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There’s no getting around the fact that researchers aren’t always great at being concise. It’s easy to get used to academic writing style. In particular, writing like you have a captive audience you know are interested in all of the details of your work. However, when applying for a research position you can’t make that assumption.

Sure, there’s a good chance an expert will give your resume a look-through at some point, but your main audience is not likely to be an expert in your field. You need to carefully consider who that audience will be and ensure your resume is written for them.

Before you start worrying, this guide is designed to help you do just that. We’ll be pulling experience from researchers and professional resume writers to ensure you can balance both for the perfect researcher resume.

What this guide will show you:

• How to analyze researcher resume examples for inspiration
• What you need to know about ATS
• How to appeal to recruiters
• The best formatting rules to follow
• How to list your education more effectively
• What will make your achievements stand out
• The best qualifications to include
• How and why to begin with an objective or summary
• The best hard and soft skills to add
• How to target your resume for a specific position
• How to use a resume builder to get better results

Research resume template examples

Imagine writing a research proposal without ever having seen one. It’s anxiety provoking just thinking about it. But why then do so many researchers simply throw all of their information on a resume and start submitting it without studying what their resume could and should look like first?

To get better results, you need to take creating your resume seriously. That requires beginning by taking inspiration (and notes) on top quality researcher resume examples. Have a look at the samples we’ve provided below and note what you like and don’t like about them. Those notes can then serve as a starting point for your own resume. Also be sure to evaluate them from the perspective of someone looking to hire them and not as a fellow researcher.

[Examples]

How to write a researcher resume that will get your phone ringing

 For many researchers, submitting proposals and resumes for positions can get fairly routine. You may occasionally update your resume and tailor things for a specific position, but you’re likely doing it often enough that you’ve stopped thinking hard about the details.

Time to change that.

By writing a resume that clearly considers the person reading it and gets all the critical details right you’ll be increasing your chance of landing the research position you really want. Trust us, it’s worth the extra time and effort. But where should you start?

What you need to know about ATS

ATS stands for Applicant Tracking Systems. These are tools created by dozens of different companies which allow recruiters to sort through huge numbers of resumes at scale using artificial intelligence. While these systems are less likely to be used for researcher resumes, if you’re applying at a large company for, say a pharmaceutical research position, there’s a decent chance your resume will encounter one.

Unless you’re very familiar with how the organization you’re looking to work for hires researchers, you need to be ready for ATS. After all, most companies already use it and that number is only increasing. But what does being ATS ready entail? We’ve boiled it down to these three key points:

1. Only submit your resume as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file. Anything else won’t be able to be easily read by an ATS and will almost certainly get rejected.
2. Use a resume builder to ensure your file is ATS-friendly. Sadly, not all of these files are created equal, the way the data is structured within the file has an enormous impact on whether an ATS can easily read it. But don’t worry, no need to get too technical, just be sure you use a resume builder which has been designed to produce ATS-optimized files.
3. Get smart with how you use keywords. Remember, ATS are smart but not that smart. They’re given a set of keywords, skills, experience, etc. to look for on your resume. If you’ve phrased your skills differently, the ATS might not realize what you mean. That’s why it’s critical to use the description of the researcher position as a guide for which keywords to include and how to phrase them. This maximizes the chance an ATS gives your resume the go-ahead to move on to a human reviewer.

How to give recruiters what they’re looking for

If you’ve ever been in an academic lecture where the lecturer clearly doesn’t care that the information and way they’re presenting aren’t connecting with the audience, you know what it feels like to be a recruiter. Most resumes don’t take a moment to think about the person reading them and what they need from the resume.

This means that by considering the person reading your resume, you can have a substantial leg up. Once again, this begins with the description of the research position. Instead of using a generic resume for each application, customize your resume to fit one position, making it easy for the person reading it to say “yes” to hiring you (more on how to do that later).

Also consider whether the person reading your resume is a specialist in your field or not. This should affect the language you use. It should be easy for them to read and understand everything on your resume. The easier it is, the more grateful they will be for the time and effort you’ve saved them.

How to format your resume

The next most important way to appeal to the reader of your resume is with proper formatting. The core rule is to put the most important information towards the top. This seems obvious but you’d be surprised how often it gets ignored. This is why your resume should begin with an objective or summary with the most important information about you as a researcher (more details on how to write those below).

Then, your content should be in reverse chronological order. But beyond those simple rules, you also need to consider the ideal length for a researcher resume. This will vary a lot based on your experience and the norms in your specific research area. However, there is one rule of thumb you should follow: make your resume as short as it can be. The person reading it doesn’t want their time wasted, so taking a critical look and cutting unnecessary sections and information will be a welcome change for them.

The best sections to consider including on a researcher resume

• Resume objective or summary
• Research experience
• Achievements
• Projects
• Education
• Hard skills
• Soft Skills

What makes a great researcher resume?

A great researcher resume is tailored. After all, a resume applying for a basic research position and one applying for a position researching something specific like the cure to a disease should be completely different. Getting this right begins with understanding the needs of the people who will be hiring you and showing that you can meet those needs.

What to include in your education section

Most resumes waste too much time on their education when it’s not relevant, but obviously a research resume is different. You’ll be expected to provide details. However, the way you present those details is still important.

MA in Political Science

The University of Virginia

2016-2018

-My thesis focused on how the 2009 financial crisis effected rural voters in Iowa, it found a .82 R value correlation between deceased economic activity and decreased voter participation.

-I worked on a variety of projects with professors

-I took courses focusing on rural politics

First, the choice is mentioning the R value is a bit odd. If your thesis is relevant enough to go into that detail it probably deserves its own mini section. Describing it in a single sentence while also going into details like that strikes and odd balance. The next two points listed are simply too vague and so they ultimately waste space and raise more questions than they answer. The incorrect use of “effect” vs “affect” also does not look good. This is one reason why it makes sense to have a friend (hopefully one in your field) review your resume before you send it off.

Let’s look at an improved version.

MA in Political Science

The University of Virginia

2016-2018

-Thesis title “The Economics of Rural Voter Participation, an Examination of the Effect of the 2009 Crisis on Rural Iowa.”

-Worked with Professor Alan Rao on his field research studying the relationship of Midwestern farmers to state and federal authorities.

-Focused on quantitative methods and statistical analysis

Here the thesis title is given, which if you’re only going to include a single point of information is generally the most important thing to mention. Otherwise the details focus on what this person did during their MA which might be directly relevant to research, who they worked with, what they worked on, and the skills they developed.

In general, the most recent and relevant a degree is to your work the more detail you can and should include. If you obtained your BS 15 years ago, you can mention it but it’s not worth going into too many details unless, for example, you worked with a famous researcher in your field.

How to highlight your most important achievements

Most academic resumes can be a bit vague about what they’ve achieved in their work. That’s why highlighting your achievements is one of the best ways to make your researcher resume stand out. Now these don’t just have to be achievements directly connected to the results of your previous research. After all, a researcher needs to be organized, diligent, a good communicator, etc. These are all skills you can emphasize by mentioning achievements.

Let’s look at an example to see what this might look like.

-Improved quantitative research methods while working as a marketing manager at Imbue Technologies.

While this achievement example is close to working, it ultimately doesn’t because it lacks any specifics. What does improving quantitative research methods mean? Were there any results from this? Let’s see another example where details make the difference.

-Developed a system for tracking and optimizing temperature, flow rate, and ratios for coffee as a manager at Hyperion Coffee, leading to a 14% increase in customer satisfaction with the coffee quality.

Chances are this person isn’t applying to be a coffee researcher, but this example shows a few key things. Number one, it demonstrates that they’re proactive and will look for ways to improve processes. Next, it shows a love of delving into the complex relationship between small details to get better overall results, another nice quality for most researchers. In other words, this workplace example is actually great to mention on a researcher resume.

What are ideal researcher job qualifications and how to list them correctly

In most cases, the main criteria you’ll need to focus on in your resume will be:

• Relevant degrees
• Knowledge of and experience with relevant research methodologies
• Experience in the research process
• Statistical methods
• Relevant technical software or tools
• Written and oral communication

Of course these will vary whether you’re a nuclear physicist or a political scientist. Whatever the most important qualifications are for your specific area of research, you need to ensure they are clearly visible on your resume. The person reading it shouldn’t be searching around to determine whether or not you meet the minimum criteria for the position.

How to list your skills more effectively

While listing the right skills is critical for getting past ATS, including concrete examples which demonstrate those skills is going to leave a far bigger impression on the humans reading your resume. While this isn’t as typical for most academics (frustrations with teaching evaluations aside), the role of a researcher is more results based and so this approach works well.

Data entry

Listing a skill like this isn’t inherently bad, but can be substantially improved with an example.

Data Entry

-Inputted over 10,000 data points as a research assistant with Professor Compton

Here a simple example means that the reader will get a far better sense of what that skill means and how confident they can be in it. This also demonstrates that you're going out of your way to make their job easier by eliminating the need for them to stop and consider what that skill means in your case.

The best hard skills to include

While the specific skills required will vary tremendously for different research roles, these are some of the core skills you’ll want to include if possible:

• Statistical methods
• Data entry
• Experience with relevant equipment used
• Database management
• IRB experience
• Writing grant applications

The best soft skills to include

• Curiosity
• Patience
• Working well under pressure
• Adaptability
• Passion for the field
• Commitment to and knowledge of ethical standards in the field

Why your resume should start with an objective or summary

Think of an objective or summary as a shortened version of an abstract. They should get across the most important information right from the start and help frame the more detailed information presented in the rest of the resume.

The difference between them is primarily about length. A resume objective should only be about one sentence and is ideal when you just want to list a few key bits of information about you and your goals. A resume summary is longer and better when there’s something you want to explain like your motivation for applying to this research position.

How to write a resume objective

Your objective needs to be clear, concise, and information dense. Let’s examine two examples to see what that should (and shouldn’t) look like.

I’m a recent graduate from UCLA’s Microbiology Masters program looking for a summer research position.

This example makes the obvious mistake of being written in the first person instead of the third, but more importantly it simply gives basic information which is easily available elsewhere on the resume. It’s relevant information, but this is extremely valuable space on your resume and should be used to greater effect.

Recent MS graduate looking to apply human microbiome research experience towards a position at AR Food Tech.

There you have a simple and straightforward resume objective. It gives the essential information about who you are and what you aim to achieve. The university you graduated from, for example, isn’t worth mentioning here, though the fact that this person is a recent graduate is.

How to write a resume summary

The thing to remember about a resume summary is that, like a research paper, just because it can be long doesn’t mean it should be. You still need to be careful and deliberate with the information you choose to include.

Experienced food chemistry researcher who has worked at industry-leading brands developing artificial colors, preservatives, flavor compounds, etc. Familiar with lab equipment and experimental techniques. Always looking for new ways to push teams to the cutting edge of food science.

What doesn’t work about this example is the information it chose to include and thereby emphasize along with its lack of detail. After reading this summary, instead of thinking “they sound impressive” a recruiter would likely be thinking “how many years of experience? Which industry-leading brands? Why did you mention familiarity with basics like lab equipment and experimental techniques?”

Your resume summary should create a strong impression and not simply raise more questions. So let’s see an improved version of this example to better understand what that should look like.

