a position as an administrative assistant, for instance, you don't need to explain how your work as a lawnmower helped develop your mowing skills. But you may share how the experience assisted you in developing time management skills and the capabilities to manage various tasks at once. You have to make sure the recruiter can see how your qualifications match with their preferences by modifying your resume for each position you apply. The core relevant skills for a student or entry-level applicant are;

• Time management
• Organizational skills
• Problem-solving
• Customer service
• Active listening
• Microsoft Excel

Education:  It's necessary to accentuate your academic success when you're designing your first resume. It will convince recruiters that you can resolve obstacles, adhere to your responsibilities, and discover new things. You may also use this platform to present coursework that is relevant to the position that you have taken. 

Things to consider while creating a student resume or an entry-level resume;

• By reviewing your resume for typing errors, grammatical mistakes, and contradictions, display your eye for detail. Before you send it to an organization, try asking a friend or mentor to read through the job application. Always give it another analysis every time you configure your resume.
• Hiring managers want to recognize that you are confident about your successes and abilities. Ensure this flows through by emphasizing all the primary and most successful qualities and attainments in the resume.
• Hiring managers have many resumes to evaluate and may scan your resume for a few seconds. Your resume needs to be impressive but concise. For the employer, it should be simple to discover how your background and expertise fit with the position they offer.

It is an exciting opportunity as a new graduate to write your initial resume. It's a chance to show hiring managers how you have trained yourself for the working environment and how you can add value to their company.  You can build on that by formulating a convincing resume today as you enhance your knowledge and experience during your career. Try our HipCV resume maker and create an impressive student resume now!

Select suitable margins 

You should usually use a one-inch margin size with single spaces between the rows on both sides of your resume. If you have white space, then consider having the lines spaced by 1.15.  If you notice it is tough to complete your CV, you can also raise your margins, but they should be within two inches. 

Review and proofread your resume

You should conduct multiple iterations of proofreading before submitting your application to verify there are no grammatical or spelling mistakes. Although there are many proofreading services and resources that you can use, asking reliable friends or colleagues to evaluate your resume is also useful. For an impartial third party, it is worthwhile to check your resume to find ways to address an error or strengthen it. 

Unique Resume for job roles

You must see for yourself whether you can make it easy for the recruiter to see your worth for a job position.  Maybe you need another edition of your resume to explain your credentials if you are applying for a work that has specific requirements. Determine on a case-by-case scenario, as different work positions require a definite type of resume.

The first move to securing an interview with a company is always your resume. Make sure that you focus on providing the crucial details, arrange it, emphasize, and search for mistakes. It should facilitate you to get more job offers, interviews once your resume is streamlined and completed.

Listing references on your resume

In the appropriate circumstances, citing references on a resume is not suitable these days, but can give you a competitive advantage. When expressly asked to do so, the approach to having an interview may be highlighting references on a resume. In their job description, managers also provide unique criteria to indicate that candidates spend quality time going through their advertisement. If the job listing calls for that same amount of credentials to be present on a resume, this is a reasonable chance to integrate them on your resume. The choice is affected by a strong network, so you ought to make the content as available as possible.

Don't highlight your network on your resume if the job ad doesn't request for references and you're new to the field. Moving into a new company or joining in after school might mean you have an underdeveloped group in the sector of well-known individuals. Over time, a network will arrive, but if the references on your resumes are not in link to the business or an impressive name from the industry, reserve them until necessary.

Guide on how to include hobbies and interest on a resume

Most job hunters are unclear if their applications can contain hobbies or interests. You may not be sure what to integrate if you plan to insert your interests and hobbies. We will examine in this post when and how to include hobbies in a resume and examples of what kinds are suitable to add. 

