Career Tips: How to write an impressive resume

No matter whether you’re a student looking for your first job, or a sales executive hoping for a change in your work environment, you will need a foolproof resume to create a lasting first impression on the side of company you’re intending to work for in the future. It can be difficult to craft one that will stand out from the hundreds of resumes sent to the company’s mailbox, but don’t worry, we’re here to help!

Organise your information

There are many ways to do this in a clear and succinct manner. You just have to decide which will suit your resume best. The most common type of organisation would be, of course, to arrange your experiences chronologically, starting with the most recent one. You may also choose to arrange your skill sets under different headers, especially if you don’t have much work experience but you want to highlight the many skills that you possess. Some creative industries have started accepting alternative and unique resumes that show off your creative skills and originality, so you might want to adopt this idea if you’re looking to join this line of work.

Action verbs are key

Always use strong action verbs when describing your work experience and skills, to show your active participation in an activity. For example, you might want to substitute the verb “assist”, that connotes the notion of merely helping a fellow colleague, to a stronger term such as “facilitate” that implies an idea of teamwork and a hint of leadership as well. Of course, you’ll have to make sure your points are accurate and truthful.

Stick to one page

A resume should be short and succinct, so there’s no need to drag it out over more than one page. A hiring manager only takes 30 seconds to scan through your resume to determine if you are worth meeting, so be sure to include only your most important experiences and leave out those that aren’t relevant to the job.

Use a typeface that’s easy to read

This advice goes out more to those crafting conventional resumes, in contrast to alternative, creative ones. Your safest bet would be Arial or Times New Roman, as these fonts are pleasing to the eye. Cursive or cartoon fonts can be distracting, and are highly unnecessary!

Avoid typos and grammatical errors

This goes without saying. Make sure you proofread your resume to avoid careless blunders that will make you appear lazy and aloof. Employers are essentially looking for conscientious and alert employees, so simple mistakes such as spelling errors are a definite no-no!

Ultimately, what we’re trying to say is: keep it simple. Try out these tips, and let us know how it turns out. We wish you all the best!

Dione Chen

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