Food chemistry researcher with 8 years of lab experience with Nestle, Pepsico, and General Mills largely focused around preservatives and artificial flavor development. Looking to take industry-leading knowledge of experimental techniques and lab management to help Advanced Snax challenge industry leaders.

This example contains much of the same information, but frames it around a mission. That framing means that the recruiter won’t see hiring this person as simply getting another researcher, but as gaining a valuable team member to help the company achieve its goals. By framing their work in this large context, this resume summary will certainly stand out.

How to target your resume for each application

As we’ve alluded to throughout this guide, one of the most effective ways to improve a researcher resume is to target it to a specific position. Creating a single resume for yourself and sending it out to many researcher roles saves time and it shows. It does not make you look diligent, detail oriented, or that you care enough to put in the time and effort to do something right.

The best way to go about targeting your resume is to begin with the keyword technique mentioned in the beginning of this guide. Then, employ your research skills. Look at the organization which will be hiring you, what are their needs, their goals, what problems might they be having with their research? Once those have been identified, identify and emphasize how you can help them address those needs. After all, hiring another researcher is great, but hiring a person who can solve a specific problem or improve a bad process is far more enticing for most organizations.

Lastly, mentioning the organization or the role in your resume objective or summary works well to quickly indicate to the person reading it that you’ve taken the time to customize your resume, thereby making a stronger first impression.

How to make your resume stand out

Besides all of the tips mentioned so far in this guide, the final piece to the puzzle of a standout resume is the visual design. A clean modern design on your resume does a couple of things. First, it shows that you took the time to do a good job. Next, it’s easier on the eyes of the poor person who needs to review dozens of resumes for a researcher position. 

Finally, it communicates that you’re not content doing things the same way they’ve always been done. If you’re a young and ambitious researcher, it’s an aesthetic which reinforces your core qualities in subtle but powerful ways. But if you’re not a designer, how can you get that design?

The importance of using a resume builder

Obviously, you’ve got a lot on your plate when it comes to creating the best possible researcher resume. That’s why it makes sense to use the right tools to take some of that pressure off. A resume builder allows you to be confident that your resume will be ready for ATS, makes it easy to get a clean and modern look, and helps in organizing all the custom versions of your resume for various researcher roles.

Resumebuild.com’s powerful but intuitive builder has been designed from the ground up to help you with all of these needs and more. It takes care of the technical and design challenges so you can focus your attention where it will have the most impact: on the content.

It seems like every other day that there’s a headline about the growing decline of retail jobs due to artificial intelligence. Even The New York Times has published an article about this very matter called The Robots Are Coming. Prepare for Trouble. The article explores how artificial intelligence is directly threatening existing retail jobs, as more consumers shop online and, in turn, more retailers set up e-commerce stores.

It’s no wonder why retailers find the switch to selling online enticing. Not only will doing so ensure they stay relevant as consumers increasingly abandon brick and mortar stores, but it also allows them to substantially cut their running costs. After all, it’s far more cost-effective to pay for an e-commerce platform and web hosting than thousands of dollars in rent, electricity, and wages every month.  

Frankly speaking, this isn’t good news for retail workers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment of retail salespersons is projected to decline 2 percent from 2018 to 2028. The implication is that with less jobs to go around, competition is only going to get stiffer for job seekers.

If you want to ensure you get hired, it’s crucial that you fix up your resume. Ultimately, your resume is what a recruiter or store manager will base their decision to interview you or not on. If they find your resume to be impressive, they’ll be eager to do so. But if they find it lacklustre...well, they’ll ask one of the hundreds of other candidates who applied to come instead.

Now that you understand just how important perfecting your resume is, it’s time to learn about how to make an eye-catching one. Our retail sales associate guide covers all of the essential information you need to know including:

• The best format for your resume
• How to ace a job interview
• Which qualifications are best to have in this line of work
• Expert tips for putting forward your best attributes
• How to customize your resume for each application 

1. Multiple Template Examples

2. How to Write a Retail Sales Associate Resume That Will Get Your Phone Ringing

How to format your resume

If you’re wondering, “How should I format my retail sales associate resume?” we’re glad you asked. Many job seekers overlook the impact their resume’s format has in conveying their viability as a candidate. 

Think about it: a recruiter will be tenfold more likely to take your application seriously if your resume is well-organized and professional-looking. On the contrary, they won’t give it a second glance if it’s disorganized and difficult to read.

So which format should you use? We recommend using a reverse-chronological format as it’s regarded by most HR professionals and resume experts as the go-to format for anyone who has at least a few relevant jobs to their name. This format positions your work experience front and center by ordering each job you’ve had from most to least recent. In turn, a recruiter will be able to ascertain if you have the necessary experience they’re looking for.

Pro Tip: If you have little to no work experience, we recommend using a functional resume format instead, as it emphasizes skills over experience.

Creating a strong resume also relies on following a handful of layout rules, which we’ve listed below. To be perfectly clear, these are not optional! Recruiters expect you to strictly adhere to them and most will have no qualms about dismissing your resume if you fail to.

• • Number of Pages: 1 page maximum. 
  • Fonts to Use: An easy to read serif font like Goudy Old Style or sans serif font like Tahoma.
  • Fonts to Avoid: An unprofessional, childish font like Jokerman and Bubblegum. 
  • Margins: 1 inch on all sides.

• Line Spacing: 1 or 1.15.

• Header size: 14-16 point size.
• Text size: 11-12 point size

What makes a great retail sales associate resume? How do you give recruiters what they’re looking for?

The difference between a good retail sales associate resume and a great one is that the latter will take every opportunity to sell the candidate as the best choice for the position. Even with a quick glance of a great resume, a recruiter will be able to quickly gather that the candidate has an ideal mix of the right skills, professional achievements, qualifications  (if necessary), and attitude to thrive in the role. 

That means in order to give a recruiter what they’re looking for, your resume needs to address the specific criteria they’re evaluating each and every resume by. This is why simply copying and pasting your last resume is one of the worst things you can do. Instead, it’s crucial to customize your resume each and every time so that it highlights your suitability for each particular job.

All in all, if you want to get hired, you’ll need to create a customized resume that communicates both in its appearance and content that you’re an ideal candidate. Our guide will teach you exactly how to do this, so keep reading to learn more.

How to prepare for a job interview as a retail sales worker

In order to effectively prepare for a job interview as a retail sales worker, you need to remain organized and motivated to succeed. Here our our top tips for how to succeed in your next job interview: 

• Practice answering interview questions: A tried-and-true method of preparing for a job interview is to practice answering interview questions. We’ve listed 16 of the most common ones below to get you started. It’s advisable to practice them out loud in front of a mirror so you get used to the interview process.

• Use the STAR interview response technique: If you’ve always struggled to stay on point or make an impact when answering interview questions, give the STAR interview response technique a go. STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. If you use this technique to answer any behavioral questions an interviewer throws at you, your answers will sound both logical and impressive. 

• Research the company: Many candidates can confidently answer questions about themselves but will fall flat when asked any about the company. Don’t get caught out when you’re unable to standard questions like, “Who is our CEO?” or “What inspired the founders to start the company?” Check the company’s website, social media channels, and LinkedIn to learn about the company’s history as well as what they’re currently up to.

• Try to ease your nerves: While it’s vital to be prepared, your preparation will be for nothing if you’re too nervous to perform at your best. That’s why you should prioritize easing your nerves in the leadup to your interview. If you’ve been prepping like crazy, take a break. It will also be helpful to learn some breathing exercises for relaxation.   

Which questions are likely to be asked during the interview process?

As we pointed out above, it’s vital to practice interview questions to ensure you’re adequately prepared to respond to them. Below, we’ve shared some of the most common questions asked at retail sales associate interviews:

Practical questions:

• Can you tell me a bit about yourself?
• Are you able and willing to work weekends / night shifts?
• What is your availability?
• Are you able to open and close up?

Questions about you as a professional:

• What skills do you have that would be beneficial to this role?
• Do you work well in a team?
• How would your coworkers describe you?
• What is a difficult situation you confronted at your previous workplace and how did you deal with it?

Questions about working at the store:

• How do you define ‘good customer service’?
• What would you do if you don’t know the answer to a customer’s question?
• If a customer was being rude to you, what would you do?
• In what ways would you go up and beyond for a customer?

Questions about the business:

• Why do you want to work here?
• What would you say makes our business special?
• How would you attract more customers to our store?
• What do you think we could be doing better?

What are ideal retail sales associate job qualifications and how do you list them correctly? 

Generally speaking, most retail sales associate jobs don’t require candidates to hold any specific formal qualifications. That being said, most employers will look favorably on candidates with a high school diploma or equivalent – and some may even require one. The BLS points out that this is particularly the case for businesses that sell “big ticket” items like cars and electronics.

In terms of ideal retail sales associate job qualifications, the key is to list those that are relevant to the given job. While it’s certainly not required, you'll likely catch a recruiter’s attention if you hold a business, sales, or marketing degree from a college or community college. 

Moreover, if you hold a degree or have any training or certifications in an area that’s clearly connected to what the business sells, listing them in your resume will be sure to impress. For example, if you want to apply for a job in a plant store and you hold a Certificate of Achievement in Agripharmatech from a community college, listing it is an easy way to stand out.

So how do you correctly list any qualifications you’d like to highlight? If it’s a degree, add it to your “Education” section, whereas if it’s a certification, add it to your “Training and Certifications” section. Make sure to include the following information about each one:

• The name of the degree or certificate
• The name of the college or institution 
• The state the college or institution is located
• The years you studied

For example:

• Bachelor of Science in Marketing, University of Minnesota, MN, 2019 - Present 
• Certificate of Achievement in Electrical Technology, Henry Ford College, MI, 2017 - 2018

How to highlight your most important achievements

The achievements you highlight in your resume shouldn’t be arbitrarily chosen because you think they sound good. Your selection should be based on evidence of what sounds good to a recruiter. 

Fortunately, there’s a straightforward way to determine which achievements will leave a positive impression on a recruiter. The keywords you’ll find throughout a job ad offer a direct insight into what a recruiter values in an ideal candidate. They will either represent the tasks a candidate will need to perform in the role or the ideal skills they should possess. 

In order to show you represent what they’re looking for, you can frame each of your achievements around one or more of the keywords you identify in a job ad. However, keep in mind that there’s a right and wrong way to go about this. 

To make this clear, let’s compare the achievements of two different candidates who targeted the keyword ‘exceptional customer service’.

First, take a look at an example of a bad retail sales associate achievement:

• Demonstrated exceptional customer service every day to ensure customers were happy.

This achievement is exceptionally vague and bland, so the recruiter’s eyes would definitely glaze over. Beyond this, the candidate hasn’t instilled any confidence in the recruiter that they actually understand how to provide exceptional customer service. After all, they failed to provide an example or evidence of this skill they claim to have.

Now, take a look at an example of an amazing retail sales associate achievement:

• Demonstrated exceptional customer service by attending to each customer’s unique needs, as exemplified by my sales consistently being 50% or more above the store’s monthly sales targets.

This candidate knocks their resume achievement out of the park because they’ve provided specific details about their ability to provide exceptional customer service. By sharing how they do so (“...by attending to each customer’s unique needs”), the recruiter would recognize this candidate has a strong understanding of what is required to excel at it.

