I’ve been providing resume tips and writing assistance for over ten years. Over the last year, I could not help but notice some common errors that most people make when writing a resume. Today, I am sharing my best resume writing tips for 2023 to help you stand out amongst many applicants in today’s job market.
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Resume Writing Tips for 2023
I’ve organized my resume writing tips for 2023 into a few key sections and considerations. Review each below to see what additions, changes, or corrections you need to make to highlight yourself best to future employers.
Sections for Your Resume
When choosing sections for your resume, do not feel forced to use the traditional resume headings of “education,” “work experience,” and “skills.” Instead, choose sections for your resume that will grab the employer’s attention and best highlight your experience. Consider a projects section for recent graduates and students that allows you to highlight relevant projects you completed during your education. If you are a seasoned professional, consider a “Key Outcomes” or “Professional Achievements” section near the top of your resume that highlights outcomes most relevant and valuable to the employer. I’ll give you more tips below under “Sections to Include.”
As for the top heading or letterhead of your resume, make your name large and legible at the top of the page. Also, include your phone number and your email address (make sure your voicemail greeting and email address are both professional). You no longer need to include your address in the header; however, you may keep it if you want. Ultimately, this is an extra line or two of text that could be better utilized elsewhere if needed.
Resume Length
If you are a college student of traditional age (18-22), keep your resume to one page. Only established professionals with several years of relevant industry experience should consider a two-page resume. If/when your resume does spill onto two pages, don’t expect the information on the second page to get as much attention as the content on page one. The average resume reviewer will spend about 10 seconds scanning your resume before deciding whether or not to move on to the next one or read further. As a result, your most impressive and relevant information about the job you are applying for should come toward the top of the first page.
Sections to Include
At a minimum, you must highlight your education and experience on your resume. Beyond these two sections, information on a resume will vary from person to person. Again, one of my best resume writing tips for 2023 is determining what information will be the most valuable and relevant to the employer’s needs. How you answer that question should determine what other sections you include on your resume. For example, if I am entering the medical field and specific certifications are required, such as a nursing license, First-Aid Training, and CPR Certification, I would consider a section titled “Medical Certifications & Licenses” to catch the eye of employers.
Education/Training Section
This section is very important for young professionals and students as it is sometimes the most relevant information about their career field. Another one of my biggest resume tips: do not include high school information on your resume! This takes up valuable space, and enrollment in a college, university, or vocational school/training usually requires the completion of a high school diploma. Information you should include here is the name of the institution at which you are studying, your major or program of study, anticipated graduation date, your GPA (if it is above a 3.0), and any academic honors, such as Dean’s List, that demonstrate your level of commitment to your education and your work ethic.
Your experience is more impressive and relevant to future employers if you are a more established professional. After about 3-5 years of industry experience, most employers consider education less crucial and on-the-job experience much more valuable. As a result, my resume tips for established professionals typically include spending less time and energy on education and using more space on the resume to emphasize experience.
Experience Section
This is the section most people tend to struggle with the most. Make it easy on yourself and print a job description first! If you print the job posting and highlight all the skills, qualifications, and duties you possess or have performed, your resume will be tailored to the employer and will make writing your resume easy!
After you have determined the skills/job duties you meet, list your jobs, volunteer experience, and any internship experience on your resume in reverse chronological order. The most recent go at the top of the list! Include the position title, name of the company, and the months and years of employment (i.e., Lifeguard, Central City YMCA, May 2018 – Present). Then, begin writing a bulleted list of duties with the items you identified from the job description first! Finally, fill in additional bullet points for each job by choosing duties or skills relevant to the job you are applying for. If you don’t have three to five items for each job, think of instances you went above and beyond at that job and write your remaining list items based on that information.
After getting your bulleted lists for each job on paper, go back and look closely. Your bulleted lists should:
- Be written in short phrases.
- Begin with an action word.
- Provide tangible evidence of a skill or quality.
- Be concise and clear rather than ambiguous and general.
Here is an example of a well-written block of text for the experience section of a resume.
Lifeguard, Central City YMCA
Centerville, GA (May 2020 – Present)
- Provide CPR, first-aid, and other medical assistance to patrons
- Promote healthy lifestyles, diet, and exercise during individual swim instruction
- Train and mentor new lifeguards in company protocol and safety procedures
- Perform daily checks of the pool chemical and first-aid equipment to ensure safety
Optional Resume Components
As mentioned above, additional sections on a resume should be determined individually. One might choose to include a “Certifications & Licenses” section, “Professional Development,” “Community & Campus Involvement,” or, perhaps even more common, “Skills.” The key here is to make sure what you are including serves a purpose and isn’t put there to use space.
If a “Skills” section is chosen, be specific. Remember, anyone can write “leadership skills” on a resume. What employers are interested in is HOW you have demonstrated those skills. Providing information about a leadership position is much more impressive and relevant than simply stating that you have leadership skills.
Objective
Consider including an objective on your resume if you are attending a job or career fair and will be handing out multiple copies. An objective is a statement that provides a clear professional goal and offers something compelling to keep a potential employer reading. When applying for specific positions, I recommend skipping the objective and writing an impressive cover letter. Either way, an objective is optional but can be very effective when well-written!
References
Listing references on a resume should only occur when a young student has difficulty filling a one-page resume with other, more valuable information. References are typically contacted AFTER the interview process. It takes time and effort to track down references, and employers are unlikely to put forth this effort until they are serious about making an employment offer. It is a shame when students remove valuable and impressive experience or involvement from a resume to make space for references.
Final Resume Writing Tips for 2023
These resume tips will ensure your resume is off to a great start! It is always best to have a second (or even third) set of eyes reviewing your document. We often don’t catch our errors or awkward wording when we proofread our work. Other people can ask questions and help us be more transparent and specific with our resume content.
Are you interested in professional help? Send your resume to me, and I’ll provide a list of revisions and examples to help you strengthen your professional resume! Get expert eyes on your resume to ensure you get the interview!
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