how to make your resume stand out with little experience
This how to make your resume stand out with little experience
Hi everyone And welcome to the Job article Today we're talking about resumes one of the most important assets for your job search. I'M excited to introduce our guest speaker today, Jackie Mitchell, After more than 15 years in IT project management, Jackie took her passion for helping others and her understanding that the need for mentoring never ends even when you're at the top of your field.
And she became a certified professional career coach launching Jackie Mitchell Career Consulting in 2015. Also joining us today is my colleague, Jenni Palmer Jenni is on Indeed Talent Attraction team and has helped launch our new resume review offerings which she will talk about more later. In the workshop - And that's me Brandy, Warwas, I'm on Indeed's job seeker experience, team
Were responsible for creating helpful resources and events like this Job article for our users, like you, Take it away, Jackie. Thank you Brandy. Thank you. Thank you. Everyone for joining
We have three learning objectives:
A lot to cover today, so I want to dive right in So the learning objectives that we're going to talk about are reframing the way you think about resumes, understand how employers review, resumes and discover tools and resources available. So, let's dive right in and kick off with reframing the way you think about resumes. So this is a little different. This is a little different. This may be something that you guys have never heard of or may have so thinking like a business owner.
And I say that because, when you're thinking of the objective of your resume, it's best to think like a business owner, who's marketing, their business or brand. Why? Because we're marketing ourselves?
So if you think about the three pillars of marketing typically is getting the customer to know you like you, trust you and eventually get them to more likely, go with you to buy your product or service. So if you kind of put yourself in that mind frame when you're creating your resume know like and trust, you have a better chance. So when I talk about knowing yourself or getting them to know you who you are and why should they care
Like you, employers, favors problem, solvers solution providers and top performers Trusting you, employers want to know that you consistently show up solve problems and have an impact. So here are three questions that your resume must answer and they align directly with know like and trust. So when you're thinking about your resume, you want to think about these questions. Who are you
How can you help me solve my problems and why should I trust you So number one who are you Know you Having them to get to know you You want to summarize - and this is answered by your professional summary
What value do you bring to the table? What outcomes do you have and how does your role impact the organization Liking? You
Number two People tend to like people who can help them, and so how can you solve my problems?
How can you help me This is answered by your professional experience, Similar to what they're looking for or highlighting transferable skills? How can you solve this Or similar? Can you solve this Or how have you solved similar problems before
You wanted to demonstrate how you are a top performer, not with too much detail but save the deep details for the interviews You want to highlight that And the third one is trust. Why should I trust you? That'S typically answered by your professional experience.
Again, credentials value and your network, The first question your resume must answer: who are you So, starting with your summary beginning, your resume with a headline or resume statement, Sometimes is confused with the resume objective is one way to clearly call out your most relevant qualifications. The short description should quickly advertise your skill set and professional goals to any reader.
A headline is the shortest version, a thumb up of your achievements. In one line In a summary statement, you can get a little longer One or two sentences is typically a good length And I'll jump in there. Actually, when you build your resume with Indeed Resume, there are two fields at the top
One for a headline and one for a summary: Both are optional and you can choose to leave them blank or use one or the other or both
Thanks Brandy So to get started, think back on your proudest career moments and accomplishments and what defines who you are in the workplace. It can be helpful to think about a my summary. As an answer to the question.
How would you describe your experience in one sentence, For example, if you have 10 years of experience, working as a registered nurse, you've likely developed a long list of accomplishments in your resume, creating a summary That showcases the most relevant key points for a specific position and Employer offers a solid picture of your qualifications immediately Carefully. Read the job descriptions that you're considering Do they require specific certification or years of experience?
Your headline is the place to let your employer know that you've met those requirements. You may want to use a resume objective Instead, if you're looking to shift into a new industry that should allow you to capture keywords that you may not be able to list in your skills or experience just yet
So number two, the second question your resume must answer: how can you help me or solve my problems So you've solved problems before use your work? Experience
You definitely will want to use your work experience So get specific with challenges and demonstrate how you approach them and how you help solve them, Like I said getting them to like you know you and trust you, You really want to show how you can solve their Problems, So what are some of the projects that you were responsible for, or a key participant in
How did you contribute? What were the outcomes Focus on your wins? What impacts did you have Quantify this as much as possible?
