Rescue my resume!



A professional job application writer will agree that your resume is crucial to success when you are wanting to land that fantastic position that you have been dreaming of.

Your resume is your initial introduction to your potential new employer. In order for you to be short listed and invited to attend an interview where you can dazzle them with your brilliance for their position, your resume has to grab their attention then convince them you are a top candidate.

When job application writing keep the following points in mind. Some are simple tips and others will take effort on your part but will be worth it in the end.

Customise your resume for each position you apply for. Spending some time to modify and tailor your resume to each position you apply for increases the chances of you being invited for an interview as potential employers will appreciate that you have made the effort to identify how you meet their requirements. Tailor your career objective to match the job advertisement.

Use a professional email address when resume writing. Sexbomb21@hotmail.com may have been cute in your late teens but cute or sexy unprofessional email addresses can mean your resume doesn’t get more than a glance. Its potentially an indication that you are not serious about the position.

Give your resume a full file name. Do not just save your document as resume. Potential employers may receive many documents called resume. Label it with your full name - for example - Resume of Jane Brown. Your cover letter should also have your full name in the file title.

Choose a suitable font. Resume writers suggest the font should be clear and easy to read, no smaller than 10-12 point. Make use of bold font and subheadings throughout your resume so the reader can navigate through your resume easily.

Choose the appropriate type for your resume. A professional resume writer will discuss whether your resume should be chronological, functional or a combination. A chronological resume lists your most recent position first and is by far the most common of resume types used. A functional resume focuses on the skills and experience of the applicant and tends to be used when the applicant is changing fields or has had a large gap in their employment history.

Use key words from the job description/advertisement in your resume. When resume writing using the key words the employer used for skills, abilities and qualities in their advertisement ensures your resume matches what they are seeking and grabs their attention when they are sorting through a large number of applications.

Headings to use when writing about your work experience. A resume writer should list employment history with the most recent position first. Use bullet points. Provide the name of the employer, the position title, the time in the position then headings of responsibilities and achievements. Under responsibilities include approximately 6 responsibilities from this position preferably matching them to the requirements and key words from the job description/advertisement or ensuring they are similar. For achievements in resume writing you write it as ‘In situation …. I did ……which resulted in …….’

Educational Background is written with the highest qualification first. It is not necessary to list subjects and grades for secondary schooling – simply the highest year level achieved, and the year achieved.

Send your resume as a PDF. Submitting your resume as a PDF ensures formatting doesn’t change when it is opened by the employer.

The time spent customising a resume for a job application will pay dividends if it leads to landing the dream job!

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