How to write a great resume

1.One size does NOT fit all.

• New graduates and experienced professionals will not look the same.

• New graduate resumes will be at the close of this article. Not left out, just figured it wouldn't hurt for you to read all of this too!

2. Highlight Experience

• A resume is a marketing tool, YOU are the product. Use it wisely

• Only relevant experience counts. If you don't have any relevant experience, start with education.

• Don't list every job you ever held. Go with what's significant to this position. Certainly red flags fly at gaps in employment, address those honestly. But you don't have to list the year you were a holiday gift wrapper in college.

3. Format Tips

• Bullets for quick reading. Resumes should tell a story, quickly. Consider your reader to have acute adult attention deficit. Most duties are self explanatory if the job title is standard. If you were a coder, identify inpatient or outpatient. If you were a supervisor, note of what area and number of employees, but not daily tasks.

• Be number specific when you can. If you have quantifiable experience, list it. Example -Increased weekly billing from $500,000 to $1,000,000. You can still use the bullet format, highlighting experience that showcases your specific accomplishments.

• Toot your own horn. This is a multi-skilled field. Do not focus on only one area of your training. Market your training while strategically indicating how the background increases your ability to meet their long term needs.

• Make it POP.

• Well placed verbs can make all the difference. Use words with power behind them: Achieved, produced, implemented, improved, etc.

• If you have more than 2 pages, put your name and credential at the top of every page.

• Don't crowd it. Leave plenty of white space, easy to read.

• Use good quality crisp, white paper. Resumes are frequently scanned into the system, white is simply easier to read.

4. Be honest, 100% of the time

• No exceptions, you will be caught. Integrity is irreplaceable.

• Do not inflate job titles or salaries

• Do not enhance duties

• Do not invent degrees

5. The New Graduate Resume

• Market your strength, list education first

• List only college education, regardless of your prestigious high school, drop it.

• Most Merit-based Scholarships, list for up to one year out of college.

• Most school leadership positions, list for up to one year out of college.

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