If you're transitioning careers, what are some of the transferable skills that you can demonstrate here? How can you draw parallels to this new opportunity, So those are some of the things that you want to think about when you're thinking about how can I solve their problem And definitely go back to the job description kind of read between the lines on what the Problem is that they are looking for someone to solve
So work experience call attention to important achievements.
Use numbers to measure your impact, Use, active language, use keywords from job postings, So let's dive into that a little bit So calling attention to important achievements instead of listing your job duties under experience under the experience section, Select your top three or four most important achievements. In each role, you've held
You don't want a laundry list. You want to really have the ones that have had an impact and are very relevant to the position that you're going for Use numbers to measure your impact When possible, including specific numerical achievements, can help employers understand your direct to your direct potential value to their company. Again, people like numbers, They want to see numbers, they want to see metrics
So an example of that would be developed new processes for requesting supplies, reducing fulfillment time by 10 %. You want to also use active language. How do you do that? You make a stronger impact by using action verbs to describe your professional achievements. Some examples include developed, saved, drove and managed
Use keywords from job postings to ensure that your resume aligns to what employers are looking for.
Be sure to check the job postings you're interested in for keywords to include in your resume, If possible, use those keywords in your job history, bullets, For example. If the job description mentions the importance of meeting sales quotas, you can include information of how you've met or exceeded quotas. In the past, It is possible that terminology has changed in the industry, so be sure to check the language
Be sure to check that your language is updated accordingly, So, for example, you may have had experience in new marketing channels several years ago, but now we call that social media marketing You want to make sure you're aligned with the terminology that's used in today's language And A note here,
If you've had over 10 years of experience, try to keep your experience listing only back seven to 10 years,
And to me, that's still pushing a little bit. I advise my clients to kind of go 5 to seven years, depending on the role that you're going for and the level also. So, conversely, if you have less than five to seven years and experience, you can add a section of other experience. Only Only include that if it demonstrates transferable skills,
Still highlighting the benefits of your work,
So here are three examples and we're going to show how we can detail this out And use action verbs and get this to really have an impact. So if we said something like answered phone calls from customers organized inventory, audited reports, Most job seekers will list these basic descriptions in their responsibilities. But phrases like these do not necessarily help you stand out to the hundreds of other job applicants. So take your resume to the next level and add the benefit at the impact and the results of the work that you did.
This will go a long way to show the recruiter or the hiring manager. What kind of value you bring Again. You want to include words that make an impact Just listing these bullet points out and thinking that, just because you have the keywords that that's going to get you through a lot of times. It'S not
You want to provide more information, So how do you do that?
So the above phrases, these phrases that we have here, let's show you how you can have some impact with that So answered phone calls from customers can turn into answered phone calls and provided excellent customer service to improve customer satisfaction. Organized inventory can turn into organized and reviewed inventory to ensure efficient ordering accurate reporting and lean spending Audited. Reports Audited reports to resolve discrepancies, improve accuracy and increase compliance with regulatory requirements.
See the difference the before and after
If you notice that adding context and detail to these descriptions, it also gives you an opportunity to incorporate some of those key words that we previously discussed. So, let's take it another step further, You want to add measurable impact by quantifying those accomplishments to help employers, understand the scope, complexity and impact of your work. Let'S get into several examples of that.
So if we go back to answer calls from the customers - and we added detail, answered phone calls and provided excellent customer service to improve customer satisfaction, Let's go another step. Further Answered 100 calls per day and provided excellent customer service. Helping increase satisfaction scores from 78 % to 89 %, Look at where we started to where we ended. Do you see the difference?
Adding that measurable detail gives it definitely The impact that you want to have
The next one is organized inventory, So if we jump down to the metrics that we're adding in they're organized Then reviewed inventory, valued at $ 2 million to ensure efficient ordering accurate reporting, reduced errors by 25 % and lean spending saved $ 20,000 annually.
That will definitely catch the eye of hiring managers because they want to see what you can do And the last one, but not least, this last example audited reports Adding flavor to that audited. Reports To resolve discrepancies, improve accuracy by 18 % and increased compliance with regulatory requirements avoided $ 15,000. In penalties. Companies want to know that you can help save their money.
So these are some of the things that you can do to add: an impact
So, let's go into showcasing your skills, use a designated section to enter relevant professional or translatable skills, --, sorry, transferable skills. It doesn't matter how you gain those skills, whether they're paid or internship. These are skills you've gained. You want to showcase them Just want to add something really quickly in here.
