Know What to Keep and Cut on Your Resume

Know What to Keep and Cut on Your ResumeMany candidates get confused when it comes to writing a resume. It’s important to include only the relevant experience, but many people include everything to make themselves appear more diverse. But it’s better to write a resume that’s stellar and succinct to grab the attention of recruiters right away.

Including all your experience can actually hurt your chances of getting the job, especially if the experience is not related to the position you are applying for. Limit your resume to two pages to help you create a concise document that’s business-savvy and easy to understand.

Because the first screening of your resume is likely done by a computer, always use keywords that are related to the job. Refer to the job description to know what keywords to include in your resume.

Here are a few additional tips to consider:

Think about your career level. Even if you’re a newbie to the workforce, use this opportunity to let your important skills shine. Don’t just fill your resume with sort information not related to the position you are applying for. Recruiters are not interested in reading information about something that won’t be of use to the company.

Consider the industry and company. Before adding information for a position you held more than 10 years ago, decide whether it will add value to your story. If you are trying to re-enter a field you left previously, you may want to include it in your resume. But if this is not the case, simplify your work history and write a list of previous titles, companies, locations and dates.

Know the required and preferred qualifications. This is where you should focus when it comes to writing your resume. Match your skills with the job description, and summarize them in bullet points in your career summary or at the top of your resume.

Decide what your greatest accomplishments have been. Have you done anything in the past that produced an impact of some kind? If so, include it in your resume and be specific. Choose your most significant achievements and add them to your bullet points.

Filter out responsibilities. Explain in detail what you are capable of with specific examples, including the impact of your work. (Provide numbers wherever possible.) Doing this helps you get noticed.

Group experience into skill areas or industries. This will help you prioritize what’s important. Focus on 1-2 relevant bullets for some jobs and leave off others, especially if they won’t add any value to your resume.

Happy hunting!

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Alan Carniol

Alan is the creator of Interview Success Formula, a training program that has helped more than 80,000 job seekers to ace their interviews and land the jobs they deserve. Interviewers love asking curveball questions to weed out job seekers. But the truth is, most of these questions are asking about a few key areas. Learn more about how to outsmart tough interviewers by watching this video.