Another notable thing this candidate did is quantify their achievements. In other words, they provided tangible evidence (“...my sales consistently being approx. 50% above the store’s monthly sales target.”) to back their claim up.

If you’re ready to impress like this candidate does, be sure to refer back to these do’s and don’t when the time comes to write out your own achievements. 

Pro tip: A huge resume no-no to steer clear of when including keywords is something called ‘keyword stuffing’. As Jobscan points out, this describes when a candidate features skills in their resume in a dishonest or out of context manner, tries to hide keywords using white text, or over-optimizes a given keyword. If a recruiter catches you doing any of these things, your chances of being hired will be as good as gone.

Which soft and hard skills should you mention? How do you do this  correctly?

There’s no doubt about the fact that all talented retail sales associates boast numerous useful skills. These skills can be divided into two categories:

1. Hard skills: Tangible and teachable skills that tend to be more technical in nature.
2. Soft skills: Intangible and interpersonal skills that are focused on how we interact with others and conduct ourselves.

It is crucial to include a combination of both in your resume. You’ll need to list out 6 to 8 skills in your “Skills” section and additionally pepper some naturally throughout your “Employment History” section. We also recommend mentioning a few more in your resume objective or summary.
 

You can select the right skills to feature in the same way we explained how to select your achievements. In short, you will need to scan a job ad for keywords. Most of the keywords you find will already be skills-based, so it’s perfectly fine to repeat them throughout the three sections we mentioned above. Just remember that they should flow naturally and make sense within the context of each sentence.

If you’re after some examples of the skills commonly expected of retail sales associates, consult our list below. We sourced these skills straight from real-life job ads, so they should give you a good indication of what many recruiters are after.

Hard skills

• Providing exceptional customer service
• Maintaining the appearance of the store 
• Conducting product inventories
• Arranging and replenishing displays 
• Achieving daily/weekly/monthly sales targets
• Hitting individual and shop sales goals
• Operating the register & EFTPOS machine
• Cashing up
• Administering repairs and returns 
• Handling customer complaints and queries

Soft skills

• Customer focused
• Ability to work as a team member 
• Excellent verbal communication
• Self-motivated 
• Sense of personal accountability
• Detail oriented 
• Ability to handle several tasks simultaneously
• Professionalism
• Integrity
• Approachability

How to write a resume objective or summary and examples of both

Both a resume objective and resume summary have the power to influence a recruiter’s first impression of a candidate. The best ones entice a recruiter to read on and help position the candidate as worthy of being interviewed. They’re also both 2 to 4 sentences long and appear right at the start of a resume.

But that’s where the similarities end. A resume objective is designed for entry-level candidates and focuses on their career aspirations and potential. In contrast, a resume summary is designed for experienced candidates and focuses on their most relevant and compelling professional attributes and experiences. 

Once you know which one is right for you to include, keep reading to learn how to write a strong one.

Resume objective 

When writing your resume objective, there are some crucial pitfalls you will need to avoid. On one hand, it’s vital not to downplay your attributes and show your desperation, like the following candidate did: 

• Aspiring retail sales associate with zero experience who would give anything for this chance to work at your company.

On the other hand, it’s also important not to be cocky or overconfident – especially if you don’t back up what you’re saying. This is what the following candidate did:

• Aspiring retail sales associate who would definitely become your best salesperson ever due to my charisma and other great qualities.

So what should you do instead? Use your resume objective to leave no doubt in the recruiter’s mind that you possess the required qualities to excel in the given job. While you may not have previous retail experience, you can instead highlight all of the other relevant skills, experiences, education, training, and attributes you offer.

Be confident in your abilities and provide evidence for why you believe you’d be an asset to the company. You’ll get bonus points if you can quantify your achievements! The following candidate did all of these things to great effect: 

• Aspiring retail sales associate who is skilled in customer service, verbal communication, and organization. With a 100% satisfaction rating in my current role as a customer service officer coupled with the fact that I am a loyal customer at Sparkle Jewelry, I have the know-how and positive attitude to keep customers coming back. 

When you compare this example to the previous ones, it’s clear how much more powerful it is. A recruiter would be immediately impressed by the effort this candidate put into writing it, let alone how they sold themselves as a perfect fit for the role by quantifying their achievements. If you also want your resume objective to shine, be sure to follow the tips we just shared.

Resume summary

The secret to writing a fantastic resume summary is to know what to aim for – and what to avoid. Let’s first take a look at all the things you shouldn’t do by examining the following not-so-great resume summary:

• Retail sales associate with 3+ years of experience who lives and breathes the art of selling. I have all the skills a great sales associate needs. I want to work for you as I desire to work in an upper-end retailer.

There are a number of red flags a recruiter would spot in this resume summary. Firstly, everything they’ve written sounds generic. While they do provide a few details here and there, they don’t set out to provide a clear picture of who they are as a retail sales associate. 

They also don’t mention the company directly. This would make a recruiter suspicious that they’ve used this resume summary on multiple applications to ‘upper-end retailers. What’s more, the candidate has spent their whole resume summary talking about what a catch they are as an employee without providing a skerrick of evidence to show this. 

With all of this in mind, take a look at an example of a killer retail sales associate resume summary:

• Retail sales associate with 3+ years of experience working in upper-end retailers who is equally known for being customer-focused and approachable as they are for maintaining a store’s appearance and conducting meticulous product inventories. With a strong ability to upsell, as demonstrated by the $1 million worth of sales I made last year, I aim to bring this same dedication and talent for sales to the full-time position at Precious Antiques.   

If you can tell that this resume summary is significantly better than the previous one but don’t know why, let us explain. This one is written with the purpose of capturing a recruiter’s attention. The candidate has achieved this by providing specific and relevant details about their professional experience (“3+ years of experience working in upper-end retailers”). 

They also put a spotlight on both the soft skills (“customer-focused and approachable”) and hard skills (“maintaining a store’s appearance and conducting meticulous product inventories”) that the recruiter was looking for. 

One particularly effective thing they did is drive home their “strong ability to upsell” by providing an eye-catching example of the amazing sales they made. Finally, the candidate further customized their resume summary by making their goals for working at Precious Antiques clear.

If you follow all of our pointers above, you’ll be able to make a resume summary that any recruiter would be captivated by. 

How to target your resume for each application

A recruiter is responsible for tracking down a retail sales associate who not only boasts relevant competencies, but also demonstrates an eagerness to work for the given company.

It’s therefore pivotal that your resume conveys both your attributes as well as your enthusiasm to work for each particular company you’re applying to. You can easily do this by targeting your resume for each application. 

As we’ve discussed extensively above, incorporating keywords from a job ad will help you to effectively address each recruiter’s specific criteria. The keywords should not only dictate what you feature in your resume, but also how you feature it. For example, if the keywords in a job ad indicate that they’re looking for someone who has experience making $10,000+ sales, emphasize your experience working in a designer clothing store over working in a dollar store where your sales averaged $2000 a day. 

But remember, don’t just focus on your skills and work history. You need to make sure to also customize your resume objective or summary. Recruiters often look to these sections to see whether a candidate has targeted their resume, so be sure to write a new one each time.

Pro tip: It’s a good idea to mention the company’s name in your resume objective or summary. It’s the only section where it’s possible to do this, so don’t skip this opportunity to highlight the fact that you made your resume just for them. 

How to make your resume stand out

Settling for a ‘good enough’ resume won’t do you any favors when it comes to competing against other candidates. You need to know how to make your resume stand out if you want to lock in a job interview. Below, we’ve shared our top insider tips for doing so:

• • Keep your resume to one page: Don’t take the fact that you only have one page to work within as a challenge to try to cram in as much information as you can! Recruiters hate wordy resumes that are filled with irrelevant information. Most won’t even bother to read resumes that are more than one page, so don’t take the risk. Instead, focus only on the most relevant attributes you offer and aim to create a resume that has a good balance of content and white space.

• Strategically hide any gaps: Is your resume looking a bit patchy due to any employment gaps? There’s no need to stress. If you were unemployed for more than three months between jobs, you’ll just need to be strategic about how you present your resume. While we generally recommend job seekers to use a reverse-chronological resume format, a functional resume format is best for hiding resume gaps.

• Don’t ever lie on your resume: This may seem like obvious advice, but sadly, many job seekers still haven’t gotten the message. They think that a white lie here or there won’t come back to haunt them, but 9 times out of 10 the truth always comes out. After all, recruiters will fact check as part of their routine vetting of candidates. HR Consultant Adele Alligood says that, “Every once in a while, someone will forget to recheck their dates, job titles or job duties.” Alligood says that in her opinion, doing so is even worse than typos! The bottom line is that lying is never worth the risk.

3. How to Make an Impressive DIY Resume Using Resumebuild.com Streamlined Resume Builder Tool 

Any job seeker who spends the time to create their resume from scratch should be commended for their effort. But unfortunately, effort doesn’t necessarily equal success. Many job seekers who take this 100% DIY route make many major and minor resume mistakes. 

This makes sense when you think about the fact that most people don’t have countless hours to spend on creating their resume. Consequently, they often end up trying to speed up the long and laborious resume making process by taking shortcuts. For example, they’ll download any old resume template from a quick Google search or copy and paste resume examples from questionable sources.

These shortcuts may seem like an easy way to hack the process, but they’ll usually cost you your chances of getting an interview. 

So what should you do instead? 

Use ResumeBuild.com’s powerful resume builder to craft an eye-grabbing resume. Our resume builder has already been used by thousands of job seekers who were searching for a straightforward way to create a resume that lands them jobs. 

It has been designed with job seekers’ needs in mind, so you’ll find it streamlined and easy to use. It guides you step-by-step through each of the essential sections you need to feature in your retail sales associate resume. From the first step of selecting an HR-approved resume template, to filling out each section, to reviewing your completed resume, our resume builder makes the entire resume making process quick and painless. Did we mention it comes complete with access to pre-written examples?

If you’re ready to get your dream job, you can rely on our handy resume builder to help you get it.

The job of a translator involves far more than most people realize. After all, it isn’t simply a process of directly translating words from one language to another. As Anthony Burgess, the famed writer of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest once put it, “Translation is not a matter of words only: it is a matter of making intelligible a whole culture.”

Needless to say, this isn’t news to either translators themselves or recruiters of translators. They both know that there’s a world of difference between a mediocre translation and one that has been completed with a high level of skill.

In the end, the quality of a translation primarily comes down to one person: the translator.  That’s why recruiters are only willing to hire the best of the best. If you want to position yourself as a world-class translator in your job hunt, you’ll need to submit a world-class resume for each job.

With the demand for translators soaring, there’s never been a better time to fix up your resume so you can finally snag your dream job. The Bureau of Statistics projects that employment of interpreters and translators will grow 19 percent from 2018 to 2028. This is significantly faster than the average for all occupations – in fact, an astounding 14 percent points higher!