Several clients will come to me. A lot of clients will come to me and just we'll do a brain dump, And so, when we're at the point, we're working on resumes they'll do a brain dump and then I'll talk to them about the resume. Because a lot of times that I'm talking to people you'll understand what they don't have in their resume A lot of us, what we do we're thinking, oh, if I didn't get paid for it, then it didn't matter.
That'S not necessarily the case. You want to make sure that you're, including the skills that you've gained, even if there were skills from doing clinicals
If you were doing an internship, anything like that, please add those skills as long as they're relevant And so, if you're applying for a job where a specific skill is often taken for granted, don't list it So for many jobs. An example of that is Microsoft. Office
Instead of focusing on proficiencies with that skill, for instance, instead of listing Microsoft Office, you can list macros pivot tables and vlookups. If you know how to do these things in Excel,
So if you know how to use these typical office products, but you can use it at an advanced level that relates to the job that you're going for, definitely include that, But also show your soft skills. When employers read your resume they're looking for any clues about what kind of employee you are Show them your best qualities,
So, for instance, show how organized you are
So if your information in your resume is categorized meaningfully and flows, naturally it speaks volumes about how you think, organize and organize your priorities. So number three, the number three question on your resume. What you must answer is: why, should I trust you So these days, it's common for education to be listed at the end of your resume Exceptions to this, maybe, if you're applying for a job that requires specific certifications in the health care industry, for example,
Or if you're, a recent graduate each employer searches for different things in your education and what they look for depends on the requirements for the job.
So, if you're applying for an entry level, job hiring manager might want to see that you have a high school diploma or a college degree. A recruiter seeking a director of a department might look for business or managerial training like an MBA, And so a quick note on this as well avoiding ageism. It is OK to not include your graduation year If it's not within the last 10 years. You can definitely not include that
And another great way to show employers that they can trust you is to actually prove you have the skills they're looking for So on. Indeed, you can take over 50 skills assessments, which are short tests created by psychologists covering various job related topics. This can help you show that you have the skills. A job requires in a way like your work, history or educational background may not Especially if you're trying to change fields, and you don't have actual experience in that field.
You can access, Indeed, assessments at my
Indeed.Com just scroll to the bottom of your Indeed profile. Once you've completed an assessment, you have the option to share the results on your Indeed resume And you can hide these results at any time if you're not happy with your score, But you can't retake the assessment. So make sure you're ready when you go to take it the first time
And some employers might actually require a specific assessment in order to apply for a role. But if you already have it completed it'll help you save some time So certifications. Let'S get into that a little bit Certification, similarly or evidence that you've learned specific skills and are often required for specific fields depending on the certification.
This is likely a bigger commitment to learning a new skill set, So a certification can help with career advancement at your company and give you an edge over other candidates in the market. It demonstrates to employers that you are well-trained and committed to professional growth within your profession.
So, with many professionals stuck at home in light of COVID-19, there are many number of certifications you can get online now. So another thing that we want to talk about and dive into is to understand how employers review your resume.
So when you're creating your resume, it's important to you to view your resume as a hiring manager. So I know before we said when you're thinking about your resume you're reframing thinking about thinking of it as an employer or a business owner.
So this is a little bit different when you're literally going to create it think from the standpoint of a hiring manager. So gaze tracking technology, like the image shown, shows that employers spend an average of 7.4 seconds reviewing a resume
That'S a very short amount of time, very short amount of time to get their attention So top performing resumes where recruiters spend most time and focus tend to have several elements in common. Those are clear, simple, layouts with clearly marked headlines, headers and clearly marked sections Layouts that took advantage of F-pattern and E-pattern reading tendency like bold job titles, supported by bulleted list of accomplishments And a summary objective statement at the top of the first page of your resume And clear fonts
So remember, you want to tailor your resume to be ATS friendly and ATS is just an acronym for an Applicant Tracking System, So you want to tailor your resume so that it can likely go through an applicant tracking system before it's read by human eyes. An ATS, like, I said, is a software used by employers to sort through all of the applications that initially that they receive initially for a job posting
It passes the resume breaks it down into sections to speed up the screening and selection process. That'S why we recommend avoiding complicated resume formats. Ats may struggle to read unstructured resumes
Meaning some important pieces of information may not be recognized and overlooked if it's not formatted properly. So to help get past ATS, it's important that you carefully read the job description and tailor your resume accordingly. Recruiters and managers filter through resumes by using the ATS, to identify specific key words and phrases that indicate the applicant is a good fit for the role, So include the keywords that apply to your background and your job and your resume summary skills and professional experience. Sections Avoid - and this is so key - avoid over adding keywords, because the ATS will kick it out.
