Write a Great Resume—Tell Your Story

Have you ever read a story that gripped you from page one and made you forget that bedtime had come and gone hours ago? That’s the impact you want your resume to have on prospective employers. So why not employ the same method for writing a great short story to craft an impressive resume and get you noticed by your next employer?

Know Your Audience

Great authors often imagine one person to whom they are writing their story. This technique keeps their story focused and relatable. In the same way, you need to know your audience.

Visit the company’s website to which you are applying. Read their mission statement and glean an understanding of what is important to them.

Notice the description of the qualifications for the job you are seeking. Incorporate these words into your skills list to help your resume -some employers use Applicant Tracking Systems that search for keywords and eliminate unqualified applicants.

Pull in Your Reader Right Away

An attention-grabbing short story jumps into the action as soon as possible, without too much back story or extra details. You can do this with your resume –

1. Start with a well-written summary that highlights your professional strengths and experience. According to Arseny Kaluzhinsky, Resume Genius, a resume summary is preferable to an objective statement for experienced workers.
2. List your skills that are most pertinent to this employer first, and then follow up with additional skills. Your skills summary should include hard, soft, and technical skills.
3. Create your work history with your most recent employment first. There is no need to go back more than fifteen years unless you are demonstrating your depth of experience in a field.

Be Concise

An excellent short story is concise, focusing on one aspect of the main character’s life. In addition to concentrating on the skills that apply to your potential employer, limit personal information to name, website, email, and phone number.

Edit Ruthlessly

A short story is not ready for publishing until edited—and neither is your resume. So don’t skip the final polish.

1. Ensure the formatting is professional and consistent. For example, if you use “March 2015” for one job experience, don’t write “07/2020” for another. Be sure to use a classic, easy-to-read font such as Times New Roman, Helvetica, or Arial.
2. Your name and contact information should be at the top. If your resume is two pages long, put your name on page two.
3. When describing your skills, don’t say “I .”Instead, use strong verbs such as “collaborated with a team of eight to develop…”
4. Edit your outgoing phone message and email address, as well. Preferably, both will include your name. Professionalism is key.
5. After you’ve performed corrective surgery on your creation, set it aside for a day, then come back to it with fresh eyes. Check your grammar and spelling. Then, use a proofreading plug-in to recheck it.
6. Ask a friend with good language arts skills to give it one final going over.

If you’re getting the idea that this stage of the process is vital, you’re right. Don’t let your resume land at the bottom of the stack because of spelling errors!

Send it to the Publisher

It’s an exciting moment for an author when he is finally ready to send his short story to the publisher. You can take pride in submitting a polished resume, as well. It’s a good idea to save your work as a pdf to avoid compatibility issues.

Submit Your Resume to Find a New Job

You’ve got a story to tell! Career Concepts will help you connect with top employers. So, submit your resume and find a great job faster.