Everybody knows a great resume is essential—but not everybody knows how to write one.
A good resume is a significant part of any job seeker’s interviewing and selection process. Despite this, many job seekers seem to ignore the fact that their resume is the single most critical factor in determining if they will be considered for a particular position.
Writing a great resume can be the difference between getting and not getting the job you want. But, writing a great resume isn’t easy. There are different skills required for writing a resume than for writing an ordinary letter. You do not have to learn how to “write a book” to write a great resume. This simple-yet-powerful guide will teach you how to craft an impressive resume that will make a recruiter, hiring manager, or human resources professional take notice.
Here are seven proven tips for making your resume more appealing to a potential employer:
Apply to different jobs with different resumes
Your resume must be tailored to each position that you wish to apply for if you wish to stand out from the crowd. Resume experts say it’s better to “customize your resume for each position you are applying for” instead of trying to create one big masterpiece that will wow every employer. This advice makes sense because the way you format your resume will probably be different for each company, as will the order of the bullets you use to describe your skillset.
The first thing you should do is read the job posting very carefully. Look for words or phrases that are important to the employer, such as expertise in software applications, working with clients, system engineering knowledge, or any other unique selling proposition (USP) that you possess.
Include a Personal Statement instead of an Objective Statement.
In today’s world, the employer doesn’t need to know what you want—they need to understand why you want it. So, to begin the process of convincing them that you are indeed passionately in tune with their company’s needs, write a personal statement instead of a plain ol’ Objective Statement.
A personal statement is a brief explanation of your life and accomplishments that prospective employers can use to see what makes you stand out from your competitors. It should be a 30-sec elevator pitch that explains who you are and what you are looking for. Explain to a potential employer what you excel at, what you are most passionate about, and how you can contribute to the company.
When writing a personal statement, the first thing you need to do is briefly tell your story. What you want to do is give an overview of your profession. Tell what you have done in such a way that shows what you are best at. What you enjoy doing and what you are skilled at. What you have accomplished.
Include Keywords
Keywords play a significant role in determining how well a candidate meets the specific requirements of the job. Many companies use some screening process to identify suitable candidates. Use the keywords from the job description throughout your resume to prove you are fit for the job.
Include the common keywords, terminology, and key phrases that appear frequently in the job descriptions of your target role in your resume (assuming you possess those skills). You will get past the first stage of screening to reach the recruiter or hiring manager.
Provide company description
Recruiters benefit from knowing the size of the company where they worked previously.
As with most other components of a resume, the company description should be tailored to the professional’s objectives.
Well, if it’s a big company, that’s good. It means that you worked for a large, successful company. However, if it’s a small company, that’s not so good. In that case, it might mean that you worked for a struggling company or maybe even a company that went bankrupt. No matter what, you should always try to put your best foot forward when you are doing a company description. Don’t lie about the size of the company you worked for. Don’t try to make it seem like you worked for a larger company than you actually did. That will haunt you in the future. An employer reading your resume will be able to determine whether you were truthful in describing your previous employers.
List of achievements in two to five bullet points.
The list should be short and sweet. If you can condense your list of achievements down to two or three bullets, do so. When it comes to bullet points, longer is not better. In fact, studies show that a list of more than seven benefits tends to decrease the perceived value of a marketing message.
It’s imperative to make it as simple as possible for recruiters to see why you are a great candidate. They receive so many resumes at a time. Blocks of text that are too dense are difficult to read.
Under each position or experience you have held, explain what you contributed to or supported. While you build up your knowledge, keep your bullets for bragging rights.
Quantify your experience by adding measurable results
Quantifying your experience is another one of those “tricks” many experienced professionals overlook when trying to describe their achievements. However, it is the easiest way to instantly make your accomplishments more understandable and believable to a hiring manager. By the way, did you know people can sense when you are “padding” your résumé? They can tell right away if your description of your skills and accomplishments is inflated or not. Don’t be a phony. Make your actions genuine and honest. Be direct and transparent about what you did and how you did it.
A good rule is to use the “result BY action” sentence structure whenever possible.
Make your resume ATS bot readable.
