Start Back At One: New Year, New Resume

Resumes are a way to see to get a glimpse into the potential of a candidate. Too often candidates struggle to create a resume that is intriguing enough for a hiring manager or recruiter to want to look further. Research shows that average person reviews a resume for seven seconds. Every second matters and that means every element of your resume is just as important.

VBA Group Resume Template

Putting towards efforts toward your resume design is key in a competitive job market. Before you pay for a consultation with a resume expert or purchase a template begin with your career summary.

Career Summary

For years, we work so hard that we often lose track of all of the moments where we have had impact or worked with others. Whether it be the professional development conference you attended with a co-worker or a new system implemented for your team, all of these accomplishments and experiences are important for someone to know about your experience.

Whether working on your resume or working with someone else the details are key. Your job is not to describe that you have done the tasks that they are outlining. Your resume will immediately show them that through titles, years of experience, and/or education. The resume highlights your impact and why you are the best “[title]". This can be a bulleted list as you just want to brain dump all of the highlights.

For those re-entering the job market or looking to join a new field, this document is key to also assessing your abilities and interests based on where you saw passion lie in your previous roles. Sometimes we have the transferrable skills for roles even if we don’t realize the connection. This also helps build your own understanding of what is expected in roles you are applying for.

If you are looking to engage with someone to revise your resume, you can stop here! Feel free to connect with us here!

If you are going to use a resume template, this is the perfect time to now organize this content based on title and in chronological order! We are just getting started so again, don't focus on grammar, spelling, or details. Just organization!

Congratulations! The fact that you have a document of all of your accomplishments is a reason to clap! What a reflection of the bada** you are!

Review this, let it help drive some new roles you discover! The more information you can collect about where you want to be, the easier the revision process will be.

HOW TO WRITE A CAREER SUMMARY

Create a document that lists the summary of your professional life and career and the month and years of the experiences. This includes professional organizations/clubs, volunteer experiences, and entrepreneurial experiences. 

• High School and/or College-Aged Students:

• Volunteer Experiences

• Extracurricular Activities

• Part-Time Jobs

• Internships 

• List all the highlights for each role and any recognitions, accomplishments, or impact you had while in the role.

• Examples: Created new inventory system, launched a new customer feedback system, achieved 2.3x the sales goals, etc.