If you don’t know, ask – if you know, share! ~ opensource mindset
by Marco Bravo
Present yourself in the best light to potential employers by following these essentials.
The short paragraph at the top of your resume should be clean and concise, have a clear purpose, and avoid excessive use of adjectives and adverbs.
Numbers, numbers, numbers. Hard facts help you convey your point.
With technology playing such a huge role in the hiring process, it is extremely important to make sure your resume gets flagged for the right positions—but do not oversell yourself on your resume. If you mention agile skills but do not know what kanban is, think twice. If you mention that you are skilled in Java but haven’t used it in five years, beware. If there are languages and frameworks you are familiar with but not necessarily current in, create a different category or divide your experience into “proficient in” and “familiar with.”
Be sure that anything you have published or patented is included, even if it is not relevant to the job.
Do not include expired certifications unless you are trying to re-enter a field you have left, such as if you were a people manager and are now looking to get back into hands-on programming. If you have certifications that are no longer relevant to the field, do not include them since it can be distracting and unappealing. Leverage your LinkedIn profile to add more color to your resume, as most people will read your resume and your LinkedIn profile before they interview you.
Ask others to proofread your resume. So often, I have seen misspelled words in a resume or mistaken uses of words like their, they’re, and there. These are avoidable and fixable errors that will create a negative impression. Ideally, your resume will be in active tense, but if that makes you uncomfortable, write it in past tense—the most important thing is to maintain a consistent tense throughout. Improper spelling and grammar will convey that you either do not really care about the job you are applying for or do not have the level of attention to detail necessary for the job.
Ensuring your resume looks up-to-date and appealing is an easy way to make a good first impression.
Update regularly
Updating your resume regularly will minimize your stress if you’re asked to (or want to) apply for a job, and it will help you create and maintain a more accurate version of yourself. When working on your resume, be forward-thinking and be sure to ask at least three other people to review it for content, spelling, and grammar. Even if you are recruited by or referred to a company, your interviewers may know you only by your resume, so ensure that it creates a positive first impression of you.
tags: curriculum - cv - technical - resume