Aside from sticking to the one-page rule, there are also several other tips you should considerwhen writing your resume. Avoid cliches, highlight your strongest skills, and do not copy the job description verbatim. Here are some of them. Read on to discover more tips for resume writing. Hopefully, these tips will help you put together a winning resume! Let’s begin! First, be sure to edit your text!

Avoid Cliches

To write a compelling resume, avoid using cliches. These phrases are generally not relevant to the job you are applying for, and they are often subconsciously used by people who are concerned about word count. Avoid cliches by focusing on your accomplishments and quantification of your results. Avoiding cliches is easy when you remember to be aware of your audience and what they are looking for.  

Business cliches are a common sight on candidate resumes. Although they may be a convenient way to say something without thinking, they can be detrimental. You may consider replacing them with more concrete language, such as a specific reader’s name. Be careful not to use words with negative associations, such as ‘detail-oriented’ or ‘people person’.  

Moreover, avoid using ‘detail-oriented’ in your resume, as hiring managers will assume that everyone has this skill.

Limit your Resume Writing to one Page

There are many reasons to keep your resume under one page. Those with few years of experience, recent graduates, and people switching careers may not have enough material to warrant a second page. Adding irrelevant details, outdated information, and creative formatting are all reasons to limit your resume to one page. Whether you’re an experienced executive or a recent college graduate, one page resumes are the most effective option. Avoid including references to awards or extracurricular activities from your high school years.  

Instead, employers are interested in relevant experiences and transferable skills. As a recent college graduate, you may want to restrict the resume to one page, focusing on your relevant work history and transferable skills. Moreover, a one-page resume is a good option if you’re seeking a career change after college.  

You should also include your professional experience in bullet points to emphasize your transferable skills and experiences.

Highlight your Strongest Skills

You have plenty of skills, but how do you best highlight them in your resume? These skills can range from workplace to academic to skills you’ve developed through side projects or volunteering. Think of a job you’ve held and the tasks you’ve been responsible for, and determine which skills are most transferable to the position. Think of things you’ve done every day, or skills you developed that contributed to your success in the past.  

Next, evaluate your past jobs and describe your experience in them. Highlight your skills and talents on a scale of one to five. If they rate lower, you should leave them out of the resume altogether. Remember, practice makes perfect, so make sure you don’t include skills that don’t add value to your application. The key is to highlight your most impressive professional attributes. It’s much better to practice than to preach.

Avoid Copying from Job Description

Many job seekers make the mistake of copying the description from a job listing into their resume. While this may pass the applicant tracking software, it won’t impress the hiring manager. Job descriptions differ greatly, and it’s not surprising that the duties listed can differ from company to company. 

By following these steps, you can maximize the impact of your resume by creating a unique and impressive document that stands out among other candidates.

• When describing your past employers, use language that matches the language of the job description. 
• If the job description is too general, you may look like you’re trying to game the system. Instead, use specific language that shows the hiring manager that you have the experience and skills necessary to excel in the position. For example, if the job description emphasizes leadership, start your bullet points with specific examples of this trait, and tweak your resume by including keywords related to leadership and other characteristics.

Avoid Using More than Two Fonts

If you are writing a resume for a technical position, you may want to avoid using more than two fonts. These types of fonts look clumsy when viewed at small sizes, and they don’t display well on screens either. If you want to avoid this problem, you should opt for a sans-serif typeface, such as Times New Roman or Arial. 

When it comes to fonts, the most professional pairs are those that work together without competing with one another. For example, contrasting typefaces are best for the main content, while using bold for headings. 

The best typefaces to use for resumes are black Times New Roman and Calibri, which are both professional and modern. These fonts are also widely used in Microsoft applications. If you want to use two different fonts for your resume, choose one for the body of text and the other for larger elements.