Resume Writing -How To Write A Convincing Resumé
Table of Contents
Getting a job in the 21st century with all the competitions around has strangely become a Herculean task, compared with the years easy working positions.
These days, landing a dream job has become even tougher; with the population index skyrocketing by the day and technology taking over most of the job openings in organizations, people might soon begin to see getting jobs as an imaginary fiction.
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At this point, getting an employer to consider you for even a shot at being interviewed for a job you probably might end up not getting, requires more than just an excellent university degree. It requires something more and that something more, is a well written convincing resumé.
One that leaves the employer with no options but to dial the numbers on the pages of your resumé and book an interview session- the first step to getting that dream job.
In this article, I’ll be listing five times tested steps to creating that killer resumé that gives you an edge over other job seekers. But just before we delve into the steps, it is necessary I state that the word resumé, originated from Leonardo Davinci.
Yes, the Italian guy with lots of beards, whom you are right now probably imagining him with a paintbrush and a room full of colours, painting the future. And no, a resumé did not begin as one of his famous futuristic paintings.
I mean try to imagine Leonardo Davinci trying to paint something as small and detailed as a resumé. Sounds lame right? Yes! Because it is actually lame, trying to picture that in your mind’s eye. So yea resumés started with Leonardo Davinci but didn’t begin as a painting.
According to Wikipedia, Leonardo Davinci the Italian painter submitted the first-ever resumé as a letter to summarize all his achievements to Ludovico, a potential employer. It would interest you to know that resumé is a French word, translated to mean “Summary”, culled from Leonardo’s first job application summary to Ludovico.
500 years later it became a widely accepted practice to submit resumés as requirements for gaining jobs. Hence we do not err when if we assert that a resumé is a summary of a person’s qualifications and achievements, written for the purpose of securing a job.
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Moving on, the five steps to creating a convincing resumé are:
1. Choose a good style
2. Include only necessary detail
3. Be professional
4. Edit your resumé for errors
5. Seek help where necessary.
¶ CHOOSE A GOOD WRITING STYLE: The importance of choosing a good style for your resumé lies in the fact that your employer gets to know important information about you at first glance. S chronological style is best, arranging necessary information in order of dates.
¶ INCLUDE ONLY NECESSARY DETAILS: of course, you would not want your employer to have an impression of ‘disorganization’ about you just by looking at your resumé.
You can’t be applying for the post of an accountant and add details of all the football championship you won in secondary school with dates. Never include any information that does not speak well of you in your resumé. Include only your best achievements. The ones that put you at an edge over other applicants.
¶ BE PROFESSIONAL: In creating a resumé, be professional in every aspect. Do not use an informal tone and do not break the rules guiding the writing of a resumé. Use standard vocabulary only. Do not create a resumé using vernacular or slangs. It is both ethically wrong and academically unsuitable to do so. A resumé becomes part of your official document in the organization, hence care should be taken to write incorrect English and use proper punctuations.
¶ EDIT YOUR RESUMÉ FOR ERRORS: Even the best professor in writing is not yet free from that virus called error. Hence after your first draft, do not rush to mail your resumé to your potential employer. No no no. That’ll be one hell of a disaster. Take your time to slowly scan through your resumé to check for typographical errors, misspelling, wrong tense placement and punctuation. This convinces your employer of your virtue of carefulness.
¶ SEEK HELP: Never feel too inferior or too superior to seek help with your resumé. Remember you just have one shot at convincing your employer and nothing else. Seek professional help from experienced resumé creators. Read up as much as you can on resumé creation. These experiences might be just what you need to get that dream job.
