There are few guarantees in the job market. You might be riding high today but anything can and does happen, and you might only be a few months away from being in-between jobs for one reason or another.
Fortunately, we are all capable of making our own luck even when we’re out hunting for a job. One of the best ways to create this luck is — you guessed it — to write a winning resume. While we can’t guarantee following these tips will land you your next job, it will definitely put you leagues ahead of everyone else in the Philippine job market.
Here are 11 job-winning resume tips that will help shorten your hunt.
1.) Understand the difference between a CV and a resume
It’s true that in the Philippines a CV (curriculum vitae) is taken to mean the same thing as a resume. When an employer asks for a CV, what they are looking for in most cases is a resume, and that’s what you should give them. A CV should contain all of your employment, educational, and sometimes personal highlights, sometimes starting from school but usually from when you first join the workforce. A resume, while containing the same kind of info as a CV, should be specific to a job opening and only contain experience and skills related to the job.
This means a CV can sometimes be quite long, while a resume can ideally fit on one or two pages. More on this point later.
2.) Keep your CV updated even when you’re not job-hunting
A CV can serve as your reference for the resume that you’re sending to a prospective employer. By the time you’ve spent a few years in the workforce, you will have doubtless undergone different types of training and had a whole host of experiences.
Not all of these experiences and knowledge will be useful for your next job, but you’ll never know when they might come in handy. This makes it important to update your CV yearly or every time a major professional milestone comes up. This will make it far easier to remember relevant experiences so that they could be used on your resume.
3.) Craft your resume to match the job you’re aiming for
Don’t send employers a CV unless it’s clear that a CV is what they’re looking for, and not a resume. Otherwise, send them a resume that only contains only the experiences that are important for your new job. For example, if you’re already experienced in your chosen field and are interested in a mid-level position, there’s no need to include your undergraduate or high school experiences nor unrelated jobs you might have had. This will maximize the chances your employer will better understand your core competencies.
4.) Consider using better quality paper
This is perhaps one of the least important things on this list. But it’s worth mentioning because the paper you use has the potential to create a positive impression. If nothing else, it can set your resume apart from everyone else who isn’t as detail-oriented.
5.) Keep your introduction short and sweet
Very few employers spend much time on the introduction, especially if they have a big stack of resumes to read. Keep it simple and based around your objectives.
6.) Avoid jargon specific to your previous job
Your new employer may use different jargon altogether, even if you do work in the same industry. You might also find that it’s an HR manager who has no background in the company’s line of business that has first dibs on your resume, which means jargon can hurt your chances. This means you should keep things as clear as possible and use layman’s terms and restrict the use of technical jargon to the appropriate situations.
7.) Use a reverse chronological order
Virtually every HR or hiring manager will appreciate it if the most recent experiences and achievements are on the top of your resume. We would strongly advise against using any other layout unless there is a compelling reason.
8.) Keep your resume short
Even CEO’s who’ve had decades of experience can keep their resumes to just a page or two, so there’s no reason you should be sending something longer than that. Stick to the highlights and avoid including inconsequential items like religion, photos, blood type, height, weight, and other personal info. These are not only irrelevant but they may unintentionally prejudice your chances as well.
9.) Consider including volunteer work and club membership when relevant
Companies today are far more interested in what their employees do on their off-time, as this can give insights to other skills that they may have. Indeed, some types of volunteer work offer experiences and skills training far more valuable than one can expect to get at many front-line jobs. Management skills, independence, and creative thinking, for example, are actively cultivated in many clubs and volunteer organizations.
10.) Use easy-to-read fonts
Use easy-to-read non-serifed fonts such as Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Gill Sans, Futura and similar if you want to play it safe. These fonts tend to be considered modern and engaging and they tend to be more pleasant to read compared to stylized fonts or traditional-looking fonts such as Times New Roman.
11.) Proofread everything!
Good grammar and spelling isn’t everything, but if you mess these things up on your resume, you run the risk of rejection all the same. Have a friend with copywriting or HR experience go through your resume before you send it, and use apps like Grammarly to find every error you might miss.
Be sure to follow these tips to maximize your chances of winning over your next employer. Good luck writing your next resume, and check out Mynimo for the best jobs in Cebu and other parts of the Philippines.
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