The key to resume writing success is to write with your audience in mind. What do they want to read that will then pique their interest so that they want to find out more about you? It is very much about the quality not quantity of the information.
Avoid writing a resume that is a basic shopping list of your past roles and responsibilities. This is particularly important for high salary earners who need to demonstrate why they are exceptional and should be considered for the role based on their experiences, personal attributes and skills. This will require any information you include to be quantified and qualified.
The rule of thumb from those at the top is the higher up you go, the shorter your resume should be. Keep it between one and two pages, concise, engaging and straight to the point.
The five key areas to cover in your resume include:
- Career objective
- Qualifications / Education
- Work history
- Achievements / Wins
- Other relevant information
1) Career Objective
For high salary earners, having a Career Objective or some sort of statement that highlights to the reader what type/s of job opportunities you are interested in can be advantageous. It is very much the equivalent of the elevator pitch that tells the reader what it is you are seeking from your career and how this in turn can be beneficial to them. See last week’s article on creating your career objective for more detail.
2) Qualifications / Education
Include any qualifications or education you have that is relevant to the positions you are applying for. Include details such as the date studied, level attained and name of the institution. If you had any significant achievements during this period incorporate these, again considering the relevance to the position and the reader.
3) Work History
Cover your employment history (for the last 15 years only). Begin with your current or last position and include your jobs in reverse chronological order.
Work backwards focussing on the last 5 years of your work experience. Any skills developed prior to this would have been superseded and your experiences less relevant, unless it relates to the careers you are currently targeting.
Where possible it is important to include the responsibilities you had whilst in the role combined with any key achievement or wins. If appropriate use bullet points as they enable the reader to digest the information more easily.
4) Achievements
Include any key achievements you have had. These could be around problems solved, money saved, awards received, innovations, new systems implemented and so on. At this stage in your career the importance of achievements surpasses generic job responsibilities. When documenting your achievements include enough detail to paint a picture, and keep the readers interest.
5) Other Relevant Information
Be selective about additional information you include in your resume. Professional Associations and memberships should be included if they are current, as should any board appointments or relevant volunteer work. Only incorporate information about yourself that is relevant or shows capabilities, which have not been demonstrated in other sections of your resume.
