Resume Working on Your Resumé – How to Get the Job

Congrats! If you’re here, you must be looking to apply for a job. Luckily, you came to the right place. Good luck as you go through this journey! 

A resume is a piece of paper that tells an employer every good thing about you. It is persuasive writing. You need to get someone else to see all of the great things about you. They need to see the great things about you for the job you are applying for specifically. You should tailor you resume to the job you are trying to get. If you’re applying for multiple jobs, your resume will probably look different for each of them if they have different criteria. 

We have written about networking recently, you can read that blog here. If you have read it you know that just having a great resume is not going to get you the job. Don’t expect someone to magically pick your resume out of the stack. You need to create a strong resume while understanding how you get your foot in the door is most successfully through your network.

There are a couple of important parts you should include in your resume. 

1. Education: You need to include where you are at in your education. This is important so that the employer sees that you meet the guidelines. Jobs typically require a certain level of education and you should put that very clearly so that they do not get confused and throw your resume out. This can also be a place where you can brag about your continuing education or your GPA (if you’re a recent grad). 
2. Goals: Companies like to hire people with a growth mindset. They want to see that you will work hard in the position you are trying to get and not just someone who comes to work feeling entitled to a paycheck. Persuade them here. Get them to see the great ways that you are going to help their company. 
3. Experience: Here is the section where you can put previous jobs, training, or experiences that are applicable to the position you are applying for. If you are hoping for a teaching position, like me, then you should only put things such as where you student taught or previous teaching positions such as camp counselor or babysitter. While adding the fact that you worked at a pizza place could show that you are able to hold a job and are a hard worker, it does not really show that you know how to teacher or have had time to practice that. Apply this to the job you are looking for. If you list the job at the pizza place, try to call out specific areas such as how you trained other employees or attributes that complement teaching.

One thing that could be debated is the appearance of a resume. 

• This may be different for different careers. If you are applying for a graphic design position you may want to consider showing some of your skills through your resume. It may be expected even. 
• While color can be nice, having too much or the wrong color combination could be a huge turn off. Go for extra white space and have a margin for people to write notes. 
• Having a plain black and white resume can get boring. Make your resume pull people in. 
• If you add a picture, make it a professional one. Otherwise, don’t include it. 
• One important point is to ONLY have ONE PAGE. Include the most relevant information. Focus on the most recent work you are doing. This section may differ if you have more than 7-10 years of experience. Even still, try to get it to a single page.
• Put it into a PDF document instead of leaving it in Word format. Make sure the file name is descriptive and includes your last name. It shows that you put in the extra effort to make it a completed document. Check the application to see if the employer has a preference. 

One thing to consider is resume algorithms

            Employers may use different systems that scan resumes to identify certain things and discard resumes that do not fit into their algorithm. You want to make sure that your resume is going to beat the cut. These algorithms may check things such as whether or not you met the criteria, if you used key words, and so on. Check out this article to discover more on these algorithms: https://www.themuse.com/advice/beat-the-robots-how-to-get-your-resume-past-the-system-into-human-hands.

Usure where to start?

            Pretty much every document writing program has templates for resumes that are FREE. Here’s a list that have a great selection of resume templates:

• Word
• Pages
• Canva
• Google Docs

These templates will also give you great suggestions on what to add to your resume and what colors to include. All you have to do is replace the information in the template and you are good to go. 

When in doubt…

• Check with a peer
• Send it to an experienced person in your network to get feedback
• Trust your gut

When things don’t work out for the best…

            Remember that sometimes you have to work a job outside your field or even one that is a step backward or sideways in the field you are in or to get some experience to improve your resume. Work the job and then work up to the job of your dreams. No matter what happens, keep up the determination. Work and pray hard every day. Be confident. Have faith in yourself. You will do great things!