It'S just you don't want to do that, So you want to use it in such a way that it's natural, it's natural language,
Instead of just throwing keywords all throughout because you think that's what you're supposed to do So, as I mentioned earlier, how do you know what keywords to use Well easy way to do, that is to find out what skills are required for the job and check the Job description,
So pick up the skills in the job description that you do have and make sure that those are added to your resume. Also look at similar roles, and you can get that as well. Another little hack or trick is to copy the text from a job description into a word cloud generator. You can find those online for free. These word cloud generators you just literally copy and paste
And another trick that I have my clients: do I'll. Have them take the job description, copy and paste that into the word cloud generator and also the copy out of their resume and throw that into the word cloud resume -- the word cloud generator as well, And you can do a comparison and make sure that you Have the words that stand out
Again, not thrown all over the place within natural language in the appropriate places in your resume Thanks Jackie. So once you have your resume content ready with all the keywords put it on. Indeed,
Now, I'm not just saying that, because I work for Indeed because, yes, you can certainly apply to jobs on Indeed, without setting up your resume on your Indeed profile, But you miss out on the benefits of an Indeed resume That way. The data shows that job seekers with a resume on Indeed you're from employers four times more often - And there are good reasons for that. First, off your resume will automatically be in a format that is ATS friendly and can be shared with employers on mobile tablet or desktop computers.
And plus, if you want a hard copy of your resume, you can click the Download Resume button on the right side of your profile and it'll generate a PDF for you to save or print in whichever template you select Next, with an Indeed resume. It'S easy to apply to jobs with just a few clicks.
Even from your phone and here's a big one, It allows employers to find you. There are over 3 million employers globally, who use Indeed to hire
So when your resume is set to public at Indeed, they can search and find you The same way. You'Re looking at job listings, employers search Indeed resume database to source candidates for open roles. They use the what and where prompts to search for resumes By job title or industry and location, And then they refine the search using filters on qualifications like education, skills and even based on whether you've taken one of those assessments I mentioned.
And here's a tip to make sure your resume gets in front of more employers If you're looking for a new job update your Indeed resume every week or so, even just a small tweak. Job seekers, with Indeed resumes updated in the last week, are three times more likely to be contacted than those that were not That's, because it will get pushed to the top of employer search results and labeled recently updated.
It also shows employers that you're actively job searching. So now, let's talk about some other resources. You can use to take your resume to the next level.
It may seem obvious, but one of the most important things about your resume is that it's clean and easy to read, While the specific resume formatting may vary by industry. These are some best practices, So first keep it to one page unless you're an executive or senior leader. My father-in-law actually was doing some hiring a couple of weeks ago, and he showed me that someone sent him a 15 page resume and that was for like a mid-level role. He didn't even read it. It just went straight into the trash bin because he said he doesn't want to work with someone who doesn't value his time.
And that's what that was is just wasting his time. Also, your margins should be a half inch minimum one inch maximum, And you want to use one easy to read font throughout size 10-12. Apart from the section headers, which can be slightly larger And typically, you want to use a sans serif font such as arial, Helvetica or calibri, And don't forget to bold your name and section headers that helps with the F-pattern and E-pattern reading tendencies that Jackie mentioned before
So you're going across down across when you read And, of course, proofread, Nothing shows an employer. You don't pay attention to details like having a typo in your resume, So one tip for that is to try reading it from the bottom up or reading each sentence backwards. To catch more errors,
And if you're unsure, what a modern professional resume should look like, you can start by browsing the free templates on, Indeed that have been created based on employer preferences.
You can automatically select one of those templates when you download your Indeed Resume as well. Another tip here pay attention to file format and your file name. So when you save your application documents as PDFs that'll preserve the information formatting, but use your first and last name when saving the file, For example, FirstName_LastName_Resume.pdf
It seems like a small thing, but if employers are downloading resumes from multiple candidates, it will make it easier for them to locate yours and it never hurts to make the hiring managers life a little easier.
And again, you don't need to recreate the wheel Check out the resume samples we have on Indeed, career guide. The link is here with curated resumes for all sorts of roles based on the resumes that actually led to employers contacting those applicants So I'll pass it over to Jenni.
