4 Top Secrets of Entry-Level Resume Writing

4 Top Secrets of Entry-Level Resume Writing Before writing your resume you’ll no doubt go online to research a few writing  tips, and end up reading article after article giving advice on what and what not to  put: “do not exceed two pages in length, begin with most recent work history,  highlight your key career achievements in a separate section…” This is all great advice, however as an Entry-Level applicant,  chances are you have limited experience and the first obstacle you face is finding  enough useful information to fill one page. As an experienced CPRW (certified professional resume writer) over the years  I’ve met with thousands of stressed young job seekers, most of which were battling  through the process of writing their first resume in pursuit of a decent job, following  their college graduation. In nearly all these cases, the same four rules helped them  overcome common issues faced by nearly all entry-level job-seekers, quickly putting  them on the fast track to career success. Here’s my top four tips on how to write an  inspiring entry-level resume. 1. Expound your Education: Entry-level resumes often look bare. Most college graduates worry about this  and go to great lengths to fill their resume using complicated formatting tricks and  oversized text fonts. These are not the solution however, and only serve to highlight  your problem. What is important is that you demonstrate your knowledge and ability in the  industry you’re applying for. To help beef up your resume you want to focus on your  education, expounding the specific classes you took that illustrate your knowledge  and expertise relevant to the job and industry you’re applying to, that indicates  you’re a good choice for interview. Always research the company you’re applying to and the specific demands of the  job at hand. Reflect on what classes you sat that taught you relevant knowledge, and  then highlight these under your education section. Job: Junior analyst at Barney Rubble Business Consultancy firm (a major US/Asian conglomerate) Degree: Major in Business administration, minor in Chinese language. Relevant classes to highlight: Business  language in Chinese, oral proficiency, etc. A dull education section briefly summarizing the school you attended and your  major, suddenly transforms into an engaging exposition of your key areas of  expertise, actively marketing your unique knowledge. The additional content will  also help make your resume look more complete. 2. Give Yourself A Professional Title: Branding is a major aspect of job searching. You’re trying to create your own  brand idea â€" one that portrays you as a professional with valuable  expertise and knowledge. Even if you’ve only just graduated, you can still identify  yourself as an expert, and you are! Take into account the field of work you want to  apply for, your major, and build your resume around that.  Top resumes always include a title at the start of the document, usually  incorporated alongside the person’s name. For example: Susan Williams | Administrative Assistant Or Charles Escobar Senior Accounts Executive Sales Manager If you graduated with a major in accountancy and finance then give yourself the  title Accountant and Financial Specialist. If you’re looking for work in,  for example operations management, then title yourself an Operations  Manager. In this case, it would be a good idea to revise your college books  including anything you studied about operations management, but this will certainly  separate yourself from other entry-level applicants and help build confidence that  you’re the right choice. 3. Swap your Career Objective for a Professional  Summary: This is a double-edged sword. First, by removing your career objective and  replacing it with a professional summary section, you’ll help build your personal  brand. A summary section helps portray you as a professional, a specialist, and an  expert. By writing a lengthier summary section you are saying: “I am a  qualified expert in industry X and I have skill and knowledge to offer you”. Additionally, nowadays most resume experts consider a career objective to be a  waste of space on your resume. In theory, the purpose of a career objective is to  show that your interests align with those of the company you’re applying to and that  your goal is to work for them thus benefitting their organization. But this is already  demonstrated, by the mere fact that you’re applying in the first place. This  ultimately renders you’re your career objective redundant â€" redundancy is a big  no-no on a resume! By following my advice, you won’t only be removing  a redundant section from your resume, but you’ll be replacing it with something far  more effective. How to write a Professional Profile A professional profile is a short introductory paragraph that highlights your key  strengths, skills, and areas of expertise. It should be no more than 3â€"4 sentences  long. You want to create an impactful paragraph that markets your unique skill set  it is your 30-second elevator pitch. The purpose of this paragraph is that (as is often the case) if the hiring manager  only reads your resume for a few seconds, they will instantly be impressed.  Incorporate three key selling points: your degree and major, any relevant  experience you have, any key skills you have developed. Make sure you outline your  ambition to perform within the given industry. Include any achievements, use  industry buzz words central to you’re the job being advertised, and use inspiring,  active language. Keep it concise, cut unnecessary language usage; consider it your  â€œheadline”. 4. Only Include Credible Professional Experience: I’ve worked with students, college grads and young professionals that have been  told to incorporate any and all professional experience they have on their resume,  even the baby-sitting jobs they did during high school. They were told to extract the  key skills from these jobs and apply these in their new resume this is wrong. When considering what’s best to put on your resume, think logically. What will  most impress a recruiting manager? Someone telling them that their baby-sitter job  each Saturday night taught them cash handling skills? That their understanding of  logistics is based on delivering papers aged 13? This is more likely to reflect badly  on you, in my honest opinion. Most college students have held a part-time job, worked an internship, or have  been involved in volunteer work. When writing your professional experience section, focus on this type of experience, and develop a structured exposition of the  necessary skills you developed. A professional experience section featuring one well  presented work experience will be far more effective than a lengthy section  detailing lots of minor, far-fetched stories loosely linking teenage gardening chores  to entry level accounting! What if I have no proper experience? If you don’t have any professional experience, then its time to go and get some.  Go to your library, local community center, or contact a career advisor at your  school and ask about volunteer work programs. Consider what industry you are  targeting career-wise, and then look for volunteer programs that will provide  relevant experience. You’ll be able to start in no time, and you’ll only need to do a  few hours a week to gain something that will substantially impact your resume.  What’s more, you’ll be learning real life skills that will become highly valuable once  you get your foot in the door somewhere to begin your career! Finding a job fresh out of college isn’t always easy, it takes perseverance,  confidence and even a bit of luck. There are many factors that will affect your  chances with each application you make â€" the once factor you have control over is  your resume. Make sure you’re doing everything you can to turn the odds in your  favor. Good luck! Author: Howard Davies is a Certified Professional Resume Writer and career coach at www.resumewriterdirect.com, a US leader in  online resume and career services.