Formatting is great, but if you want to write the best resume, you have to go back to the basics. It's CONTENT that you need, not the next fancy fonts and styles!
Imagine your resume in parts that make up a whole rather than one static document: you have Content – Action Words – Format. Kind of like cooking, which requires Ingredients – Spice and Fire – Presentation. You need to start with the right ingredients (content) then add spices and heat (action words) to cook the meal, then you put the meal on a dish to serve (format).
When cooking up your resume, ingredients are your main components (qualifications), spices and heat are how you dress the ingredients up (accomplishments and descriptions), and the serving dish is your presentation (resume builder).
The FORMAT is like the SERVING dish: if you start with the wrong ingredients, the best serving dish and spices are not going to make it better. If while making chicken parmesan, you forget the chicken, your dinner guests are going to be confused and, perhaps, a bit unhappy. If you are applying for a job and forget to include the education or experience that it needs, the recruiter isn’t going to call you… so, you have to make sure you start by including the right information (main ingredients)… CONTENT!
Writing the best resume is not about how the resume looks, but what it says to an employer. That’s why we always stress CONTENT. Content refers specifically to the knowledge, skills, and abilities you have outlined in the resume. If you read actual job descriptions, you know that almost every jobs has a list of qualifications (main ingredients) that they are looking for. If the chicken is missing, the serving dish and spices are not going to improve the meal, right?
4
ASK the Expert
Have Questions? email us:
By Amy Rossi
Question: I've been told I should use a resume builder to develop my resume. I've also seen a lot of templates online. How can I write the best resume?