Thanks Brandy, Hi everyone, My name is Jenni, I'm part of the Talent Attraction team here at Indeed, So I have a lot of experience over many years. Reviewing resumes from the employer side and I've had the pleasure this year of helping launch, Indeed resume review services. We know here that it can be really tough to write and update a resume and understand how the best practices that we've talked about today can apply to your own resume.
So our resume review services offered three options: to take your resume to the next level with expert help. So let's take a look at the options in more detail here. So the first option that we have is instant resume report. So this option offers a free scan of your resume and provides an instant report to highlight potential areas of improvement for your resume. All you need to do is upload your resume at the website shown in the slide and scan and you'll receive your resume report.
You can use that resume report to make suggested changes to your resume there and then
Changes suggested could include things like spelling and grammar corrections, ways to avoid some of those ATS pitfalls that we talked about things like formatting, for example, and content tips that are based on general resume best practices. This is a really great starting point. If you're, unsure about how your resume looks to employers, We have an ATS scan built into it and also to get some instant pointers of things that you may not have caught on your resume before you apply to jobs. Our next option is our resume review.
So our system review is an opportunity to get personalized actionable advice from a professional resume editor based on your resume and your target jobs. What you'll need to do for this is submit your resume to the link in the slide and answer a couple of questions to help build a profile for your reviewer
Then you'll receive a 10 minute video from your reviewer and some written notes to help you guide you through what you need to improve in your resume And you'll get that back within 2 to 5 days. It'S not a full resume rewrite, but it will include written examples of how you might apply those best practices to punch up your resume.
And hopefully, learn more interviews is a really great option to get personalized advice from a professional about what might help your resume stand out to employers And the advice from the resume reviews is replicable. So you can use this advice throughout your career to help you build successful, resumes at any stage of your career.
And our final option is our resume rewrite So as it might sound, this is an option to have your resume fully rewritten by professional resume writer. But what you'll need to do is upload your resume at the link to the slides and answer some questions Again. So build a profile for your writer and help them build a resume. That'S tailored to you.
Your writer will complete your ATS compatible resume within four to six days And they'll also provide you with an explanation of the edits and suggestions for you. This is a really great option. If you prefer someone else do the writing. We hear that a lot from job seekers, So it's also a really great opportunity to get an explanation from that writer of why they've made those changes so that can help you understand what will make your resume stand out to employers too. So, just to recap, we have three options now available through, Indeed to help you with your resume
The first option is a free resume report, which is an instant scan which will give you a data driven report of recommendations for your resume.
The next option is your first of two options to work with a resume professional: This is our resume review service and we'll provide you with a step by step, video and written notes from a resume editor that would be sent to you in 2 to 5 days And will cost $ 19? The resume rewrite option is a full resume rewrite from a professional resume writer that would be sent to you in four to six days And will cost $ 89
We know that having a polished and optimized resume is really critical to marketing you professionally and to securing more interviews. So our goal is to help you get those three quick services at a fair price to suit your personal resume needs. Just to note, though, currently our resume service is just available in the US. We do hope to offer those more internationally in future, So stand by. For that, please come and check us out we're at resume-review.indeed
Com and we'd really love to help you with your resume.
Thanks Jenni, So now, let's take a look at some of the top questions that came in So first, let's do --. How do I structure the resume when I'm making a career change and don't have relevant experience? Jackie? Do you have thoughts on that?
Definitely Really have to sit and think about what are some of the parallels, because, if you're moving into another industry, there should be some parallels because of what you are attracted to what you like, and that's typically similar in any area of your life. So what I would say is to really sit down and write out things that you may just do a brain dump. Don'T worry about formatting! Anything like that. I do a complete brain dump on the skill sets that you do have Take a few days. Come back to it, write out absolutely everything:
Literally, write out things that you do in your current position that you don't believe is a transferable skill.
And come back to it and then go look at the job description and not only look at the job description if you Google requirements for whatever that position, whatever that position is see, if you find any parallels to what you currently have And then add those, but There are a lot of transferable skills, a lot of soft skills that people don't think of that you can definitely add and highlight Yeah, and I would just add in that thinking trainings to build those skills that are required for the job that you don't already have From past experience would definitely help, And that might mean doing an online certification program or just a free training online, but you could also build some experience potentially by volunteering.