ATS bots are currently reading resumes at a rate of about 2,000 per second. That means they will read everything you upload to the ATS in about three to five seconds. Therefore, the first impression a recruiter or human reader gets when looking at your resume is hugely important. If it’s a good one, you’ll likely get read and considered for an interview. If it’s a bad one, you may never see the light of day. So, what should you include in your resume to make it ATS bot readable? Here are some things to think about:
The ATS bots do not have human intelligence. They want to see clear, concise information. You are more likely to get read if you provide more information. But, do not put too much info on your resume. A simple sentence or two will be sufficient to let the reader know what you are all about most of the time. Put your best foot forward. Provide a clear, concise summary of your most relevant experience. If you are applying for a job as an Engineer, don’t tell them everything you did as an Engineer. Instead, tell them what kind of programming you did and focus on the essential aspects to the employer. If possible, use everyday language. If not, use plain English. Use a simple word instead of one that sounds fancy.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the secret to getting a job is not necessarily to “sell” yourself; it’s to stand out from the crowd. A strong resume shows that you are detail-oriented and organized. It highlights your ability to complete projects on time and under budget. It reveals that you have excellent attention to minor points, such as spelling and formatting. Make your resume more attractive to a potential employer by making it easy for him to find you. Make each section short and sweet, and be sure that all formatting is consistent. Use bold, italics, and underline only when needed. Also, make sure that it is easy to read. Easy-to-read resumes get viewed and downloaded dozens, even hundreds of times longer than hard-to-read resumes.
Download my free Resume-in-Print template and start writing your best self-promotion yet.
Feel like there’s something missing sometimes? Do you feel as though there’s a void that is impossible to fill? Journaling may be the answer to this. When we write, it forces us to think more deeply about our thoughts and feelings. It also helps us gain perspective on ourselves and those around us. And when we reflect upon what happened today, journaling can help with our mental clarity by keeping track of all the events in our lives daily. Let’s examine the benefits of keeping a daily journal-
1. What is journaling, and how does it help you in your life?
Journaling is the act of writing about your thoughts and feelings – it can be done in any form, including on paper or a computer. It helps us gain perspective by thinking more deeply about what we are thinking and how we feel. It also helps with mental clarity because we can keep track of all the events in our lives daily.
In addition, journaling is a form of self-expression and creativity that has been proven to reduce stress levels by releasing tension from your body. Finally, it’s an excellent way to improve your writing skills as well as learn life lessons.
Having journaled for a couple of months now, I can’t express how beneficial it has been to me. It’s like my therapist on paper because they seem to have more clarity and meaning when I write down my thoughts than if I just think them. And the best part is that it’s literally free! The cost of a notebook is all that you need to spend.
2. Why should I start journaling? What are the benefits?
You should start journaling because it has many benefits. This form of self-expression and creativity soothes the soul and can reduce stress levels by releasing tension. Besides improving writing skills, it also enhances mental clarity. It is an excellent way to learn life lessons while improving your confidence in expressing yourself through the written word.
I think the more you write, the better it will be for your mental state. One of my favourite things about journaling is that I can make a list to help me with groceries or what needs to get done around the house in one easy place – and when I look back on these lists later, they are beneficial! It’s like having a personal assistant who is telling me what I need to do.
Journaling also forces you to think more deeply about your thoughts and feelings – which can be challenging at times. You’ll also learn how to see things from other people’s perspectives because when we write in our journals, we’re forced to take a step back and look at the events that happened from a third-person point of view.
Journaling has also proven beneficial for my mental state because it keeps me grounded in reality, which I sometimes struggle with. When we write, there’s no judgment on what comes out and can’t be changed once you’ve written.
3. How to get started with a daily habit of writing in a journal?
There are many ways to get started with a daily habit of writing in a journal. You can start small by committing to just 15 minutes for the first week and slowly increase it as you go on. Alternatively, if you feel more motivated during the day than others, set your alarm clock accordingly or use an online timer so that when time is up, you have to stop.
The best way is to write in the morning when you are fresh and most awake. This way, you’ll be more likely to write more and make a positive habit of it! This is called morning page writing – it’s a widespread technique in the creative arts.
It doesn’t matter how you journal: just write! You might find some days you have more time than others, so don’t force yourself into writing for an hour if you only feel like doing 15 minutes. Journaling should be as easy and fulfilling for you as possible.
4. Steps for finding a notebook or journal that works best for you
There are many tools available online. If you like to type on the computer or prefer to type on your phone, there are apps.
One of the most popular is 750words.com, which offers a free journal to try for one week before you have to pay (though it’s worth it).
There are also several physical notebooks and journals that are available. If you like to colour-code your thoughts, some planners and journals work for people who identify as ADHD or need a notebook with more than one page.
