Need resume help? We’ve got you covered.
A resume, sometimes called a “CV”, showcases your skills, experience, and achievements, giving potential employers a first impression of who you are and what you bring to the table. It’s also your chance to highlight your strengths and make a lasting impact that sets you apart from other candidates.
Before starting any job search, it’s essential that you build your resume correctly. Make sure:
- It’s up-to-date.
- All spelling/grammar is correct.
- Your information flows nicely and is formatted for easy understanding.
With that in mind, let’s dive into the key details you should include in your resume:
1. Contact Information: Essential Details for Your Resume
This may be the most obvious tip, but do you know what kind of contact information you need and where to put them?
Your contact information is essential when writing your resume. This info should be displayed at the very top of the document, and should include:
- Your full name.
- Your professional email address. This should be something simple and without nicknames. Usually, it should be some form of your first and last name (something like [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected]) while avoiding numbers and punctuation marks – too many of these in an email address may flag it as “junk mail.” If you have a common name, use underscores or periods, like [email protected] or [email protected].
- One phone number, preferably your mobile number.
While the previous information is essential, the following information is very useful but optional:
- The URL to your LinkedIn profile.
- A link to your portfolio.
However, the following information is not needed on your resume:
- Do not include your home address.
- Avoid using more than one email and phone number.
- Never use unprofessional contact methods, such as emails with nicknames, numbers, or punctuation like [email protected] or [email protected].
2. Educational Experience: Highlighting Your Academic Background
The next section of your resume should list your educational accomplishments, starting with your most recent or highest degree/diploma.
Include:
- The name and location of the institution you attended.
- The duration of your education.
- The name of your degree/diploma.
- Your field of study.
If you have little work experience, you may want to consider adding your GPA. However, as your industry know-how grows, your GPA loses its relevance. Factors like promotions and your level of responsibility tell recruiters more about you.
3. Accomplishments and Achievements: Showcasing Your Successes
Highlight past accomplishments relevant to the position you’re applying for to show how your skills meet the company’s needs.
Employers want to see examples of:
- How you contributed to your department, team, or company.
- Specific projects you led or supported that had a positive impact.
- Skills or knowledge you gained that align with the job’s requirements.
- Awards, recognitions, or promotions you earned due to your contributions.
- Times when you exceeded goals or went beyond job expectations.
4. Keywords from the Job Posting: Tailoring Your Resume for Success
Including keywords and phrases from the job posting in your professional resume can make a strong impact. While you shouldn’t copy everything directly, find ways to naturally incorporate key terms.
Two good tips you should follow are:
- Use similar adjectives (a word that describes you) from the posting to describe your achievements and past experience. For instance, if the job post is, “Looking for an organized individual…”, make sure you mention your organizational skills and how they helped in your previous role.
- Make sure to use industry-specific words from the job description into your credentials. If the job description mentions things like “SEO optimization“, include how you used SEO optimization in your last job, like, “Led SEO optimization efforts to improve website ranking and drive traffic.”
This approach is especially useful if the employer uses a resume-scanning system, as it increases your chances of standing out instantly.
5. Special Programs or Courses: Relevant Training to Enhance Your Profile
Including special programs or courses when building your resume can really help you stand out to employers. These additional qualifications show that you are dedicated to enhancing your skills and knowledge in your field. Consider adding programs you completed like:
Finding the right training program can help you gain the skills needed for your dream job.
As the largest career college in Canada with 50 campuses across the country, Academy of Learning Career College attributes the growth in our success to identifying the gap between the formal education available and the realities of the working world. We fulfill the needs of learners by developing customized programs for each student, while meeting the requirements for convenient and effective training at an affordable cost. Browse our program list and find the best program that suits your needs!