But don’t let this news make you complacent. Even if you’ve built your reputation as a highly-skilled translator, you still need a resume that shows off your most relevant and attractive professional experiences, qualities, and skills to a recruiter. Don’t know how to do this? Check out our translator resume examples and writing guide below. It will shed a light on:

• The essential components of a translator resume
• Insider tips for preparing for an interview (including practice questions)
• How to create a formidable “Skills” section
• How to grab a recruiter’s attention with a resume summary or objective
• The importance of tailoring your resume for each application and how to do so

1. Multiple Template Examples

2. How to Write a Translator Resume That Will Get You the Job?

How do you format a translator resume?

As a translator, you’ll know what a difference good or bad document formatting makes. Being given a poorly formatted document to translate can make your job substantially more challenging and frustrating to carry out.

So why would you subject a recruiter to the same experience? Formatting your resume correctly will not only encourage a recruiter to view your application in a positive light, but also give it the full attention it deserves.

If you’re wondering which format to use in your translator resume, it’s worth keeping in mind that most HR experts recommend using a reverse-chronological format. It’s designed to put a spotlight on your work experiences so a recruiter realizes what a consummate professional you are. In addition to presenting your work experiences prominently in your resume, it also orders them from most to least recent.

Pro tip: If you’re just starting out as a translator, experts recommend opting for a functional format instead. This type of format hones in on your skills so that you can draw a recruiter’s attention away from your inexperience.

There’s another crucial consideration you will need to be mindful of: how to expertly arrange your resume’s layout. Pay careful attention to the following layout guidelines to ensure that your resume matches up with recruiters’ expectations:

• • Number of Pages: A single page.
  • Fonts to Use: Fonts that are recognizable for their professional nature, such as Georgia and Time New Roman.
  • Fonts to Avoid: Any you wouldn’t dare to hand over a translation in, such as Brush Script and ITC Kristen.
  • Margins: 1 inch on all sides.

• Line Spacing: 1 or 1.15.

• Header size: 14-16 point size.
• Text size: 11-12 point size.

How do you make a great translator resume that addresses what recruiters are looking for?

A great translator resume should showcase why you – out of the hundreds of thousands of other applicants – should be hired. This is no doubt a lofty goal to achieve, but it is far from impossible.

You will be able to put together a great translator resume once you have an understanding of what a recruiter is looking for, from the skills a candidate should have as a translator, to the formatting and layout expectations they have for resumes (see the section above for more about this).

Generally speaking, recruiters will be after translators who are able to offer the necessary experience, qualifications, and skills to effectively carry out the responsibilities of a given job. However, recruiters won’t all be looking for the same qualities in the candidates they shortlist. After all, the idea of a so-called “perfect candidate” will differ from job to job, and therefore, from recruiter to recruiter.

For example, some jobs only require an entry-level candidate, while others require someone who has been in the industry for a certain amount of years. Some jobs require candidates to be generalists, while others require them to possess a very specific skill set. And needless to say, the focus languages sought for each job will change each time as well!

In short, if you want to make a great translator resume, you’ll need to address what a given recruiter is after from an ideal candidate for a given job. To do this, you’ll need to customize your resume to perfectly match the requirements of each application.

If you’re wondering how to do this, refer to the section, “How to target your resume for each application,” below. The fantastic thing about putting in the effort to customize your resume is that you’ll soon be rewarded with more interview requests than you’ve ever had to handle!

How do you prepare for a job interview as a translator?

If you’re like most people, you’ll be a bundle of nerves before an interview. While you may not be able to get rid of your nerves completely, thoroughly preparing beforehand will at least allow you to get a better handle on them. Here are our top tips for how to effectively prepare for a job interview as a translator:

• Refamiliarize yourself with the role and company: A huge mistake many candidates make is that they focus exclusively on preparing answers to questions about themselves. However, it’s worth remembering that interviewers also place substantial importance on candidates’ answers to questions about the given role.
  
  To ensure you flawlessly answer these types of questions, make sure to study the job ad carefully to pinpoint what the role entails as well as what the interviewer is looking for.

• Research the company: In addition to knowing the role like the back of your hand, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the company you’re interviewing at. Interviewers are only interested in hiring candidates who can genuinely show that they want to work at their company, so they’re likely to quiz you on your knowledge of it. Even if you’re not asked any specific questions, peppering your answers with relevant tidbits about their company is a surefire way to impress.
  
  When conducting your research of the company, try to memorize a few notable details about the company such as its history, vision and values, plans for the future, etc.

• Complete a few practice translation tasks: When you’re busy preparing your answers to practice questions (of which you’ll find some examples below), it’s easy to forget to brush up on the very skills you’re being interviewed for: translating. Even if you can translate a document with your eyes closed, being asked to do so during your interview is a completely different story. Even the most competent translators can become frozen with anxiety, so preparation is key.

To ensure you perform any translation tasks you’re asked to do just as well as usual, make sure to schedule the time to practice translating at least a few passages before your interview. If the job also involves interpretation, be sure to practice this too!

• Believe in yourself: It sounds trite to say, but it will truly make a difference if you walk into an interview with your head held high. Many candidates end up severely underselling themselves during an interview because they lack confidence in their own abilities. They may even question how they managed to get the interview in the first place.
  
  Remember, a recruiter chose to interview you because they saw that you bring something valuable to the table. So be confident and strive to put your best foot forward. If you truly lack self-confidence, try to fake it ‘til you make it!

Which questions are likely to be asked during the interview process?

If you’re wondering what questions a recruiter, hiring manager, or your future manager are likely to be asked during a translator interview, you’ve come to the right place. Below is a selection of 20 common questions you can use to prepare for your interview:

Practical questions:

• Can you give me an overview of who you are, professionally speaking?
• When can you begin?
• Why do you think we should hire you?
• Do you have any questions about the position?

Questions about you as a professional:

• Can you describe yourself in 3 words?
• What languages can you translate? 
• Why did you decide to become a translator?
• What qualities set you apart as a translator?
• Can you understand different dialects and accents?
• What areas do you need to improve on as a translator?
• Do you prefer to work alone or in a team?
• What are your top skills?

Questions about working at the company:

• What is your process of preparing for a translation task?
• What tools do you rely on to complete a typical translation task, if any?
• What would you do if you’re experiencing difficulty translating a certain piece of text?
• Can you share some examples of previous translation problems you’ve faced and how you overcame them?
• Can you share details about a time you encountered a problem with your manager or a coworker and how you resolved it?

Questions about the company:

• When was our company founded?
• What is our company’s mission statement?
• What makes our company unique?
• What other languages do we offer translation services for?

Pro tip: Once you’ve mastered your answers to these questions, search on Google for more. The more questions you’re acquainted with and have solid answers for, the more you’ll boost your chances of acing your interview.

What are ideal translator job qualifications and how do you list them correctly?

Education

While not a requirement for all jobs, it is considered ideal for a translator to hold a bachelor’s degree. Ideally, a translator’s major should be in one of the languages they specialize in translating, although many jobs will simply require a bachelor’s degree in any major.

To list your bachelor’s degree or any other educational qualifications in your resume, add them to your resume’s “Education” section.

In order to get this right, avoid providing a detailed account of your educational experiences, like this candidate did:

EDUCATION

• I completed a Spanish Bachelor of Arts at the University of Texas at Tyler because I wanted to learn a language that would prove to be useful in both my career and my life. Once I discovered that Spanish is the fourth most widely spoken language in the world, I knew Spanish was the right choice for me. After studying diligently every day for 3 years, I finally graduated in 2019.

This is far too much information to feature in your “Education” section. As a consequence of how difficult this is to read, it would be challenging for a recruiter to identify the most fundamental details regarding your educational background.

In order to make these details crystal clear to a recruiter, you should list them out rather than write about them in full sentences. There are 4 main details you should list, unless specified otherwise. These details are:

• The name of your degree
• The institution or college you received it from
• The state the institution or college is located in
• The years you studied your degree

Putting this in practice, the example above should, in actual fact, look like this:

EDUCATION

• Spanish Bachelor of Arts, University of Texas at Tyler, TX, 2016-2019

See how much easier that is to read? Make sure to follow this same format when adding your educational qualifications to your resume.

Pro tip: If you wish to share more details about your educational background with a recruiter, you can do so in your cover letter. Just make sure that any additional details you provide are relevant to the job you’re applying for!

Language Proficiency

Your job as a translator is dependent on your mastery of at least two languages, with one of them usually being English. It’s therefore vital to state your language proficiency levels in your resume.

Ideally, you should be able to quantify your language proficiency by showing that you hold a relevant language certification. Many jobs even require candidates to hold a specific language certification level as evidence that they have the language skills necessary to excel in the job. For example, an English to Japanese translation job may require you to have passed a particular level of the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT).

To list any languages you are proficient in, list the following information about each language in your resume’s “Languages” section:

• The name of the language
• The dialect of the language, if any
• The level of your proficiency
• The names of any language proficiency certifications you have 
• The level you achieved with your certification

For example:

• English (American): Native proficiency
• Chinese (Mandarin): Full professional proficiency, HSK VI
• Spanish (Latin American): Elementary proficiency, DELE, A2

Pro tip: While it may seem obvious to state that you speak English at a native level, it is important to include this fact in your resume.

Training and Certifications

There are no mandatory training sessions or certifications that translators need to undertake in order to work. That being said, it is considered ideal for translators to have some relevant training and certifications to their name as it is one way of demonstrating your commitment to your profession.

A certification that will most definitely help your resume stand out is an American Translators Association (ATA) certification. As the ATA explains, holding this certification “Reflects a strong commitment to the profession and its ethical practice—a distinction that can attract clients and open doors to new business.”

Training and certifications may even be mandatory or strongly desired for certain jobs. This is particularly the case for jobs in niche areas of translation. For example, if you want to apply for a job translating documents as a court interpreter in California, your resume will need to highlight the fact you are a certified court interpreter.

So how can you include relevant training and certifications in your resume? List the following details in your resume’s “Training and Certifications” section:

• The name of the training or certification
• The name of the institution that provided it
• The state you received it in
• The year you undertook the training or obtained the certification

To show you how this should look like in action, take a look at the following example:

TRAINING AND CERTIFICATIONS

•  American Translators Association (ATA) Certification, ATA, California, 2020

Pro tip: It’s important to keep your translator certifications up to date on your resume. You should also be willing to undertake more professional learning even once you’ve been hired. 

Which soft and hard skills should you mention? How do you do so correctly?

The “Skills” section is without a doubt one of the most important sections in your entire resume. It provides an overview of your skills so that a recruiter can ascertain if you have the right skill set to perform well in the given job.

This is why it’s critical that you carefully select which skills to showcase. It’s considered best practice to only list around 6 to 8 in this section, so you’ll need to be cut-throat. Fortunately, this isn’t the only opportunity you have to highlight your skills in your resume. You should also feature them in your “Employment History” section and “Resume Objective” or “Resume Summary.”

So how do you go about selecting the most appropriate skills to showcase in your resume? You need to select the skills a recruiter is actively looking for from a candidate. To determine what these skills are, consult the job ad of the job you want to apply for. If you look carefully, you will notice that a variety of skills are mentioned throughout the entire job ad.

These are technically known as “keywords” in the HR industry, as they represent the ‘key’ qualities a recruiter is after. By including keywords in your resume, you’ll be able to tell a recruiter, “I offer the precise qualities you are looking for.”

It is important to keep your eyes peeled for both soft and hard skills. Soft skills are skills that rely on your communication or interpersonal abilities. Hard skills are practical skills that rely on your technical knowledge and abilities.

