I cannot emphasize enough how important your resume is!
If you are applying for a new job or volunteer experience or internship, or graduate school, having a solid resume will help you! It will help you advance in your career because it shows that you are a hard worker and an accomplished employee!
I kind of love resumes, to be honest. I thoroughly enjoy formatting, writing, and editing resumes. That might seem a little weird, but it’s true, lol!
My Experience With Resumes
I built my first resume as a high school student when I was applying to college. It was… not great, lol. A lot has happened since then, though!
After my first year of college, I decided to transfer schools. This meant building a resume to be used to apply to other schools.
Then at my new school, I applied to a whole bunch of internships. I was referring to and working on my resume so often because so much happens during college. From new classes and projects to different internship and lab experiences, everything ended up on my resume at one point or another.
I was able to get interviews for 7 internships through college, and I got offers from all of them! I contribute a large part of that to my strong resume that highlighted my accomplishments and experiences.
When I was a senior in college, I decided to apply to graduate school, and I was able to get interviews (and acceptances) for all five of the programs I applied to using my CV! Another big win!
Over the past few months, I found that some of my friends (and fiancé… and dad… lol) started sending me their resumes to review. I found myself really enjoying formatting and editing their resumes. It’s something that I’ve come to know a lot about and something that I have shown to be successful in!
This blog post will be discussing resumes, what they are, what they’re used for, and the different types.
If you’re in the process of building your resume and want more information, you can download “The Easy Resume Guide” for FREE using this form!
In “The Easy Resume Guide,” you will find information about how to format a resume, including what sections and the type of language to use! You will also find step-by-step instructions explaining how to build your resume! There are also a few templates included as well!
So, what are resumes?
Resumes are documents that job applicants make and use during the job hiring process. Job applicants make resumes to show their background and qualifications for a job, and then they submit their resumes with their job applications. The hiring manager or recruiter then reads the applicant’s resume and decides if they will be moving forward in the hiring process.
Your resume summarizes your previous experiences and your qualifications, but it is not an in-depth overview of your professional history. But it may not include every experience you have had, and that is normal. You should be tailoring your resume to fit specific positions instead of detailing everything you’ve ever done!
So, you see how important your resume can be?
The Goal
Well, if you’re making a resume, your goal is probably to get a job (or an internship, or into grad school… you get it)! The goal of your resume is to quickly communicate why you are qualified for a specific position. You want your it to express your skills, education, and career experience in a concise but detailed way. Basically, you want to catch the interest of the reader. You want to grab their attention, so they decide to read more and consider you for the position.
Most hiring managers spend less than 10 seconds looking at a resume before deciding to move on. TEN SECONDS. That means your resume needs to be attention-grabbing and readable, so they decide to keep reading instead of moving on to the next person.
No pressure!
Are you struggling in your job hunting process, check out THIS post for some job hunting tips!
Types of Resumes
No two resumes will look the same. To start, there are three different types of resumes. The three different types of resumes vary based primarily on what they include and what kinds of positions they are used for.
Even though there are three types of resumes, no two resumes will be the same. Every resume highlights a unique individual’s set of accomplishments, no matter if the formatting or sections included are the same.
Chronological Resume
A chronological resume is the most popular type of resume, and it is the best type to highlight a strong work history. Typically, job recruiters and employers prefer these resumes because they show what employers applicants worked with in the past.
In these resumes, your most recent position is listed at the top, and the rest of your positions are listed going backwards. Hence, “chronological” resume.
Functional Resume
A functional resume is skill-based, meaning it emphasizes key skills rather than work experiences like a chronological resume.
Skills are listed in specific categories along with qualifications and accomplishments. These resumes tend to highlight a type of specialization. Work history is only mentioned briefly at the bottom of these resumes.
Combination Resume
Combination resumes combine aspects of chronological and functional resumes. On these resumes, you will find both work experience and skills. Typically on the top of the resume, you will list your skills, and then you will list your work experiences at the bottom.
Are you ready to build your resume?
Now that you know what resumes are and their various uses, are you ready to build yours?
If you’re struggling to build your resume or want to have it reviewed, I am doing free resume reviews throughout October. You can submit your resume to this link, and I will review it and give you detailed feedback for free within 72 hours!