Whether you are looking for a job or want to do freelancing, you need to have a resume to show your skills to the recruiters. Here I have shared some tips on writing a killer resume that make you stand out among your peers.
What is a Resume?
Let us start this guide by knowing what a resume is?
A resume is the written portfolio (or document) of your education, work experience, and accomplishments.
Most people confuse between a resume & a CV. A CV (or Curriculum Vitae) on the other hand is a written overview of a person’s experience and other qualifications for a job.
For most of the jobs in western & Asian countries, a resume is preferred. Here are the 7 things that can make your resume more professional.
1. Your Name & Job Title
You should use your name in Bold letters at the top of your resume. Also, include your job title as a subheading just below your name.
- Make sure that your name & job title is at the top of the resume.
- Do not use the prefix “Name: Jacqueline Thompson” as it is an old style of writing & make your resume looks boring.
2. Your Profile Image
You can add feelings to your resume by adding an image of yours. Adding an image to your resume makes it look more professional & well designed.
The best place for adding a profile image is on the top left. However, you can use one in the middle or right also.
- Make sure, you add a smiling or energetic image to your resume.
- Use an image in which you are well dressed.
3. Personal Profile
A personal profile is the opening statement of your resume. Here you have to write about yourself. It is a short paragraph where you have to write, what kind of person you are.
You can outline your personal characteristics, attributes & qualities you have. Make sure it is convincing. A perfect example of the same is as:
4. Contact Information
Contact information is your personal information by which someone reaches you. It includes residential address, email address, phone number or your social profiles.
Contact information in your resume can help employers to reach you. If you have a LinkedIn profile, then you should include its username in it.
It should be the second thing after your personal profile.
5. Educational Qualifications
Next, to contact information, you can include your educational qualifications. Here you have to add brief information about your degrees & certificates along with the name of College or university.
Adding educational qualifications to your resume can help you impress the employers. You can also add your online course details so as to increase your chances of selection.
Pro Tip: Add your highest degree (e.g. post graduation) first in the row.
6. Skills
Skills are your natural talent and the ability to do a job. Each degree holder isn’t really skilled. The skill accomplishes the objective and not the degree. This is why skills are so important.
You should include only those skills that are related to the job you are applying for. Adding your skills into the resume can help the employer to find out whether you are suitable for the job or not.
7. Work Experience
If you previously have been working for a firm, company or a small business, then you should include it in your resume.
The benefit of adding your previous work experience into the resume is that it provides detailed information about your employment history.
Corporations always try to look for experienced individuals, so that they don’t have to train them enough. In this way more is your work experience, greater is the chances of your selection.
Don’t worry if you have no prior experience. You can also include internships & extracurricular activities into your resume.
These are the 7 killer resume tips that can help you stand out in front of your competitors (peers). Now let us know how to create an appealing resume for free.
I personally use Canva as a free resume maker to make a resume for my clients. It comes with hundreds of free & premium resume templates.
All you have to do is to create your free Canva account & start designing. Let’s see how I create appealing resumes with Canva.
4 Steps to Create a Killer Resume
Step 1: Visit Canva & Create your free account. (Note: Canva is not compatible with Android browsers, so you need a PC for this job. However, you can use their Android app.)
Step 2: After you sign up, log in to your account & you will be redirected to your dashboard which looks similar to above image.
Step 3: Search for Resume to find out beautiful templates out there. Once you find one just click on that & then change the personal information (Name, Job Title, Personal profile, Skills, work experience, etc.) on the template.
Step 4: After adding all your personal details to your resume, just click on the download button at the top right corner & download it as a pdf.
This is how you can create a free resume for your next job. I hope you like this little guide on creating a resume with Canva.
Video Guide on Canva!
Keep reading! I have something more to tell you.
What’s more professional than a print resume?
Have you ever thought of what’s more professional than having a resume? Well, I know the answer. It’s a digital portfolio.
Today, when most of us use a resume for getting the job, some of the multi-talented folks use digital portfolios, which help them raise their standing among their peers.
A digital portfolio is nothing but a one-page website that is designed in the same way as a resume is. The best thing about digital portfolios is that here you can showcase your work experiences & projects.
For creating your own digital portfolio you can hire a freelancer on Fiverr. If you have a few web designing skills, then you can save your good money by creating it yourself.
Final Words
In this post, I have shared all my knowledge on how to create an appealing and killer resume. I hope you like these tips on writing a killer resume.
You can appreciate my efforts by sharing it with your needy friends. Have questions, suggestions for improvement on this blog post? Let me know in the comment section.
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- Top 5 Ways to Make Money Online (for College Students)