This guide will give you some tips and ideas that recruiters have accumulated over many years of recruiting and evaluating resumes.
As a general rule, the following requirements apply to resume writing:
- a clear, logical and consistent structure;
- blocks separated from each other;
- a unified visual style;
- compliance with the requirements of the job;
- small size.
Choosing the Format and Appearance
The appearance of the application form is just as important as its content. Of course, if you are the only applicant for a job in the last few years, appearance does not matter: you are likely to be hired anyway. However, the reality is that recruiters receive at least 5-7 applications for one vacancy. And up to 50% of them do not meet the requirements of employers, sent "at random".
This leads to the fact that HR unconsciously ignore the undrafted questionnaires, where all the achievements are written in plain text, and where you can not find the necessary information. Although today's requirements to resume writing are constantly increasing, they are based on one simple idea: the time the recruiter spends with your application depends on whether you help him find the information he needs.
Font size and options
If you don't want your formatting to get lost, or the font you've chosen to replace the standard Arial, make your resume in pdf. The most readable font size: 10 to 12 points. A larger font size (14 points) is acceptable only for headings and block titles.
Choose a font typical for business correspondence: raleway, proxima nova, roboto, helvetica. Take the choice seriously: If you choose Lucinda Handwriting, the employer may think your mom wrote your resume.
Don't use more than one font - use your chosen font for your resume for your cover letter as well. This will give your documents a consistent business style.
Margins and spacing
The optimal size for margins and headers is 2.5 cm on each side. Separate lines of text with single or one-and-a-half line spacing. Use double spacing between headings and text. Use bold or capital letters for headings.
If the text is less or more than a full page, try scaling or changing the font size, reducing the margins, or adding line spacing. This is done for the reader's convenience. Yes, and an essay longer than two pages simply will not be read.
Photos and graphics
Companies don't take well to the lack of a photo. It is recommended that the photo should be without a background, in a passport format, and without unnecessary objects in the frame. On the other hand there is no need to decorate your resume with pictures or graphics. Unless, of course, you are a designer, photographer or other creative job.
If this is the case, it is recommended to make your resume an infographic.
Currently, on some Internet sites you can find ready-made resume templates, which are easy enough to fill. However, experienced recruiters know how to distinguish the self-written resume, on which the author worked hard, thinking and polishing each word, and summary, drawn from the template. Therefore, it is advisable to turn to a resume writer online near me.