It can be daunting to know where to begin because you haven’t updated your resume in a long time. What sorts of activities and accomplishments do you have in your resume for the work you’re interested in? What are the latest resume writing rules and patterns that you should be following? And, seriously, one or two pages?
- Ditch the objective statement
The only reason an objective section makes sense is if you’re thinking about making a major career change and need to explain why your experience doesn’t immediately match the position you’re applying for. What will you do for the rest of your time? Consider if a summary statement is suitable for you, or leave it blank to save space and focus on the rest of your resume.
- Keep it in reverse chronological format
There are a few different ways to structure the details on your resume, such as using a functional resume or a hybrid resume, but the best choice is to use a reverse chronological resume (with the most recent experience listed first). If it’s not absolutely appropriate in your case, skip the skills-based resume—hiring managers may wonder what you’re hiding.
- Stick to a single a page
The two- (or more!) page resume is a contentious subject, but the bottom line is that you want the details on this page to be as succinct as possible, and limiting it to one page is a fair way to do so. If you can fill more than one page of your resume with appropriate and useful experience, training, and credentials, go for it.What if you could say the same thing in a fraction of the time? Please do so. If you’re having trouble, look into any content-cutting techniques or talk to a Resume Creator about how to organise your resume so that you can cram more material into less space.