What is required on a resume (and what is not)

Use your resume to highlight traits that demonstrate your dependability as a worker, your suitability for the position, and your aptitude. Are you unsure about what is required on a resume? When it comes to headlines and keywords, this article has you covered. Learn what information to add to your resume and what employers are looking for.

The 12 items on the list below should be on your resume.

Identification and contact information

Your name, which appears at the top of the page and is often written in a larger font, is the first item on your resume. Just below your name, include your location and contact details (phone and email).

Considering that recruiters commonly use it to discover candidates for opportunities, we advise mentioning at least your city and state (or province). 

Your LinkedIn profile’s URL

Along with your other contact information, you should include the URL to your LinkedIn page. If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, we strongly suggest building one. Even though it’s not required, creating a LinkedIn profile will help your job search in a number of ways.

A resume’s heading

Your resume headline, which is displayed directly beneath your name and above your resume summary, gives a brief overview of your qualifications. It has the ability to grab a hiring manager’s attention while stating who you are and what you can offer in plain terms.

Your resume‘s heading should: 

• Match the job description
• Include the job description‘s keywords
• Include details and concrete language
• Be brief
• Make a visual statement on the page

A resume summary statement

Your resume summary is a great place to provide recruiters a quick introduction to you. Make an impression by treating your headline and summary statement as the one thing a recruiter will read if they only have time to read one item.

You might think of your resume’s summary as an elevator pitch. Give a brief overview of your educational history, areas of specialisation, and most impressive accomplishments.

It’s important to keep in mind that a resume summary statement might not be the best choice for your resume if you don’t have a long work history or relevant experience.

Your education

For many job seekers with a few years of work experience, the name of the institution, the dates of attendance, the major, and the degree are adequate.

Work Experience

List your employment history in reverse chronological order, beginning with your most recent position.

For each position, include the following:

• Your position title, 
• the workplace, and 
• the start and end dates

Below each employment, list your relevant accomplishments and tasks.

Your Skills

Your work experience is one of the most important sections of your resume. Try to include any hard skills that are included in the job description. You can include a skills section in the header, summary, work experience, and specialised skills sections of your resume.

Awards, certifications, and commendations

A section of a resume devoted to awards, accolades, and certificates might make sense for prospective hopefuls with exceptional accomplishments. If you have few or no relevant honours and qualifications, you should consider including them in your job experience and abilities sections.

Volunteering and after-school pursuits

Job searchers, especially those who are students or have little or no work experience, might benefit much from volunteering. Include your vast and pertinent volunteer experience in the Work Experience section of your resume. If not, feel free to add a section on your volunteer experience.

If you can connect your extracurricular activities to the position, they might be a terrific addition to your resume. Leave out your hobbies if you can’t find a way to tie them into your work. Your candidacy could be harmed by irrelevant extracurricular activities.

Keywords

The hard talents listed in the job description are typically used as resume keywords. Many recruiters utilise keyword searches within applicant tracking systems (ATS) to sort and rank applications, however some recruiters do not. As a result, it’s essential to adapt your CV to the requirements of the post.

Measurable Results

It is far more effective when you include metrics in your contact with a hiring manager or recruiter. Did you contribute to the increase in sales? Include details and percentages. Give a percentage of approval or any other relevant data. Recruiters value specifics that show your value and ability to evaluate performance.

Verbs of Action

With action words, the verbs that advance your sentences and capture your reader’s attention, you may instantly make your resume more interesting. Action verbs include the following:

• Advocated
• Mentored
• Negotiated
• Engineered
• Transformed
• Spearheaded

What is not required on a resume

Now let’s talk about what is not required on a resume.

Writing a CV is an exercise in succinctness because we must summarise our entire lives in less than two pages. 

Typos & mistakes

Although it should go without saying, this is one of the most crucial errors to avoid. It might be very easy to have your resume rejected if it contains flaws. Here are a few pieces of advice.

• Read your resume out loud after printing it.
• Ask a friend to review it. Any errors will be discovered by new eyes.
• Check your dates twice.
• Ensure that your formatting is uniform.

Pictures

Pictures on resumes are debatable according to several job search experts, but for now we think it’s better to avoid using them. This is why.

• Photo compatibility with applicant tracking systems varies.
• In the spotlight on your resume are your headshots.
• In order to shield their business from accusations of discrimination, some hiring managers will automatically reject any candidates who include photographs on their resumes.
• Despite not increasing your chances of getting seen by a recruiter, pictures on resumes may eliminate you from consideration due to the aforementioned concerns about prejudice.

Objective Proclamation

“Interested in acquiring a project management position where I can provide leadership and oversee large-scale programmes,” can be the objective statement on a resume. Why targets were so popular not too long ago is a little puzzling.

The effectiveness of a resume summary statement is now well known. Unlike objective statements, which communicate what the company can give you, summary statements communicate what you can give the company.

References

You don’t need to list your references on your resume because most employers only ask for them at the interview stage. The phrase “Reference available upon request” can also be dropped. It’s a given to recruiters that you have references. Save more priceless information for this premium space.

Irrelevant expertise and experience

A strong CV is tailored to the position you’re applying for. However, eliminating years of pointless experience could leave holes in your employment history. Finding ways to relate your experience to the job thus becomes the key. If you have the necessary hard skills and keywords, it will be best.

An unofficial email address

Keep it businesslike. Your first and last name should be in any order. There is also some evidence that older email addresses like Hotmail can give the impression to employers that you are less tech adept or even support age discrimination unintentionally.

Untruths

78% of job seekers acknowledged lying on their resumes, according to a study, yet 66% of hiring managers claimed they didn’t care. If your resume now contains, ahem, lies, that might provide you some consolation, but we suggest you look closely and ask yourself if you’re willing to be discovered lying. Because many businesses closely investigate new workers, telling a fib could cost you the job.