So maybe the work that you're trying to do has kind of a parallel where you can volunteer for a nonprofit just to build that experience, as Jackie mentioned, whether it's paid or not you're building experience in that area.
So whatever you can do to put that on the resume, if it's unpaid internship in your free time, whatever you can do to show that you are actually building those skill sets for the new field that you're trying to go into And we'll do the next question Here It said that any job roles or positions that are 10 to 15 years old should be removed from your resume. Is that 10 to 15 years from when the old position started or from when they ended?
For example, if I had a job that lasted from 2009 to 2011 and I'm keeping my 2021 resume updated with newer information, does that position remain on my resume or does it get omitted For me and how I work with my clients? It really is on a case by case basis,
So it's not a broad sweeping stroke. Absolutely do not. There are cases where you would keep that there, depending on how you want to display experience and skill set, So what I would say at a general rule from the start of the position. So if it's 2009 and it can add flavor to what you already have, I would say, keep it
If it really doesn't, then you can take it, you can take it off Or another thing that you can do. You can have a section that says relevant experience or relevant positions held and just list that
There'S even pros and cons in doing that, But if it's a reputable company, a well known company that you want them to know hey, I worked with this person or this company. Absolutely You can list, but just don't list all of the things that you did there
It could just be bullet points of that, the name of the company and the duration that you worked there
So that's an alternative. I would echo that To me it would really be a case of relevance to the particular target job and the position 10 years ago was not relevant to the position you're applying to now. That could be an easy decision to make
If it seems relevant, then it may be something to keep on, but in the fashion that Jackie mentioned that perhaps this more relevant experience section - And this next question is related to that. If or when I add a new job, title and description onto my resume. It makes my resume go over one page unless I omit the oldest job title from the document. Is there a way to keep the details of the older job title without going over the two pages, Because the oldest job titles details are still relevant to my career? Now Jackie answered that one, I know by just adding that extra section that includes the title and company you worked for and if you'd like the dates, you worked there without listing all of the bullet points underneath that
Just to keep things more concise and just make sure that the skills that you built during that time are in your skill section as well. Absolutely
I don't want people to stress out about how long the resume is. Don'T stress about that When I'm working with my clients are like. Oh, it just has to be one page before we even get there brain dump, literally brain dump And then you're weeding things out. So it's more about quality as opposed to quantity.
Like Brandy said, don't want a 15 page resume. You definitely don't want a 15 page resume, but anywhere between 1 and 2 pages.
I even extend it to four, but it was based on the position. There was specific things with that, where you can and there's certain industries that it is acceptable, but don't go into it thinking. Oh my God, it can only be one page. Do a complete brain dump and then you start weeding out things that are not relevant and then see where you are and can see. Then you can go through and see what you can cut, But don't go in, stressing out that it has to be one page, and I just want to add this really quickly, Brandy and Jenni for all everyone who's attending. Just like take a deep breath before you start your resume because it can be overwhelming.
You see this huge mountain in front of you. Oh I got to get the job got to get the job. Let'S take the first step, throw everything down on paper and then step by step. You will definitely get there. So just one step at a time it can be overwhelming. But if you do one step at a time you can get there.
Something I found helpful with that, too, is to when you're, starting with building your resume, is to build a master resume And it might be a bit longer than the one you actually want to submit to jobs. But this is just something you can keep for yourself and then, as you're applying to different jobs. Different jobs are going to have different relevant qualifications that they're looking for and things that they want to see in a resume.
So that way, you have a starting point. You have all the information that you need potentially and you can skinny that down Her position, that you're applying for every single position is going to want the same things, So that could be a way to do it, especially if you're, finding that you have a lot Of information - and then you just want to condense it down, so that it's readable and as concise as possible for each position.
Thanks,
Another question about formatting: Should we use full sentences or bullet points in our resumes, And I assume that is regarding your work experience, I would say: sentences not extremely long sentences. Very concise sentences. Bullet points really will not give a context.
So as long as your sentence give context, absolutely you use sentence, Yeah and I'll caveat this. You should have bullets, but the actual text should have -- [ INTERPOSING VOICES, ], So bullets when you're reading for those hiring managers reading through all of those resumes. It'S going to be easier to read it, but having a sentence, I feel it forces you to complete a thought. I guess is the best and going back to what Jackie walked through with having the impact and the measurable impact in there. It'S going to be more likely a full sentence And another question here:
Should the skills go on the top of your resume or at the end of your resume Now this may just be a point of reference for most people.
