How to Make a Resume

When you know how to make a resume, you can expect invitations to more job interviews than you thought possible. A good resume or curriculum vitae does far more than provide a dry, boring listing of your work history and education. It showcases your accomplishments and talents in a way that pops out and grabs the attention of the potential employer or the recruiter.  

Experts estimate that employers or recruiters may spend as little as ten seconds on a resume before deciding to accept it or reject it.  Therefore, knowing how to write a resume that jumps out is crucial to your success. 

Knowing how to make a resume is not as easy as it sounds. Diane Stafford, a career columnist in the Kansas City Star recently wrote, “Resume writing is an art, not a science. Picking out a good resume is like Justice Potter Stewart’s opinion about obscenity: “I know it when I see it.” 

I know how to make a resume that gets job interviews. The resumes I produced for my friends generated more job interviews than those written by professionals. Not only that, I worked in management for five years before becoming self employed. During that time, I was on the other end, reviewing resumes and deciding who to interview. I understand how to make a resume from both perspectives.  

So what’s the secret of how to make a resume that does what you want it to do? There are two secrets to knowing how to make a resume. 

1. Make Your Resume Job Specific 

A good resume showcases the talents and abilities that are specific to the job you are applying for.  Having a “one size fits all” resume isn’t good enough. Knowing how to make a resume means creating a generic version on your computer and then modifying a copy to emphasize your match to each specific employer. Yes, this means extra work, but thanks to word processors, it’s not a daunting task. 

2. Know How to Display Your Accomplishments 

I don’t intend this as a criticism of professional resume writers, but they may not offer the best solution. The drawback is this. A resume writer can only write what you tell them. The better ones are skilled at asking questions, but without an in depth knowledge of your work history, your profession or your industry, they simply can’t ask the questions that need to be answered. They know how to write a resume but they don’t know you. The secret of understanding how to make a resume is to identify your key accomplishments and state them in an appropriate fashion. This is not the time to be modest and humble, although your resume shouldn’t read like a hype-filled sales letter, either. This is also not the time to forget about important achievements that you accomplished throughout work, school or volunteering.

 As I said earlier, I have written resumes for friends. I want to point out that my friends were professionally employed people and therefore one might think they would be able to identify their accomplishments clearly and explain them to the professional resume writers. But no.  

Not one of them could do this!

 That is the reason, and the only reason, why I knew how to make a resume that got better results than the professional resume writers managed. I knew my friends’ work history and knew how to remind them of significant happenings. I knew how to make a resume that made them look as good as they really are. Since I won’t be around to help you, you’ll need to figure this out on your own.

 Plan Ahead:  A Key to Knowing How to Make a Resume 

Ideally, as soon as you have a job, you want to start keeping a file on your achievements. Did you get a good performance review?  Keep a copy. Did you get a letter of thanks from a customer or client? Keep a copy. Did your supervisor complement you on something?  Make a note. Did you implement a system that saved the employer money or made the workflow more efficient? Make a note. You’ll have a file of accomplishments ready and waiting for when you consider how to write a resume. It’s also a good idea to ask a friend to help you remember your work accomplishments. He or she might point out areas that you could expand upon. 

Know How to Display Your Accomplishments 

Understanding how to make a resume means knowing how to describe your accomplishments in the best possible light. 

For example, you didn’t just ‘perform networking activities.”  You “networked with representatives of industry, charitable organizations and three levels of government.” Assuming the above is true, of course. 

You didn’t just ‘answer the telephone.” You worked a six-line switchboard, screening incoming calls in a courteous and professional manner.” 

You didn’t just ‘do fund raising activities”. You “engaged in fund raising activities that increased revenues generated by fundraising by 25%”. 

Do you see the difference it makes when you understand how to make a resume that works for you? 

There are many products available to assist you further in the specifics of how to make a resume.

As a resource, I recommend this site