5. Topics to write about – examples and ideas on topics to include.
Daily events or occurrences in your life (they can be happy, sad, funny).
A reflection on a book, movie, or TV series you recently watched.
A reflection on a topic that’s been worrying your mind in the last few days (e.g. relationships, finances).
A list of your favourite things that make you happy (e.g. a playlist, a movie, a book, a place in nature).
A list of your least favourite things that make you angry (e.g. how long it takes to get places, the amount of work you have to do).
A list of your favourite things about yourself (e.g. my hair, my sense of humour, how well I take care of myself).
A list of things you’re grateful for in your life (e.g. friends, family, a disability).
And there is no limit to adding to the list.
6. Tips when getting started with daily habits of writing in a journal
Keep your journal in a place that is easily accessible (e.g. next to your bed, inside your bag) so it’s easier to start a habit.
Start small and make your journaling time short for the first week so you can build up to writing for more extended periods.
Make sure to break up your writing with some light reading or do something else that takes your mind off what you’re writing.
Remember that there is no right or wrong way to journal: just write! You might find some days you have more time than others, so don’t force yourself into writing for an hour if you only feel like doing 15 minutes.
Keep your journal as a private space just for you.
If you’re a creative person, try using the morning pages technique to get started with writing in your journal every day: write three pages of writing in the morning, no matter what.
Conclusion
If you’re feeling a little lost in the world, we’ve got just the thing to help. Journaling is an activity that can really benefit our lives and mental health by helping us reach more clarity about ourselves and what’s going on around us. Even if it sounds like something only people with plenty of time for themselves do, journaling doesn’t have to take up a lot of your time – you might just want to write down a few sentences before you get out of bed each morning. So do not wait. Just pick up a journal or notebook and get started today.
Cultivate a sense of curiosity, develop lifelong learning, gather information from reading and from people, reach out to idea-bearers, keep an open mind.
D – Diversity
Tune in to different wavelengths, see analogies, create diverse workforces, avoid herds, cultivate ‘weak’ ties also, bridge different disciplines
E – Exercise
Intellectual calisthenics: prowl in stores, reflect and record, refine a culture of deliberate observation, develop prototypes, build ideas out of bits and pieces
A – Agile
Create a flow of ideas, rub ideas together, create and move between idea spaces and terrains, let ideas percolate, prioritise and defer some ideas, hang out with freaks!
If you have a passion for changing your life forever, then listening to these five experts – Dr. Joe Dispenza, David Goggins, Marc Allen, Tom Chi, and Nassim Haramein – will help you realize new ways of thinking about the world, your place in the world, and how you can make optimistic changes in your life (and the wider world, as well.)
Some people are dismissive of so-called “self-help” experts. They think that motivational speakers and self-help gurus base their ideas on whatever will appeal to people desperate to change their lives, promising ‘easy fixes’ that don’t really work. However, these five experts have backgrounds in advanced science, extraordinary achievements in the business world, and even world-record breaking athletic achievements to back up what they say. They ‘walk the talk,’ so to speak.
Wouldn’t you be interested in learning how to innovate from a successful inventor? Or how to overcome challenges from a world champion endurance athlete? How about learning about making positive changes in your mindset from an actual neuroscientist, or learning how to attract success into your life from a self-made multi-millionaire? Do you think a physicist might have something to teach you about harnessing the different energies in the universe to help you achieve your goals? If so, read on, and discover five great minds that can help you change your life.
DR. JOE DISPENZA – A NEUROSCIENTIST AND EXPERT IN EPIGENETICS WHO BELIEVES YOUR THOUGHTS CAN CHANGE YOUR REALITY
Dr. Joe Dispenza is a chiropractic doctor who is also a lecturer, author, and educator. If you want positive changes in your life, you need to listen to Dr. Joe Dispenza because his advice comes from a strong scientific background – he uses principles from neuroscience and developments in epigenetics to advise people on how to change their lives for the better.
Dr. Dispenza believes strongly that every person has the potential for greatness and unlimited abilities. He believes people can rewire their brains and condition their bodies to make lasting positive changes in their life.
Dr. Dispenza teaches:
People with illnesses can heal their bodies without drugs or surgery, through thought alone
Meditation grows your brain so that you have more of the raw materials in your brain that you need to create, invent, dream, learn, remember, and improve your mind and awareness.
