Creating a resume is a tedious, yet important task that can carry a tremendous impact in your future endeavors. By no means am I to be considered an expert on this subject matter. I do, however, wish to extend some of the advice and knowledge that had helped me excel my own resume to a level far beyond standard. This brief article compiles a great deal of advice that I was given coupled with an array of words and phrases that have enhanced my own resume.
A well-written resume strives to actively highlight the skill set you possess that will bring the most benefit to the employer. Before all else, it is critical that you perform a self-analysis. Start by listing all your strengths. Think of past experiences, academic accomplishments, and your personal hobbies. Remember that everyone has a number of strengths, sometimes they are not as straight forward. A person who excessively plays video games online with their friends may have been able to develop strong communication skill, the ability to multitask, and the capability to quickly adapt to a fast-changing environment. Understanding your strengths helps build a foundation to build a compelling resume.
Establish connections between your experiences and the strengths you cultivate through them. Organize those strengths into an outline of your skills. It is important to understand the message that each of your experiences sends to potential employers. If an experience does not translate into a skill, then it has no value. I have listed a variety of skills that can be fitted to any resume to reinforce the best of your experiences. Please read through each of them and carefully, thinking of how they might apply to your experiences.
Proven ability to lead successful teams
Strong Interpersonal communication skills
Excellent organizational and time management skills
Ability to facilitate a group and keep on task
Strong research and analytical skills
Skill to prioritize and adapt the plan to keep on track
Ability to multitask
Adept at inspiring and mentoring a team of peers to enhance productivity
Self-reliant, critical thinker, team player, and collaborative leadership style
When physically typing a resume, carefully structuring each line with appropriate wording is definitive. All formatting needs to be both consistent and professional, including font. Likewise, each word must be carefully chosen to add value. Crowding your resume with wordy phrases and redundancy will divert attention away from any core strengths. Defining past experiences properly can help set your resume far above the rest.
Under each experience highlight any key responsibilities involved. Given that a student on knowledge bowl lists a bullet as answering questions, potential employers gain no insight of your strengths. A better bullet point: presented quick, conclusive answers to thought provoking trivia questions. This brief statement allows employers to grasp strengths cultivated through this experience. Remember that each phrase needs to reflect value.
After placing much emphasis on the importance of effective wording, I thought it was only fitting that I gave a few examples. Some descriptive words I am particularly fond are “strengthen,” “effective,” “dedicated,” and “profound.” When defining actions, I often use words like “coordinate,” “employ,” “develop,” “publicize,” “manage,” and “collaborate.” Other words to consider: “disseminate,” “preceptor,” “adept,” “aptitude,” “plan,” “secure,” “supervise,” “display,” “enhance,” and “reinforce.”
I hope these words help establish a strong, well-equipped word bank to effectively enhance your resume. Just do not forget, that all the hard work you invest in sculpting that perfect resume will exponentially impact your future opportunities. Each of your resumes should be uniquely personalized to market that absolute best of you. I hope that some of these words have provided value that you can put your resume building toolbox.
