How To Build The Best Resume

Though you may know how to build a resume, do you know how to build the best resume for the position that you are seeking to get an interview for? Probably not. Few know just how they can build the best resume for their career qualifications, and this is often key to why someone with the same qualifications may get the interview and not you. This said, how do you optimize your resume for success or perhaps, build your best resume from the beginning? Follow the below tips on building the best resume for your career qualifications.

1. Chronological or Functional?: The first thing to consider when building the resume for your career qualifications is to determine which resume style might be best for your particular career experience and skills. A chronological resume format highlights the employment history of a candidate in chronological format from most recent to least. This is the best choice for someone who has had a steady employment history with good positions for long periods of time, and in keeping with the position to which they are applying for. A functional resume format, on the other hand, highlights the achievements and skill sets of the candidate over the employment history. This is the best format for someone who has an inconsistent employment history or one that has gaps in employment-as it focuses less on chronology and more on overall, what achievements and skills have been brought to a career history.

2. Include Career Goal: The best way to let an employer know that you’re interested in the position that you are seeking with their company is to state so and why in your objective. The objective tells an employer what your short and long term goals are, and what experience and skills you will use to get there. So, if you are applying for an accountant position, you would say something like: Seeking a career as a professional Accountant with a successful private sector Accounting firm, that allows me to use my 10 years accounting experience, B.S. in Accounting, and knowledge of financial concepts. This way, the employer knows that you have applied to their position for a reason-that it fits in with your career goals-which makes you more attractive to them, as you will likely work harder, stay longer with the company, and strive to succeed.

3. Be Honest: Though few career advisors speak to this point, it is absolutely imperative that someone seeking a position in a particular field be upfront about their experience and education. Why? While you may be able to exaggerate the fact that you are excellent with numbers or great with people, when you may just be mediocre in either category; you cannot fudge the fact that you know a certain specialized computer program or that you went to Dartmouth College as opposed to Joe’s College. Your potential employers will find out is why. On the job or after a call to the school, your employer will soon find out that you don’t have the background that you said you did-and then you’ll be without a job, and have a blemish on your hiring report.

4. Proofread: Though you may have heard this a thousand times over in regards to the professional resume document, without the proper use of grammar, punctuation, and tenses; your resume will look unprofessional and be passed on by. Moreover, ignoring a simple proofreading check, will make you look lazy and incompetent-even if you have everything else that the candidate is looking for.