Repeating thoughts always lead to the same choices. Recurrent choices always lead to the same behaviors. Repetitious behaviors create similar experiences, and the same experiences create the same emotions – and those emotions create the very same thoughts.
It is all about how you think, how you act, and resulted in feelings to make your personality, and personal reality is the end product from your personality.
In order to create a new, better life, you have to become aware of your self-limiting thoughts and change them.
You will be predictable in your life if you are not passionate about the vision of the future, which is more significant than you.
To change is to think greater than the realities of your life. It requires a vision of something that is not yet ‘real’ but is alive in your mind.
When you first make changes, it can be uncomfortable, but that is a good sign that you are moving past the same old predictable thoughts and behaviors.
DAVID GOGGINS – A RETIRED NAVY SEAL WHO USES HIS EXPERIENCE AS AN ENDURANCE ATHLETE TO TEACH ABOUT PERSEVERANCE, NEVER GIVING UP AND RUNNING YOUR OWN RACE
David Goggins is a retired U.S. Navy SEAL. He is the only veteran who has completed SEAL training, the U.S. Army Ranger School and Air Force Tactical Air Controller training. He is best-known for his achievements as an endurance athlete, competing in ultra-marathons and ultra-triathlons, and also once held the Guinness World Record for pull-ups. If you want to change your life, you need to listen to David Goggins because he has valuable advice about overcoming obstacles, getting in the right mindset for success, and not just surviving, but thriving even when things are though.
Goggins’ advice is all about how to achieve your personal bests by pushing yourself well past your comfort zone. For him, physical and mental suffering are not setbacks but assets on your journey of self-discovery, helping you feel more clear, focused, and alive.
Goggins teaches:
It’s always your responsibility to fix your problems, even if someone else caused them. For example, if you’ve been bullied or abused, it’s your responsibility to move past this and stop acting like a victim.
You can’t achieve anything until you believe it’s possible. You need to get rid of defeatist attitudes what will stop you from succeeding in your own goals before you even try.
You always need to find energy and strength to stay in the fight, no matter how challenging things are, because ‘giving up’ is just another term for ‘failing.’ You can never fail if you simply never give up.
You need to be prepared for everything that might happen to you – every obstacle you might find in your way – to have the mindset you need to conquer life’s biggest challenges.
Stop comparing yourself to others and despairing – your life is yours alone, and you are always running your own race. Focus on personal bests, not being the best.
MARC ALLEN – A SELF-MADE MILLIONAIRE WHO BELIEVES YOU CAN BECOME ONE TOO THROUGH THE POWER OF POSITIVE THINKING
Marc Allen is a renowned author, composer, and speaker. On his thirtieth birthday, Marc co-founded New World Library and has grown the business to become a successful multi-millionaire. If you want to change your life, you need to listen to Marc Allen because he understands the principles of the ‘law of attraction,’ which teaches us that in order to reach our goals, we first need to believe that we will have what we want and banish negative or discouraging thoughts.
Allen believes everyone can achieve the same success he has if they just believe in themselves. He believes that every thought we have – good or bad – is creative, and our reality is determined by whether we let the bad thoughts dominate the good things.
Allen teaches:
Every thought we have is a powerful creative force. This means that affirmations, prayers, declarations, ‘the law of attraction,’ positive thinking, creative visualization, and self-actualization are real methods to create change.
The only thing that can stop us from achieving our dreams is our fears and doubts. This is because these negative thoughts are also creative forces, and if we let them, they will override our positive thoughts.
As soon as we focus on our dreams as much (or more) as we think about our fears and doubts, a process begins that helps us realize those dreams. Thinking about our dreams is the first step in this process.
Because our thoughts and beliefs are so powerful, it is essential to be aware of our thoughts and beliefs at all times – and if we need to, either let them go or change them into more powerful, positive beliefs.
TOM CHI – A FORMER ASTROPHYSICIST AND TECH ‘GENIUS’ WHO IS NOW WORKING TO HELP SOLVE ‘PEOPLE PROBLEMS’ AND INSPIRE CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION
Tom Chi is a former astrophysicist who helped to invent software, including Microsoft Outlook and hardware including self-driving cars and Google Glass. That experience led him to see that there was a lot more to the world than just creating expensive technology products, so he began working on social entrepreneurship projects to benefit impoverished people using the same methods he has used in the tech world – working rapidly, inventing new technologies – and found that they worked. If you want to change your life, you need to listen to Tom Chi because his ideas about keeping your mind open will help you become more receptive to new possibilities and new opportunities.