Below, we’ve provided some examples of soft and hard skills we identified in real-life job ads for translators. Look at them to see what types of skills you can expect to come across in your job search. Remember though, you need to feature the skills you identify in each particular job ad.

Soft skills

• Ability to work well with others
• Familiarity with academic language
• Customer service oriented
• Ability to be flexible
• Detail oriented
• Accurate
• Ability to cope with several tasks simultaneously
• Professional attitude
• Working well under pressure
• Flexible to meet scheduling needs

Hard skills

• Translating from English to target language and vice versa
• Reading and interpreting documents
• Document translation using technical language
• CAT (computer assisted translation) tool expertise (e.g. Plunet, Memsource, and SDL Trados Studio)
• Writing routine reports and correspondence
• Ability to collaborate with other translators and customers on editing of completed document
• Obtaining additional information by contacting key stakeholders
• Proofreading translations and transcriptions
• Transcribing and translate audio recordings in both languages
• Performing effective research of unknown terminology as needed

Pro tip: Be sure to keep a lookout for “cultural awareness competency” keywords in job ads. These work almost as a combination of soft and hard skills because they demonstrate your ability to understand that language is an expression of culture and how to put this into practice. For example, you may need to show that you can “avoid generalizations and stereotyping by recognizing the cultural patterns.” Or that you can use “culturally-appropriate behavior.”

How to write a resume objective or summary and examples of both

If you thought that recruiters are going to pore over your resume, think again. Studies have shown that recruiters only spend an average of 6 seconds reading each candidate’s resume. That’s barely enough time to read more than a few lines of your resume!

Of course, recruiters will take more time to read the resumes of candidates who can show that they have strong potential.

The easiest way to convince a recruiter in only 6 seconds that your resume is worth reading properly is to craft a 2 to 4 sentence long resume objective or resume summary. Entry level candidates should opt for the former while experienced candidates should include the latter. You can learn more about how to write each one below:

Resume objective

A resume objective is basically a concise self introduction that emphasizes why you’re a star entry-level candidate. Given how important it is, you shouldn’t rush writing it like this candidate did:

• Aspiring translator who is really good at French and can speak a few other languages. I offer a range of enviable qualities as a soon-to-be translator which are sure to be valued at Translations United. I can’t wait to put my strong translation skills to the test at your company.

It may not seem too bad to an untrained eye, but this is precisely the type of resume objective recruiters can’t stand. Look more closely and you’ll see that the candidate hasn’t shared any specific skills or attributes they offer. They didn’t even specify what their language proficiency levels are for the languages they speak!

Recruiters want to see specific and relevant details about your skills, attributes, and any other information that frames you as a valuable candidate in your resume objective. These qualities are exemplified by the following candidate’s resume objective:

• Highly organized and motivated multilingual translator who specializes in French to English and English to French translations is excited to apply for the role at Translations United. In addition to holding a DALF C2 certification in French, I am also highly-proficient in Italian and am currently studying beginner Spanish.   

The recruiter for Translations United would anticipate reading the rest of this candidate’s resume as they successfully used their resume objective to establish themselves as an entry-level candidate with a number of attractive qualities. They did so by noting their French certification, the level they achieved, and the fact that they can do two-way translations.

They also made sure to mention their proficiency level for Italian or Spanish, despite not holding certifications in either. Another great thing this candidate did was mention their soft skills (highly organized and motivated).

Resume summary

Your resume summary should show how everything you developed and attained in your years of experience as a translator come together to make you the perfect candidate for the job. Before you set off to write one, be sure to avoid the mistakes this candidate made:

• Translator with 6 years of experience is looking for a full-time role at Travelers’

Paradise. In my years of being a translator, I have translated countless documents from English to Spanish. I am highly skilled at it and couple my translation skills with other skills too. I am certain I would be able to make a positive impact at your company and develop my skills further if given the chance to work at your company.  

The problem with this resume summary is that the candidate tried to build themselves up to be an amazing translator, but failed to provide any proof they actually are one. For example, they repeatedly mention their skills without elaborating on what they are. Moreover, they focus so much on themselves without explaining how their competencies relate to what Travelers Paradise is looking for from a translator.

• Detail-oriented English-to-Spanish translator with a DELE C1 certification and 6 years of experience working as a translator in the travel industry wishes to bring their customer-oriented approach to translating customers’ queries to Travelers’ Paradise. I am known for my dedication as well as my ability to work under pressure. Skilled in using Plunet and SDL Trados Studio.

A recruiter for Travelers’ Paradise would be eager to discover more about this candidate because they made their most relevant professional experiences, skills, and attributes shine. For example, instead of just stating they are an English-to-Spanish translator, they backed this up by the fact they have a DELE C1 certification. Moreover, they further highlighted their suitability for the role by sharing that they already have substantial experience working in the travel industry.

A recruiter would also appreciate the fact that the candidate addressed some of the skills they outlined in the job ad. For example, the candidate put a spotlight on both their soft skills (detail-oriented, customer-oriented approach, dedication and ability to work under pressure) and hard skills (English-to-Spanish translation, translating customers’ queries, ability to use Plunet and SDL Trados Studio).

How to target your resume for each application

As you’ll be well aware, every translation job is different. That’s why you can tick all of the boxes for one job and then barely meet the requirements for another.

Why, then, are you using the same resume for all of your job applications? Just as you adapt your translations to meet the particular needs of each project, you should also adapt your resume to meet the particular needs of each job.

This is called targeting or customizing your resume for each application. While you could completely rewrite your resume each time, there’s a smarter way to do this. Just modify each section of your resume until it reflects what a recruiter is after.

If you have read the prior section about how to put together your “Skills” section, you’ll already know how to do this. Simply identify which keywords appear in a job ad for the job you want and naturally incorporate them throughout your resume and entire frame your resume around them. This will in turn help you make your resume as relevant as possible to a given job ad and a recruiter’s expectations.

For example, let’s say you have professional experiences and skills in translating from Japanese to English as well as from Chinese to English. If you want to apply for a job that only involves Chinese to English translation, focus your resume predominantly on these skills and experiences. Of course, you can also mention your Japanese to English skills and experiences, but to a much lesser degree (and only if they are relevant to what the recruiter is seeking).

How to make your resume stand out

A good-enough resume isn’t going to snag you the job – you need to ensure your resume shines. Here are 3 expert tips that will help you make your resume stand out:

• Quantify your achievements: A surefire way to make your resume stand out is to ensure each of the responsibilities you list in your “Employment History” section read more like achievements. That means you shouldn’t only be stating what duties you were responsible for in your current and prior jobs. You need to frame them in a way which highlights the value you brought to each given task.
  
  The easiest way to do this is to provide tangible examples of your achievements and/or quantifying them with numbers and percentages. For example, you can make the vague achievement, “Completed a translation task given by a client at the last minute in record time,” sound far more impressive by using numbers to clarify what “record time” means. With this in mind, you could instead write, “Completed a translation task given by a client at the last minute in one-third of the usual time.”

• Don’t underestimate the power of having useful soft skills: Translators sometimes make the mistake of thinking that their second-to-none language and translation abilities will be enough to get them hired. As we explored above, your resume should not only highlight your technical skills, but also your interpersonal ones.
  
  Even if the job ad doesn’t specifically mention any soft skills, you should still include a handful that you possess in order to show that you’re a well-rounded candidate.

• Ensure you address any additional criteria: Some jobs will require candidates to meet additional criteria that have nothing to do with their translating skills or experience. For example, a job ad may state that only candidates who have a driver’s license or a BLS/CPR card will be considered.
  
  If you want to apply for a job that has additional criteria like this, be sure to address the fact that you meet it somewhere on your resume. Remember, you put your application at risk of being rejected if you don’t make this clear. Depending on what the criteria is, you may be able to mention it in your “Skills” section, “Employment History” section, or even in your “Resume Summary” or “Resume Objective.”

3. How to Write a Winning Resume Using Resumebuild.com’s Easy-to-Use Resume Builder

You may assume that you’ll find making your resume an easy task, given your superior languages abilities. While you may indeed fare better than those who don’t have such a way with words, resume-making is hardly ever a walk in the park. After all, there is a seemingly innumerable amount of things you need to account for in order to make a resume that recruiters love.

Given all there is to do, there’s no getting around the fact that it takes hours and hours to make even a half decent resume…or is there? Our streamlined resume builder at Resumebuild.com makes compiling your resume a completely trouble-free process.

It separates each section of your resume into manageable steps so that you can easily put together your resume piece-by-piece. You can even look forward to using any one of our HR-approved resume templates that catches your eye.

If you’re ready to make 2020 the year you get hired for your dream translator job, give our resume builder a go!

Companies and individuals expect a lot out of an event planner. The buck stops at your feet, as you’ll be expected to take responsibility for nearly everything that happens. That’s why your resume needs to clearly communicate that you’re detail oriented, organized, confident, and capable.

Spelling mistakes, confusing structure, or even the wrong tone on an event planner resume can make a fatally bad first impression. On the other hand, getting all of those details just right means your event planner resume will be ready to get you hired at better gigs for higher pay. In other words, it’s absolutely worth taking the time to get your resume just right.

Luckily, this guide has all the information you need to do just that.

What you’ll learn from this guide:

• What a great event planner resume should look like
• How to ensure your resume makes it past ATS
• What you can do to appeal to recruiters
• The best formatting for an event planner resume
• How to list your education
• Which skills to include and how to give them more weight
• How to highlight your achievements
• Whether to include an objective or summary and how to write either
• What to do if you have little or no experience
• How to make your resume stand out
• The importance of using a resume builder

Event planner or coordinator resume template examples

Imagine asking someone to plan a major event like a conference who’s never attended one. You’re probably shuddering at the thought. After all, you need to be familiar with how events are experienced and what they’re like to be truly effective at planning them.

However, many people do the equivalent when creating a resume. Instead of looking at examples, they simply write what they think is best. Perhaps they’re basing this on what they remember resumes being like decades ago.

This is a recipe for mediocrity. Resumes have evolved and your event planner resume needs to show that you’ve evolved with them. From clean modern design to better writing and structure, look at these expertly curated event planner resume examples to get an initial idea for what yours should look like. Be sure to take notes about which elements you’d like to incorporate.

[Examples]

How to write an event planner resume that will get you noticed

Just like with an event, your resume can have something big and flashy but the real marker of quality is in all the small details. In fact, an event planner's resume shouldn't focus on being big or loud as this might worry a potential client or company that you won’t be flexible about their needs.

The better approach is to focus on crafting a resume that’s greater than the sum of its parts by nailing all the details. Don’t worry though, we’ll go over all of them. But the place to start, just like with event planning itself, is understanding the audience. You may assume that audience is a recruiter or client, but you’d only be half right.

Why you need to begin by thinking about ATS

ATS stands for Applicant Tracking System. It’s an AI-driven algorithm that scans large numbers of resumes to determine whether they should be immediately rejected or reviewed by a recruiter. While an individual client hiring an event planner isn’t going to use ATS, an enormous number of larger companies do. So unless you’ll only be using your resume for individuals and never companies, you need to be ATS-ready.

