Without the right content, your resume may get lost in the pile of other job seekers. To stand out and wow the hiring manager, you’ll need to include quality information in your resume to make a lasting impression.
Writing a great resume that’s short and sweet and includes everything you’ll need to get the job is no easy task. You’ll need more than just your contact info and job history to grab the recruiters’ attention. Short, sweet, and to the point is best for a resume as recruiters skim quickly over resumes, so if it’s too long or hard to follow, you’ll likely get skipped.
Here we’ll go over the best ideas for what to put on a resume to catch the hiring manager’s attention.
What To Put on a Resume
1. Contact Information
The top of your resume should have your name, phone number, and email address. You can include your mailing address if you want, but that personal information is optional. You could also include a link to your LinkedIn profile. You’ll want a professional-looking email address rather than a silly or cute one.
2. Summary
A resume summary or career objective section on a resume is a place to tell the recruiter exactly why you’re interested in the position you’re applying for. Include some of your qualifications and skills that are related to the job description in your summary statement.
Avoid the basic “I’m looking for a company I can learn and grow with.” Really dig in deep to have a clear reason why you want that position and what training or skills you have that make you a great fit.
3. Job History
Your job history is a section that recruiters pay attention to. They want to see what experience you have that would make you qualified for the open position. They pay little attention to the day-to-day duties such as answering phones or data entry.
You’ll want to include any accomplishments, problems you solved, processes you implemented, or how you saved the company money. Provide any facts or figures you have related to the accomplishments you achieved and how the company benefited. These are the things that will grab the recruiters’ attention in the resume work experience section.
Your job history should get listed in reverse-chronological order, with your current position listed first. Include no more than six to eight bullet points describing your responsibilities in each position – any more than that, it’s likely to get skipped over if there’s a stack of resumes to review.
4. Internships
If you have a limited work history or an impressive internship history, it’s good to put it on your resume. You can leave out that the position was unpaid as the hiring manager doesn’t need to know that. They just need to know the experience you gained.
5. Education
Your education section should get listed in reverse-chronological order, just like your work history. Your most recent degree goes first. If you don’t have higher education, you can list your high school here. You can include your GPA, but you don’t have to.
Include a brief description of what you studied, any achievements, honors, or scholarships you received while in school.
6. Attention-Grabbing Skills
Recruiters pay close attention to the resume skills section, so when you’re thinking up what to put on a resume, focus on this part. This is not the time to fabricate your skills. Be honest about the skills you have that would make you a great fit for the role you’re applying for. Look at the job description to see what it entails and what skills you have that fit the role.
Employers want to see hard skills on a resume rather than a lot of soft skills. You can include more of your soft skills in your cover letter and in an interview.
7. Hobbies and Interests (Optional)
Unless you’re applying for an executive or doctorate position, you can put your hobbies and interests on a resume as a way to showcase your personality and who you really are. Many companies today understand the importance of company culture and want to hire skilled candidates who are qualified for the position and fit in with their culture.
8. Community Involvement (Optional)
You can put things you are involved within your community, places you do volunteer work for, or anything that will add to your experience or show your passion and dedication on a resume. Providing this information helps a recruiter see if you will fit in with their company culture.
9. Job Description Keywords
You’ll want to look at the job description and pull out keywords to put on your resume. These keywords are what a recruiter is looking for in a good fit for a position. Including the job description keywords on a resume grabs their attention and piques their interest in you.
It will take some time to customize your resume slightly for each job you apply for, but you will land more interviews, so it’s well worth the time.
What Not To Put on a Resume
1. Your role as a parent – Yes, parenting is hard work and a challenging position, but it’s best not to put it on a resume.
2. Your marital status – Marital status is your business and not a deciding factor for landing a job, so it shouldn’t be put on a resume.
3. Your birthday – It’s illegal to ask for someone’s age on a job application, so it’s best not to put it on a resume.
4. Your graduation year – The recruiter only needs to know what degrees you received, not when you got them. Including a graduation year can give indicators of your age, so it shouldn’t be put on a resume.
5. Your religion – Your religious beliefs are your business, so they shouldn’t be put on a resume.
6. Irrelevant jobs – Unless you need to fill gaps in employment, not every position you apply for needs to know about the six months you worked at the burger joint.
7. Spelling and grammatical errors – Spelling and grammatical errors will get a recruiter to pass your resume quickly, so double-check that everything is on point.
8. Too much fluff – Resumes should be short, sweet, and to the point. Irrelevant info will likely not be read as you have a very short time to grab the recruiters’ attention.
9. Too many pages – A resume should be one page for most people. Some higher-level professionals with extensive education and experience history need to include more qualifications and may need more than two or three pages.
10. More soft than hard skills – While including some soft skills on a resume is good, focus on hard skills as that’s what recruiters want to see. Save some of your soft skills for your cover letter and interview, and focus on your more concrete top skills.
Top Hard Skills To Put on a Resume
Each industry has its list of hard skills required for a position, but some are in-demand for many positions. Here’s a list of the top hard skills recruiters look for on a resume:
1. Computer software proficiency – Almost every position today requires a basic working knowledge of computers and software. If you have advanced expertise in certain technical areas, put it on your resume, as tech proficiency is sought after in many positions.
2. Graphic design – Almost every company at some point has a need for graphic design. Even if you’re applying for a position that doesn’t require any design work, it’s still beneficial to put this technical skill on a resume as it’s a bonus to the company if they hire you.
3. Bilingual – Being bilingual is an excellent hard skill to put on a resume as it separates you from competing candidates. Even if the position you’re applying for doesn’t have to do with customer service skills, a recruiter may favor your resume with your ability to speak more than one foreign language.
4. Marketing expertise – Even if you’re not applying for a marketing position, it’s still an added benefit to a company to have an extra marketing expert on staff, so it’s best to put it on your resume.
Top Soft Skills To Put on a Resume
While there shouldn’t be a long list of soft skills on your resume, you should put ones that directly relate to the position you’re applying for. Here’s a list of some soft skills to consider putting on your resume:
1. Flexibility
2. Problem-solving skills
3. Verbal and written communication skills
4. Creativity and critical thinking
5. Teamwork
6. Responsibility
In Closing
What to put on a functional resume depends on your experience, skills, and the position you’re applying for. It’s best to tailor your resume to fit each position, including keywords from the job description. It’s best to focus on the skills and experience that will benefit the company in the role they’re looking to fill. When you’re called in for that interview, be sure you spend time preparing, so you land the position of your dreams.
Sources:
Soft Skills | SD Department of Education
How to Get More Involved With Your Community | US Chamber
9 Things Prove Being Bilingual Can Benefit Your Career | The Language Doctors