A resume is beyond a doubt, one of the toughest documents to write. On one page, you have to show your experience, passion, and personality while also fitting the (many times vague) job description. However, there are three key elements to making sure your resume tells your story.
- Craft a compelling story. Before you start writing, you want to think about all of your past experiences. From your full-time job to all of your volunteer and travel experiences, pick the ones that tell the story you want your potential future employer to hear.
- Think accomplishments not experience. When writing a resume, our instinct is to talk about what we did on a day-to-day basis. You’re trying to show your experience right? Nope. Even though it’s counterintuitive, you want to think about all of the projects that made you stand out and focus on them.
- Align with the job description. Employers can tell when you’re throwing your resume to each and every company. You want to have several versions of a resume and always tweak them to fit the job description for the position to which you are applying. Make sure all of the experiences on your resume speak to why you are the perfect fit. You only get a page so make it count!