But what do you need to do to get past ATS? There are three simple steps:

1. Ensure your resume is in the right file format. This is the easiest rule to follow. ATS are generally designed to work with .pdf, .doc, and .docx files. Any resume you submit should be in one of those formats.
2. Ensure that file is ATS-compatible. Rule 1 aside, some files are easier to read for ATS than others. The way the data is structured within the file has a huge impact on whether an ATS can easily understand it or will simply reject your resume immediately. Don’t worry though, this doesn’t mean you need to go out and get a degree in computer science, you just need to use a resume builder which automatically generates ATS-friendly files (more on that later).
3. Use keywords to your advantage. Here’s where the real art of writing for ATS comes into play. While each of the dozens of ATS software examples out there works slightly differently, they generally are given a set of keywords and requirements, then asked to filter out resumes that don’t have them. However, ATS aren’t perfect and they can easily misunderstand information in your resume. That’s why the key is to study the job description to determine which keywords and experiences they’re looking for before including them on your resume as closely to how they were originally written as possible. In essence, you’re making it as easy as possible for an ATS to see that you meet its requirements.

How to appeal to a recruiter or client

As an event planner or coordinator, you’ve already had plenty of practice in appealing to a client. This is a time to use those skills. If you’re applying for a position at a company, the recruiter or hiring manager who reads your resume is your client. Your resume needs to be tailored to appeal to them and not simply to show yourself off the way you want.

Begin by putting yourself in their shoes. What can you do to make their job easy, to make it as easy as possible for them to select you? By including keywords from the job description you’ve already taken the first step as the recruiter will be looking for these same requirements. But beyond that, you need to consider how the design of your resume can make it easier to read. After all, that recruiter might be looking at dozens or more resumes in a day, so if yours is easy on the eyes, they will appreciate that.

It’s also about how you structure the information, which brings us to formatting.

How should an event planner resume be formatted

The simple rule of resume formatting is that the most important information should go at the top. For example, if the job requires 5 years experience, don’t make the recruiter read through half the resume before they see that you meet that requirement. That critical information should be right at the top.

The same goes for your experience. Your work history should be in reverse chronological order, so your most recent jobs and projects go at the top. A recruiter should be able to get a feel for you as a candidate with just a quick glance, not be forced to dig through to find the information they need to evaluate you.

How long should your resume be?

Imagine planning a ceremony, should it be as long as possible so the participants can put in as many speeches as possible? The participants might enjoy that, but the audience will likely get bored and even annoyed. In this case, you are the participant and the recruiter is the audience. Writing a 3 page resume may make you feel good because you can go into plenty of detail about your event planning experience, but the recruiter will likely be exhausted and annoyed by it.

All that is to say, your resume should be as short as possible, while also including all the valuable information it can. An effective way to cut it down is to evaluate each sentence and section, asking yourself whether it adds value to the overall resume. If it isn’t making your resume better, it’s making your resume worse and should be cut.

What should event planners / coordinators put on a resume?

While the sections and information you choose should always be tailored to the specific event planning job you’re applying for, these are the main sections you should consider including:

• Resume objective or summary
• Work experience
• Licenses and Certifications
• Achievements
• Projects
• Education
• Hard skills
• Soft Skills

How to list your education in an event planner’s resume

The first question you should ask is whether your education is relevant. If you obtained a BA in biology 20 years ago, there’s no need to include that. However, if you’re a recent graduate or your degree is related to event management or planning, then you should include it.

But how much detail is necessary? In most cases, adding additional information about specific classes or activities isn’t needed. However if those elements are directly related to event planning then you can include them. Here are two examples to illustrate that:

BA in English

The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

1997-2001

-Took courses in medieval English literature

-Thesis focused on medieval English identity in The Canterbury Tales

-Captain of the university softball team

The problem here is that valuable space is wasted on details that have nothing to do with your ability to plan or coordinate events. That space should be spent on more valuable information.

Master of Management in Hospitality

Cornell University SC Johnson School of Business

2012-2016

-Planned 3 student Galas at the University Hotel

-Interned with the head event coordinator at the Overlook Hotel

This example has a degree directly related to event management and only mentions further details that are relevant. If this candidate was involved in other unrelated extracurricular activities, they don’t need to be mentioned.

How should your skills be included on an event planner resume?

Including the right skills is essential for getting past ATS and clearly demonstrating your strengths as an event planner. For example, the person hiring you needs to know whether you’re better at managing small details or managing teams you can delegate to. Above all, they need to see the skills they’ve told you are important in the job description reflected on your resume.

But just as important as which skills you have is the confidence the reader has in those skills. Anyone can simply state that they’re detail oriented, but a resume which gives a concrete example to demonstrate that skill will be far more impactful. Let’s look at two examples to see what that looks like in practice:

Budget management

Again, while stating that you have this skill is better than nothing, there’s no information to indicate how good you are at budget management.

Budget management

-Organized a 400 person wedding 7.5% under the initial budget.

With just a few words, this example gives a completely different impression than the previous one. A reader is more likely to think “wow, this person can clearly manage a budget well.”

Which hard skills are best to include

• Event coordination
• Budget management
• Event management software like Bitrix24 or Ticket Tailor
• Database software and management
• Catering management
• Project management
• Logistics and service ordering

Which soft skills are best to include

• Attention to detail
• Patience
• Problem solving
• Time management
• Leadership
• Communication
• Conflict resolution

How to use certifications to back up your critical skills

Besides including examples, certifications are one of the best ways to back up your skills. Beyond that, obtaining certifications also tells potential clients or employers that you care enough to go above and beyond the basics, a critical trait for any great event planner.

To include a certification, simply list it followed by the name of the certifying organization and the year you obtained it. If you’ve renewed it, mention when that was done as well.

Certified Special Events Professional (CSEP), International Live Events Association, 2017

Which certifications should you consider including?

Some of the top event planning certifications are:

• Certified Meetings Professional (CMP)
• Certified Special Events Professional (CSEP)
• Certified Professional in Catering and Events (CPCE)
• Certified Government Meeting Professional (CGMP)
• Global Travel Professional (GTP)
• Digital Event Strategist (DES)
• Certification in Meeting Management (CMM)
• Certified in Exhibition Management (CEM)
• Certified Trade Show Marketer (CTSM)
• Certified Event Planning Specialist (CEPS)
• Certified Quality Event Planner (CQEP)

How to highlight your most important achievements

Chances are you’ve planned some events outside of your career in event planning, so how do you include those kinds of experiences on your resume? That’s where a dedicated achievements section is ideal. Things you’ve achieved in your formal work should be left in your work history.

Like with your skills, the key to making your achievements more impactful is specificity.

Headed negotiations for the Medieval History Society of California’s annual meeting.

While this example isn’t terrible because the experience is relevant, a read would have many questions. When was this, how big was the meeting, what was the budget, how did the negotiations go, what kinds of things did you negotiate for, etc.? While you don’t need to answer all of these, being specific will dramatically change how your achievements are perceived.

Headed contractor negotiations for the 2016 Medieval History Society of California’s annual meeting to provide promotional materials, a venue, food, presentation equipment, etc. for 2,500 participants. Achieved an 18% reduction in costs relative to the previous year.

This version of the example leaves a far better impression, making this person sound extremely competent and detail-oriented.

What are the differences between resume objective and summary? Where do I use which?

Remember we talked about the importance of putting the most valuable information on your resume at the top? A resume objective or summary is the most effective way to do just that. They offer a flexible section where you can include information that doesn’t fit neatly anywhere else on your resume. For example, if you’re changing careers, you can include why you chose to do this.

Including an objective or summary first puts you more in control of the narrative of your resume by ensuring the reader sees specific contextual information first. But what’s the difference between the two?

A resume objective is only about a sentence and should focus on concisely explaining who you are and what you aim to achieve. A summary, on the other hand, can be a bit longer and is better if you have more information that you want to explain in this section and you don’t have a cover letter you can use for that purpose.

How to write a resume objective

A resume objective should be short and sweet. You need to get a lot of information into just a few words.

Emily is a talented event coordinator with the experience needed to ensure your events are a success.

This example gets some things right, but ultimately doesn’t do what a good resume objective should. It’s correctly written in the third person, but including your name isn’t necessary as it’s already at the top of your resume. This example fails the “add value” test. It doesn’t really tell the reader anything important.

CMP Certified event coordinator with 5 years experience in political fundraising looking to apply skills to coordinating annual meetings for ALPA.

This example immediately tells the reader that this person is certified, what kind of experience they have, and that they tailored their resume for this specific job. In other words, the most critical information from the whole resume is instantly communicated so the reader has a sense of the candidate.

How to write a resume summary

The important thing to note about a resume summary is that just because it can be longer doesn’t mean it should be. You have to value the time of the person reading your resume. They will greatly appreciate it if you do.

After many years working in hotel management I’ve decided that I would like to shift my career to focus more on event management because I’ve found I enjoy it much more. Although I’ve only assisted in some event planning and management in the past, I’m eager to learn and grow my skills.

There are a few critical mistakes in this resume summary. The first is that it’s written in the first person which, in addition to the overall tone, makes it sound rather unprofessional and unconfident. It also leaves out details like how long they’ve worked in hotel management and what kind of work they did assisting in event planning and management. Let’s see a better version for comparison:

Seasoned hotel management professional with 8 years experience looking to change careers to focus on event management. Hoping to leverage experience assisting in running conferences, weddings, and other events at the Marriott to assist KPMG in running more effective digital and in-person events.

This version contains useful details about the kind of experience the candidate has, why they’re switching careers, and how they will use their past experience in a new role. It also specifically mentions the employer, making it clear they took the time to customize this resume.

How to write an event planner / coordinator resume with little to no experience

Fortunately, you can gain a lot of relevant experience for being an excellent event planner or coordinator without ever having formally worked as one. You can focus on experiences when you’ve had to organize or manage events or projects in the past. Absent that kind of experience, try emphasizing relevant skills like attention to detail, being calm under pressure, and being extremely organized. Lastly, you can try and obtain a certification as this will make it much easier to get hired without much experience and is far faster as well as cheaper than a degree.

How to make your resume stand out

If you want your resume to stand out for the right reasons, get all those small details right. Have a trusted friend or colleague review your resume to help find areas to improve or mistakes you may have missed. By nailing every small detail in your resume instead of simply proclaiming yourself the best event manager around, you’ll be showing your abilities with actions instead of words.

That said, great design is another easy way to make your resume stand out from the standard boring resumes most recruiters see all day. Getting that design requires using a quality resume builder.

How Resumebuild.com’s resume builder tool makes it easy

A great event planner or coordinator has to know how to delegate. When you’re creating your resume, the best place to do that is with a resume builder. By using a tool like Resumebuild.com to ensure you have clean, modern design and an ATS-optimized file format, you can spend more time focusing on the content that will get you hired.

Browse through event planner resume templates for inspiration, create and save multiple versions of your resume for different jobs, and be confident that you’ve got a team of resume experts behind you to ensure you’re successful. After all, planning events takes enough time, so save it where you can and trust the experts.

As a registered nurse you will be well aware of the fact that nursing is one of the most rewarding but challenging professions out there. Nurses require a high level of training, subject matter knowledge, and technical skills to provide the best quality care possible to their patients. They also need to demonstrate “soft skills” like empathy and strong communication skills.