The general opinion, at one point, was that it was irrelevant to include hobbies and interests on a resume. Nowadays, although many businesses are searching for employees that can blend in with the environment of the organization, and one approach to do this is to have a clear understanding of hobbies and interests. You want to be sure they render you an even more appealing work prospect if you're going to have hobbies and interests on your resume. Any form of connection to the work you are interested in is the ideal interest for resume and display to the employer that you are a suitable candidate for the position. Examples of successful hobbies and interests entail:

• Creative hobbies like painting, drawing, and writing indicate that you have creative thinking and can focus on issues from an imaginative viewpoint.
• Team sports like volleyball and football prove that you can function well with individuals, have skills and attributes, and can coordinate.
• Endurance sports example involves marathon swimming or running that highlights your persistence and motivation.
• Individual sports such as yoga and archery show you are patient and centered.
• Thought hobbies such as chess, playing a musical instrument illustrate that you are tactical thinking and showcasing analytical and creative abilities.
• Community engagement demonstrates that you function with others and care about serving your society.
• Social hobbies involve books or garden clubs. They prove that you have the experience of working and engaging in local projects with others.
• Collecting rare books or stamps on your resume is something you can incorporate. Maintaining your selection reveals an enthusiasm for your interest and perseverance to specifics.

The main rules you want to keep in account when you are placing together your hobbies and interests checklist for a resume.

All across your overall resume, you should always be genuine, so this covers your hobbies and interests segment. Before preparing your resume, you may have to do some research when specifically writing any hobbies or interests. This way, if you have anything in common with the prospective recruiter, you can incorporate that interest to get the attention of the employer. You can also be descriptive, along with being truthful. As most people travel, citing travel as leisure isn't exceptional. After all, it will help make your resume stand out by stating that you traveled to New York for a conference on global assistance.

You want your resume to be unforgettable. It's distinctive to say you're playing a bocce ball game on the holidays, and it suggests you can interact with members of the team. 

Full Guide on How to put hobbies and interests on a resume.

Resume Builder / Resume Maker

The global change has led to a Digital Revolution, and all facets of the internet play a prominent role. As well as businesses and recruiters seeking their potential applicants, the technology has transformed the way people look for jobs. Specialists in resume writing claim that conventional resumes are obsolete. 

Can you guess how many recruiters around the world use an applicant tracking software to filter inappropriate resume format on automated systems?

Don't know: 75% yes, it is a lot. That's where a resume builder comes in. Many resume builder sites, templates, and applications for resume builders are accessible. Online Resume Builders enables job hunters to build virtual resumes, and even specialized online job sites allow applicants to generate and upload resumes in a viewable template.

HipCV resume builder is a useful resource that can assist you via the process of developing one or offer you tips for your resume. The use of a resume builder has advantages, and you will benefit from one as a job seeker.

Benefits of HipCV resume builder / resume maker / resume creator

• HipCV resume builder helps you develop an up-to-date professional and stylish resume.
• Since your resume is appealing and responsive, you'll make a compelling initial impression on a prospective employer.
• Our HipCV resume maker can either direct you via the data input process or provide you with a template that you can enter in. And if you ever have an experience where you don't know where to start and what to write. Then this problem is entirely solved by a resume generator.
• A resume builder can save time, mainly if you are not familiar with using programs for design or if you don't have a lot of resume development experience. You don't need to try to find out how to insert a section or border, as it is already built-in.
• You can pick the templates that best suit your personality and features that apply to your application. Resume creators give you options like to mix and match components of the resume implies that it is possible to tailor the final product instead of a generic format.
• A resume builder advises you to enter all of your contact details, as well as prior employer lists, work dates, and other typical information. That can help to ensure you're not missing out on anything valuable. Templates and samples by browsing can also offer you with latest and fresh ideas.
• HipCV Resume Maker makes it easy to customize a resume and share data. To adjust the details to various employers, you can somewhat tweak a resume. For instance, you may want to highlight your organizational experience in one resume. But if you apply for an accounting job, you may build another version to showcase your accounting knowledge.
• Usually, depending on the positions they are working in, the applicants will produce several iterations of their resume. Once the resume is ready, then you can save it in PDF format. And no need to think about the technology development of managing or maintaining the web.

Here is a blog post on resume builder tools and guide on what is the best resume builder?