Writing a good resume can get you the job…or at least will put you on top of the pile.
But professional resume design is a skill not everyone has. No worries though, there is help out there. Here is how to create a resume format that will make your skills stand out. Design is important next to content. The grouping, highlighting and placement of the text can help your resume stand out.
Here is a quick outline of the resume created in Word7.
I have outlined 7 Steps that are important to a resume. Let’s talk a little bit more about them.
Step 1
Your contact information needs to be there, visible at first glance. It should always include your name, address, phone number and email address. In this example, I put placed it like a business card in the header of the document. Your name is big and bold, your title is easy noticeable and all contact information stands out.
Step 2
Your resume should rarely be more than one page. Most HR departments (or whoever is hiring) will appreciate having all of your information presented on one page.
Step 3
The first paragraph should include a brief description of your current qualifications. Talk about your key capabilities and experiences in a few sentences. I set the title (Career Objective) as Small Caps and much bigger than the body text. You can save this style easily as a Quick Style, so you can apply it to the rest of the resume headers.
Step 4
Let’s add the Work Experience or Employment History. I added three simple text boxes and placed them next to each other. List the company`s name and time period of work, then add a quick sentence what you did and if you`d like, name a few key responsibilities in list form.
Step 5
Next step is to add the education. There is no need to list every single school you attended, just keep the most important levels achieved. I added this information with tabs, highlighted the level of education title and gave it a different color. This will make it stand out right away.
Step 6
The last step is to add your skills. I always like to add them in list form with bullets. That keeps them to the point and easily legible. Since you might have a ton of skills, you can tailor this list to fit the needs of the job you are applying for. Make sure you have enough space between the paragraphs.
Step 7
I like to add the contact information again at the bottom, smaller but noticeable. Place it in the footer of your document. I repeated the same color style as for the header.
Now you have a resume that should stand out among the rest. There is a simple formula that you can remember to make a good layout. It is called CRAP, which stands for:
- Contrast
- Repetition
- Alignment
- Proximity
In this specific example, we applied this formula. We have contrast with the color scheme, small caps, bold font, repetition in style elements (and colors), alignment with the information and proximity regarding the text elements.
Lastly, proofread everything until your resume has no mistakes and you should be good to go.
Please remember that you are not locked into one design or layout – and it also helps to adjust a resume according to position offered.