Unfortunately, showing your competency in a healthcare setting is an entirely different matter to showing it on your resume. If your resume doesn’t convince a hiring manager that your experiences, skills, and education make you the right person for the job, you will have a hard time securing a job in this profession. 

Even if you are the best person for the job, you won’t get a look in if your resume is poorly put together. That’s why it’s vital that your nursing resume is written and formatted in a way that clearly communicates why you are miles ahead of your competition.

If you’re struggling to create a resume that does all of this, our guide below will provide you with the step-by-step instructions and insider tips you need to make your nursing resume stand out. 

Our nursing resume guide will clearly explain:

• How to optimally format your resume
• What details need to be included 
• How to make your nursing resume eye-catching to hiring manager
• Which resume templates you can use to efficiently make a professional resume

If you’re a registered nurse who’s ready to start getting more job offers, here’s our guide to everything you need to do:

1. Multiple Template Examples

2. How to Write a Perfect Nursing Resume

How to format your nursing resume

The way you format your nursing resume can make a dramatic difference to how a hiring manager views your application. If the most important information in your resume is not immediately apparent, they may simply dismiss your application altogether.

That’s why it is essential to format it in a way that puts a spotlight on two sections in particular:

1. Your experience
2. Your education

The resume format that does this best is the reverse-chronological format. In this format, your work experiences are organized into reverse-chronological order. That is, your most recent work experience is presented to the reader first, followed by your second most recent work experience, and so forth.

Your education is also featured prominently in this resume format, which is ideal considering that it is compulsory to have the right training in this profession.

In terms of the optimal layout of your resume, we recommend the following general guidelines: 

• • Number of Pages: 1 page maximum.
  • Fonts to Use: Easy-to-read, classic fonts such as Times New Roman and Arial. 
  • Fonts to Avoid: Difficult-to-read or “fun” fonts such as Pinyon Script and Comic Sans.
  • Margins: 1 inch on all sides.

• Line Spacing: 1 or 1.15.

• Header size: 14-16 point size.
• Text size: 11-12 point size.

What recruiters are looking for

In order to create a strong nursing resume, you need to understand what recruiters are looking for. Generally speaking, recruiters give preference to nursing resumes that offer a good balance of education, experience, and skills that match the position at hand. The ideal candidate is someone who is not only professionally competent, but also has a passion for nursing.

The key word here is “balance.” For example, a candidate who went to a great school but does not convincingly demonstrate in their resume that they possess relevant skills will not go very far in the hiring process. To make each section of your resume count, you must spend time refining each section of it. 

How you present your resume is an equally important factor to recruiters. Despite having a solid educational background, relevant experience and sought-after skills, many candidates’ resumes aren’t given a second look because they are not logically organized or they look haphazardly put together. 

In short, recruiters are looking for a well-organized, professional-looking resume that communicates why the candidate’s education, experience and skills will make them an excellent hire.

What skills to mention and how to do it correctly

Any nurse will tell you that nursing isn’t just about applying your technical skills. You also need to know how to use soft skills so that you can genuinely connect with patients, maintain organization, and work efficiently.

Nursing thus involves two different—albeit equally important—types of skills: technical/hard skills and soft skills. It is therefore critical that you mention both types in your nursing resume. Below we have highlighted the two types of skills to include along with some helpful examples of each:

• Technical/hard skills: blood administration, pain management, wound irrigation, and surgery preparation.

• Soft skills: teamwork, critical thinking, empathy, and attention to detail.

Including both hard and soft skills in your resume will highlight what a well-rounded and highly-skilled candidate you are. Considering that many candidates only choose to focus on one type of skill set to the detriment of the other type will also help your resume truly pop. 

We recommend that you include your skills in a dedicated skills section. This will assist the hiring manager to easily identify what skills you offer. You should also “pepper” these skills throughout your job description bullet points as you see fit.

The best approach to take when selecting which skills to feature is to first pinpoint which ones the hiring manager is looking for. This step couldn’t be easier considering that many job descriptions readily include this information! Next, take the time to work out how these skills match your specific skill set and determine which ones are the most appropriate to include in your resume.

Once you’ve done this, you can use your best judgment to add any other skills that you believe would be applicable and sought-after in the job you are applying for. 

Pro tip: It’s a good idea to also take a look at the website of the facility to get a better idea of their values and the skills they are looking for. 

What achievements to mention and how to do it correctly

Needless to say, you will now have a number of nursing achievements that you would like to feature in your resume. As it is not possible to include them all, how do you know which ones deserve to make the cut?

You should mention achievements that are: 

• Relevant to the job you are applying to
• Eye-catching
• Measurable (where possible)

Like we suggested in the skills section above, it’s a good idea to take a look at the job description as well as the facility’s website. They may be able to provide some guidance about what achievements would impress the hiring manager.

Once you have worked out which achievements to include, you need to work on your delivery of them. Simply stating what you’ve done is only part of the story. You should also put a spotlight on how and why your achievements have made a positive impact in your workplace. 

For example, this statement only highlights the “what”: 

• Make changes to patient treatment plans.

Whereas, this statement highlights the “what” in addition to the “how” and the “why”:

• Modify patient treatment plans as indicated by patients' responses and medical charts to provide more personalized care.

Needless to say, the latter statement sells the nurse’s achievement far more convincingly than the former one. Unlike the former statement that only describes what the nurse did, the latter statement highlights how they did it, as well as the result/reasoning behind their actions.

This clearly conveys to the hiring manager that the nurse not only has the expert knowledge and skills to take such a course of action, but also has the care to do so. In just one sentence, the nurse is able to successfully demonstrate their deep understanding of professional practices and possession of important soft skills. 

Pro tip: When in doubt, ask yourself if the bullet point highlights the impact of each course of action by explaining the “what” as well as the “how” and/or “why.”

Should you include information about your nursing license? If so, how should you do it?

It is strongly recommended that you include your nursing license type and number on your resume. Not only will including this information leave no question as to your qualifications to practice nursing, it will also so will save the hiring manager from looking it up themselves on a database. 

So how should you list your license details?

The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) recommends listing your license details after your education section. 

Under the heading “License/s” include the following information, as appropriate:

• License name 
• Certifying body
• State of licensure
• Expiration date (in cases where there is no expiration date, state the date acquired)
• License number

For example:

Kelly McAdams, Registered Nurse, Alaska Board of Nursing, AK, Expires: Jan, 2022, # 71628392

Pro tip: Remember, a resume that readily includes everything a hiring manager is looking for is far more likely to impress! If you are concerned for your privacy, it is worth keeping in mind that licenses can be looked up on the public record anyway. 

How to write a resume objective (with examples)

If you only have limited nursing experience, you may be wondering how to structure a resume to your advantage. One insider tip for student nurses, new graduates or anyone else with only a few years or less of nursing experience is to include a resume objective rather than a resume summary at the top of your resume. 

A resume objective provides you with the opportunity to communicate what you’re looking for from a role, while briefly mentioning your professional experiences. Conversely, a resume summary provides an overview of your work history. If your nursing experience is limited, it is far more advantageous to start off your resume by focusing on your professional motivations and goals instead of your minimal nursing experience.

The key to writing a strong resume objective is to concisely convey what you are looking for professionally. Keep your resume objective to 2-4 sentences maximum. Consider the following examples:

• Student nurse with a 3.6 GPA in his final year of studies. Seeking an internship in the pediatric ward of a hospital with the goal of becoming a pediatric nurse.

• Registered nurse with 6 months of healthcare experience seeking a position in a fast-paced healthcare setting. Looking for an opportunity to apply the nursing skills developed when interning at one of the state’s largest hospitals. 

How to write a resume summary (with examples)

If you have more than a few years of nursing experience under your belt, it is in your best interests to include a resume summary at the top of your resume. 

The key to writing a strong resume summary is to provide a short but insightful overview of your most notable professional experiences. If you have space, you can also include any other relevant attributes or achievements that make you stand out. Consider the following examples:

• Registered nurse with 5 years of experience specializing in palliative care. Currently working in a 28-bed palliative care unit with responsibilities including administering medication, maintaining patients’ physical, mental and emotional health, and communicating with patients’ loved ones. Fluent in Spanish and Chinese.

• RN with over a decade of experience in a range of healthcare settings including community hospitals, outpatient clinics, and nursing homes. Commended for a patient-first approach to healthcare and continued professional learning. Member of the American Nurses Association (ANA).

Pro tip: Try to keep your resume summary to 2-4 sentences maximum. 

Additional sections you can include in a resume

There are a handful of additional resume sections you can include to make your application more memorable to hiring managers. While these sections are not mandatory to include, it is recommended that you add one or more of these sections to the end of your resume where possible. Keep these sections tight and only include information you are willing to discuss at the interview stage.

• • Any nursing-related awards you have received: Are you an award-winning nurse? Don’t be shy about highlighting any awards you’ve received either during your schooling or career. 
  • Any foreign languages you speak: Given the diversity of patients that are admitted to healthcare settings, there is an increasing demand for nurses who are multilingual. 

• Conferences or courses you have attended: Professional learning in the form of conferences or courses you have attended is looked upon favorably by hiring managers. They demonstrate your enthusiasm for the profession as well as your willingness to continually develop your knowledge and skills.

• Professional affiliations: It is worthwhile noting if you are part of any nursing associations. For example, the American Nurses Association (ANA), the National League for Nursing (NLN), American Health Care Association or any other professional associations related to nursing.iation

Providing information about healthcare institutions you've worked for and why it's important

Most healthcare institutions are looking to hire nurses whose past experience and skill set is similar, or at least transferable, to the role at hand. For instance, most will give preference to nurses who have worked in similar-sized medical institutions or similar-sized units. 

They will also look for nurses whose current or past duties match those of the job description. After all, while basic nursing duties may be similar across a range of healthcare settings, there is a marked difference between the specific duties that different types of nurses perform.

This is why we advise including details about each medical institution you have worked for. Providing this information will assist the hiring manager to assess your suitability to the job and will also allow you to apply for more fitting jobs.

We recommend including the following information about each medical institution:

• The exact duties you performed
• The units you worked in 
• What each institution does 
• Their size (e.g. number of beds, number of patients you were responsible for) 

What additional information is necessary for a nursing resume

If you still have space on your resume, you may also include information about any nursing or healthcare-related volunteering positions you have undertaken. Volunteering shows your interest in supporting the community and your genuine passion for nursing. It could be just the thing that puts you ahead!  

3. How to Make Your Resume Stand Out

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment of registered nurses is projected to grow 12% from 2018 to 2028. With such solid employment prospects, you may be wondering why it’s so vital to make your nursing resume stand out from the resumes of other candidates. 

Simply put, by creating a resume that stands out, you will be able to give yourself the best chance of getting the nursing job you’ve always wanted. After all, you won’t be the only one applying for a coveted position. While employment for nurses is on the rise, the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) notes that there are 3.9 million nurses and midwives in the United States alone. 

There’s a world of difference between nursing jobs in different healthcare settings. If you want to ensure you find a job that you are passionate about which also boasts great pay and conditions - make your resume stand out in the following ways:

Avoid generalizations 

A surefire way to quickly lose a hiring manager’s attention is to use generalizations. A hiring manager wants to learn about your specific job experience—not read some vague explanation of what nurses do in general!

