How to: Write A Winning Resume

Your resume and cover letter represent you when you are not in the room and they are your first impressions. And those first impressions need to convey professionalism and highlight your skills. This post will discuss the difference between a resume and cover letter and provide tips on how to make your resume stronger.

Difference Between Resumes and Cover Letters

There are two ingredients to a job application: the resume and the cover letter. And yes, you NEED to have both AND tailor each to every job application. Your resume will get you through the door, whereas your cover letter will get you a seat at the interview table. Fundamentally, the two are designed for different purposes. Therefore, your cover letter should not be the exact same as your resume.

Considering the hiring managers and HR types are often looking for ways to dwindle down the applicant pool, make sure you understand how to make your resume stand out by implementing the tips in the next section. For now, here is a summary of the fundamental difference between resumes and cover letters.

Your resume should do the following:

• Be high level and enticing

• Highlight your skills

• Showcase your achievements

Your cover letter should do the following:

• Be specific and have details

• Demonstrate HOW you achieved results

• Detail HOW you put your skills to use

TIP: real estate matters! Hiring managers typically look at the first page, with the top half of the first page getting the most attention. If you fold your resume’s first page in half, that is where you should highlight your strongest skills or greatest achievements.

TIP: Even if the job application does not require a cover letter, writing your cover letter is your job interview prep. It will force you to focus on writing one or two examples in concise detail. If you have trouble with interviews, this is a great tool to practice and become better.

How to Write a Stronger Resume

Now that you understand why resumes are important and how they differ from cover letters, how exactly do you write a stronger resume? Here is how:

• Action Verbs - action verbs such as, “create, develop, produce, increase” do a better job of describing what you have accomplished.

  • Weak Example: Worked on marketing plans for Product A.

  • Strong Example: Developed marketing plans from ideation to execution for Product A.

• Quantify It - adding specific numbers stays with a reader longer.

  • Weak Example: Developed marketing plans for Product A.

  • Strong Example: Developed 3 marketing plans for Product A, from ideation to execution.

• Be Specific With Results - identify exactly how much of an impact you had through numbers.

  • Weak Example: Developed 3 marketing plans for Product A, from ideation to execution.

  • Strong Example: Developed 3 marketing plans for Product A, from ideation to execution. Resulted in 50% increase in sales.

• Tense - for your current role use the present tense. For past roles, use past tense.

  • Present Tense Example: Managing team of three staff.

  • Past Tense Example: Managed team of three staff.

• Use the Job Posting - use the job ad to pick out the exact skills they are looking for. Use those exact verbs and verbiage when sharing your skills and accomplishments.

• Share the Right Amount - your resume should only have pertinent job experience and skills. Keeping things concise and short is the balance you are aiming for.

• Learning and Development - ensure you have a learning and development section in your resume where you can identify how you are keeping current in your industry. Are you taking courses? Volunteering? Partaking in a fellowship program? All of these are ways to learn and develop your skills which you should definitely be highlighting

• Grammar - your grammar and spelling must be correct! It does not look professional when a resume is rife with language errors.

  • TIP: If grammar and spelling are not your strong suit, get someone to proofread for you.

Your resume is the most important document you will send for any job. It has to reflect your best self. Resume writing is an art requiring a knack for words and understanding of business and people. I have an MA in English Literature and an undergrad in Business - a mix hard to find! If you’re looking to create a winning resume, let’s connect!

And remember … do your best and have fun!