I would say it depends on whether or not those skills are more or less impactful than the work experience. So if you are changing fields and you gain skills through online trainings or what have you then maybe put that at the top? But if your work experience is going to be the core of what you want to communicate to the employer, then it may be put it at the bottom.
Jenni, Jackie with thoughts on that Yeah, It's really interesting because it really depends Again. It depends on the position, but a lot of companies these days are moving towards. I hope I don't get. This word wrong. Project ties, work And so a lot of times you're working on projects, regardless of your position.
So what I would recommend it would be a section under your summary or objective, I would definitely say, have a section in there that it can list your skills and projects relevant projects, and you can kind of combine that where it makes sense.
But if these are things that you want to highlight, because the job is specific for these key things, absolutely you want to bring that up. Not put that at the end of your resume. One thing I would mention - and this may be because I come from a tech recruitment background, but within the technology space, particularly if you have a technical role, you may want to consider having your skills section towards the top of your resume, particularly because you may be Showcasing specific programming languages that you're most familiar with and that's as recruiters in that space. That'S where we look at how we spend a lot of our time is looking for specific technical skills, And so that could be useful. But I would also echo if the skills section is what you want to prioritize and you're changing careers or that's where the area is most impactful. If you have it at the top of your resume, that's where the most important real estate of your resume is
So that's what's going to catch the recruiting side more quickly, if it's at the bottom of your resume is typically because your work experience may be more impactful.
So just kind of choose that, based on what you're targeting and what you're looking for in your next job opportunity, That's probably where I would land on that Now. I know we are going to go a little bit over time, but I want to answer a couple. More questions here,
So this one --, someone is asking: how would you handle on your resume when you've been in one position at one company for an extended period of time Like longer than 15 years?
Well, it really depends, and so I think, when you've held a position for 15 years and now you're back in the market and want to make yourself marketable, it is totally OK.. You want to make sure that whatever is in that position as far as your role, your responsibility, the value that you've added the impact that you have, you want to pack that in there And it's a good amount of information, you want to highlight that and then You want to highlight your skills that you've received from that and any transferable skills, if you're going into another industry, But there's nothing wrong with that. That'S nothing to be ashamed of Nothing to get down on yourself. I'Ve held this position for 15 years.
What'S out there, how can I move into something else and then 15 years before that or not 15 years? I'M sorry! Prior to that, it's other positions. You can still have those listed relevant positions held
Just not giving all the detail in there as well, but it's totally OK, I mean once you put that in there get the resume formatted to where it needs to be how it needs to look your keywords, your transferable skills, Getting into the interview, that's where you're, Explaining and talking So just make sure that your resume totally reflects the value that you bring and don't worry too much on the fact that you've been in a position for 15 years.
One thing I want to add: you can definitely show your progression in that role, So you can have let's say the company listed and the progression of your positions within the roles. I would start with the most current and go down based on, let's say, you're a clerk or then you get to manager or supervisor and then a director you want to --. You can do that as well.
Yeah - and I also say that might be a good opportunity to talk more about your - how you've gained more and more responsibilities in that role in your cover letter. So your resume is one document, but we definitely encourage people to write cover letters as well, especially when you can add or when you feel like. You need to add additional context.
And highlight the fact that you were in that role for 15 years with the same company that shows a lot of commitment and loyalty, So there's pros and cons to that. So we'll do one more question and it's kind of the flip side here. How would you list multiple positions within the same company on your resume When you have promotions within that same company?
Jackie, you kind of mentioned that you want to talk more about that Yeah. Definitely I mean just think of it as it's a role in the same company. However, these are different positions, So you can highlight at the top I'm trying to think like you're summarizing it
So highlight at the top of the company and then each position you want to list as if it were at another company that you went for, but you're just listing it under one company.
So you do want to have your little summary in there and all of your bullet points with complete sentences that make sense that are relevant. You definitely want to have that with your high impact action. Verbs just go at it from that standpoint is totally OK. Yeah and I think again it shows that you're committed to that company, but that you have been moving up and taking on more responsibility, And I think that's a great thing to be able to show on Your resume
So we have to wrap up now, but I want to say a huge thanks to Jackie for sharing her wisdom today And, if you're interested in learning more or working with Jackie, you can find her on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn, or check out her website here. Jackiemitchellca reerconsulting.com