Chi focuses on strategies for being creative and inventive and encouraging the flow of new ideas, emphasizing the importance of keeping your mind open and being willing to accept solutions that work even if you don’t fully understand why they work. He believes that everything is connected – and not in an abstract, esoteric way, but in a very concrete, realistic way.
Chi teaches:
Knowing is the enemy of learning. Knowing makes learning something new impossible, because you are not open to new data or new possibilities when you think you ‘know’ the answer.
When we work in the real world (or ‘use reality as our medium’), our ability to understand things and create solutions is so much greater. We need to do before we think, not think before we do. Doing is the best kind of thinking.
You don’t need to know how things work, as long as you can see that they do work.
You can maximize your rate of learning with a difficult project by maximizing the time you use to try new ideas. This model also works for getting funding for new businesses and doing social work in developing communities – the faster you move, the better the results.
Thinking too much – or having endless planning meetings/sessions before you actually start doing something – will only slow down the process of making real progress and solving your biggest problems.
Even the small things you can create today might become the big things that future generations will continue.
It’s worth thinking that maybe the meaning of our lives may be beyond our understanding.
NASSIM HARAMEIN – A SELF-TAUGHT PHYSICIST WHO DEFIES CONVENTIONAL THINKING TO SEARCH FOR BETTER ANSWERS
Nassim Haramein is a physicist who saw a problem with conventional theories of physics – there were explanations for big phenomena (like gravity and black holes) as well as smaller phenomena (like communication between atoms in individual cells) but not enough connecting the ‘big ideas’ and ‘small ideas.’ If you are passionate about improving your life, you should listen to Nassim Haramein because he has developed a unified theory of space and energy – including phenomena both big and small – in what he calls ‘our connected universe.’
When you see the universe as connected, you understand that what you do has power, and matters in not just human history, but the history of the universe. Many mainstream physicists do not accept Haramein’s theories, but remember, many groundbreaking scientists – from Galileo to Einstein – didn’t receive a lot of recognition in their lifetimes, and some of the most influential scientists experienced a severe backlash. Haramein is a good role model because this lukewarm reception from other physicists hasn’t stopped him from further developing and refining his theories.
Haramein teaches:
‘Empty space’ does not exist anywhere in the universe.
Sometimes, significant breakthroughs will be resisted by people who are wedded to old, outdated ideas. This is not a reason to become discouraged and stop trying to make important breakthroughs.
Time does not exist without memory. Time and psychology are connected – memory is what produced the concept of time. The main ingredient of time, or memory, is space. Our memories leave a trail of information in space.
If memory is inherent to humans, it is inherent to the universe – which means that advanced societies could exist elsewhere in space.
There is no longer a separation between spirituality and technology. Spiritual concepts are usually precursors to understanding science and material reality.
If you think of yourself as an astronaut exploring your own mind, you will begin to understand yourself better and better. There is great value in becoming an ‘inner space’ explorer and discovering (and transgressing) the boundaries of your inner self to find fundamental truths that will help you understand the rest of the world.
If you’ve always thought self-improvement or self-help is ‘pie-in-the-sky thinking’ for people who would fall for anything that makes them feel better about themselves, these five thinkers will help you see that it is actually firmly grounded in the real world.
Dr. Joe Dispenza, David Goggins, Marc Allen, Tom Chi, and Nassim Haramein are all educated people who are masters in their respective fields, from science to entrepreneurship to succeeding as an elite athlete.
These incredible thinkers have found ways to relate complicated concepts in easy to understand ways to help you change your life for the better, by being aware of the power of your thoughts, understanding your place in the universe, and recognizing your ability to effect change.
Consider the possibilities;
what if you can heal illness not with drugs and surgery, but through thought alone? What if you don’t have to feel like a victim forever, but can take charge of your own destiny? What if the only thing preventing you from achieving success is your fear, something you can conquer? What if you don’t need to know or understand everything to make real breakthroughs that will not just improve your life, but can help others around you? What if everything in the universe really is connected, so what you think and do becomes part of the organization of the universe? What could you achieve then?
It may be that not every thinker on this list makes resonates with you, and that’s okay. However, just opening your mind to new possibilities is enough to inspire greater learning and understanding, so it’s worth giving each of these thinkers a chance. You have nothing to lose – and everything to gain as you work to improve your life and make your life matter.