A good way to personalize your experience is to put a spotlight on any tangible improvements you made using relevant numbers and percentages. For example:

This statement is too vague and unconvincing:

• Made big changes to the rotational system in my unit to improve staff efficiency.

 Meanwhile, this statement is specific and immediately impresses the reader: 

• Overhauled the rotational system that resulted in a 210% improvement in staff efficiency.

Use powerful action verbs
Another way to differentiate your resume is to use powerful action verbs. Each job description bullet point should start with a verb. But not all verbs are created equal! There are the standard verbs (e.g. helped, provided, etc), and then there are verbs that are inherently eye-catching and impactful. 

Here are some action verbs to consider including in your nursing resume:

• Record
• Explain
• Report
• Screen
• Analyze
• Consult
• Monitor
• Observe
• Advise

Compare the following examples and note the significant difference an action verb can make to a resume. (Hint: Compare “wrote” vs. “compiled” and “gave” vs. “delivered”)

• Wrote reports about patients and gave them to the doctor in charge.

vs.

• Compiled patient reports based on patient observation and analysis of their charts, then delivered them to the doctor in charge. 

Pro tip: Don’t forget to also state the “how” and “why” as well!

4. How to Use a ResumeBuild Template to Make a Nursing Resume

As you’ve now discovered from reading our guide above, there are a number of considerations you need to keep in mind to create a professional-looking nursing resume. It isn’t simply a matter of typing out your education history, work experience, skills, and other relevant information. You need to communicate everything in a clear and concise manner that allows your achievements to shine. 

If you’re struggling to follow all of our expert tips above - you’re not alone. Many nurses find the process of putting together their resume incredibly challenging. Others may simply not have the time to work on perfecting their resume.

So why not make use of a professionally-made resume template? At ResumeBuild, we specialize in designing HR-friendly resume templates for job seekers. The process of creating a nursing resume with one of our ResumeBuild Templates couldn’t be simpler.

Our online resume builder streamlines the process of making a nursing resume by providing you with access to our vast template library. For example, our Classic resume template would be perfect for your nursing resume. The clean, fuss-free appearance is precisely what hiring managers of nurses are looking for. 

Remember, to highlight your professionalism as a nurse you need a resume that is equally professional-looking. It is therefore advisable to avoid any “fun” resume template designs and instead select one that has a polished and minimalist design.  

Ready to start creating your nursing resume using the Classic template—or any of our other resume templates? After you’ve selected your preferred template, just complete the following 5 straightforward steps:

1. Fill out your Personal Info Section: Provide personal information such as your name, address, and contact details. 
2. Fill out your Experience Section: First, select “Nursing” from the “Career field” subheading. You can then select the appropriate “Career subfield.” Now, you can freely make use of our pre-written nursing job description examples or write your own.
3. Fill out your Education Section: Add information about your educational background such as your school name, school location, degree, field of study, and graduation date.
4. Fill out your Skills Section: Note down 6-8 of your top skills. You can choose to add a skill level for each or leave this off.
5. Complete your Summary Section: Select “Nursing” from the “Career field” subheading to access nurse-specific summary section examples.

Once you’re done piecing together your nursing resume with our resume builder, make sure to review it. Of course, you can always come back to it and edit it anytime by accessing your ResumeBuild account. 

Key Takeaways

Making a nursing resume that hiring managers love is anything but impossible. There are plenty of steps you can take to make a positive impression on hiring managers, from conveying your achievements in the right way to using action words. You can choose to either spend the time and effort putting together your resume using our guide above, or simply use a reliable resume builder to do most of the hard work for you. 

When you’re ready to start working on your nursing resume, be sure to keep our insider tips in mind. With a few tweaks here and there (or a complete overhaul of your resume!), you’ll be able to finally score the nursing job you’ve always dreamed of.

As a certified medical assistant, you’re one of the most versatile allied health professionals that exist. You work directly with patients, you update charts, you field phone calls, and you ensure medical equipment is sterilized and ready for doctors and nurses. In many cases, you even handle co-payments and insurance. 

All that’s to say, you have a long list of both clinical and administrative skills. As impressive as that is, it doesn’t always translate to your resume. The medical field in general is exceptionally competitive. And it doesn’t matter how much experience you have; in order to land the job you really want, you need a resume that stands out.

And that’s where we come in. We’re here to help you create a resume that will impress recruiters and clearly convey how well you can keep a medical practice running smoothly.

In this guide, we’ll cover what it takes to write a top-tier medical assistant resume. We’ll even provide HR-approved template examples you can use (or reference for ideas and inspiration should you need it).  After reading our top resume writing tips and tricks, you’ll know:

• How to format your resume
• What sections a medical assistant should include in their resume
• How to list your education
• How to list additional training and certifications
• Which soft and hard skills you should highlight on your resume
• The differences between a resume objective and summary (and which one you should include)
• How to write an experience section that emphasizes career achievements
• How to write your resume if you have little or no experience
• How to make your resume stand out from other candidates

Here at ResumeBuild, we’ve done in-depth research to equip you with the knowledge you need to write a resume that will wow recruiters. Job searching doesn’t have to be difficult. Our resume guide will help you start securing interviews in no time.

Multiple template examples 

How to write a medical assistant resume that will get you noticed

Writing a medical assistant resume that stands out isn’t as easy as you might imagine. Even if you’ve worked at top medical centers, your resume will get tossed in the trash if it isn’t formatted correctly. If you want to impress a recruiter, you need to know these resume formatting tips.

How to format your resume

A recruiter spends an average of 7 seconds on each resume. In just 7 seconds they’ll decide whether or not they want to interview you. No pressure, right? Okay, it’s a lot of pressure. And that can be nerve-wracking. The good news is, you can actually use it to your advantage. 

If you can format your resume in an eye-catching way, you’re much more likely to leave a good first impression. But unfortunately, there is a lot of outdated information on the internet about the best way to format a resume. And if you follow it, you’ll blend in with every other applicant. 

Here’s how you should really format your resume if you want to stand out:

• Ensure your resume is one page in length (anything over is excessive)
• Use one-inch margins on all four sides (this helps your resume look crisp and clean)
• Include the following sections on your resume: header, summary, experience, skills, certifications, and education (you can add a volunteer or interest section if you have space for it)
• Be sure to hyperlink your email and phone number so that they are easily clickable (you don’t want a recruiter to have to work to get in touch with you)
• List your experience reverse-chronologically (or by relevance if that makes for sense for you)
• Use bullet points to focus on achievements in your experience section (don’t just list your day-to-day responsibilities)
• Use a modern font that is clean and easily digestible (recruiters are just scanning after all)
• Use headers and subheaders to break up each section (and make them stand out)
• Always save and export as a PDF (this way the formatting won’t get messed up when someone else opens the file)

This is not an exhaustive list of resume formatting guidelines, but it’s a good place to start. When it comes to resume design, always remember that simplicity is key. Your medical assistant resume should be easy to read with ample white space. If you try to add as much information as possible, it will quickly become crowded and difficult to digest. Doing so definitely does more harm than good. 

If CEOs and other high-level business executives can easily keep their resume to one-page, so can you. If you’re struggling to do that, only add in the most relevant information. If it’s not important to the job you’re applying to, remove it. Hiring managers don’t want to sift through things that don’t relate to the position you’re applying for. So whatever you do, keep in concise. 

What should a medical assistant put on a resume?

Okay, so you know you need a resume header, summary, experience, skills, certification, and education section, but what actually goes in each one?

Your header should include your name (in large font), your phone number, and your email. It isn’t necessary to put a physical address. This is an outdated practice. No one sends mail for hiring purposes anymore. Everything is done online or over the phone. Disclosing your address could also prevent you from getting called in for an interview if you live too far away. It’s technically illegal to discriminate this way, but many recruiters are guilty of it—whether or not they’re aware. 

In the summary section, you’ll want to highlight your previous experience and your most notable career accomplishments. We’ll cover more on that below. 

In the experience section, recruiters will look to see what kind of administrative, healthcare equipment, and patient experience you have. Every medical assistant position is a little bit different and they’ll want to hire someone who has had similar responsibilities in the past. That’s why it’s so important to tweak your resume for each position you apply to. Sending the same resume out over and over again is unlikely to lead to many interviews. In this section, they’ll also look for achievements. At the end of the day, they know what a medical assistant typically does. More than anything, they want to know how well you do it. We’ll touch on that more later on in the guide. 

In the skills section, they’ll look for hospital software experience, bedside manner skills, and interpersonal skills that will help you succeed. For medical assistants especially it’s important to include both hard, industry-specific skills as well as soft, interpersonal skills. We’ll show you how later on. 

In the certification section, they’ll look to see what—if any—certifications you have. Although they’re not a requirement to work as a medical assistant, they can make you a much more competitive candidate. 

And lastly, they’ll look at your education section to see your highest level of education. So how exactly should you list it? 

How to list your education in a medical assistant’s resume

How you list your education will depend on whether or not you’re an entry-level medical assistant. If you are, you’ll want to include the name of your college/university, your degree, and any relevant coursework or extra-curricular activities. 

If you’ve already been in the workforce for a few years, all you need to include in your education section is your college/university and your degree. You don’t even need to put your graduation date or years attended. Hiring managers don’t care when you finished. They just want to know that you did. 

How to list additional training and certifications

If you have additional training or certifications, you can make a separate section for these. The most widely recognized certification for medical assistants is the CMA (Certified Medical Assistant). Another one is the RMA (Registered Medical Assistant). And thirdly is the NCMA (National Certified Medical Assistant). Any of these are fantastic additions to your resume and can help set you apart from other candidates 

In addition, things like first-aid training or CPR can also be helpful to include.

Which hard and soft skills should be mentioned on a resume?

Deciding which hard and soft skills to add to your resume can greatly influence your chances of getting called in for an interview. Ideally, your skills section will show that you can get the job done better than anyone else. 

But how exactly do you demonstrate that? By highlighting the most sought after skills for a medical assistant. Here’s how to determine what those are. 

Read the job posting and make a list of all the required skills as well as any attributes that are mentioned throughout. On a separate list, note all the skills you possess—both hard and soft. 

Reference both lists identify the skills that appear on both. These are the ones you should include on your resume. Usually, hard skills can be listed as bullet points. Here are the top hard skills for medical assistants:

• Patient care
• Bedside manner 
• Charting
• Initial assessments
• Vital signs and patient monitoring
• HIPAA compliance 
• Patient transporting
• Bandaging
• Comfort care
• Wound cleaning
• Dressing patients
• Bathing patients
• Medication administration
• Feeding
• Patient advocacy and support
• Personal hygiene care
• EHR software
• ELMS software
• Sterilization and equipment cleaning
• Medical supply inventory
• Insurance billing and coverage
• Clinical research

Soft skills, on the other hand, require you to give a little more background. What we mean is, simply listing something like “leadership” or “communication” doesn’t mean much unless you can back it up. 

So instead of simply listing them, demonstrate them with examples. Think of a time you used the particular skill you want to add to your resume and include a few sentences about the situation. How did leveraging that skill change the outcome?

Here are the top soft skills worth adding to your resume:

• Adaptability 
• Attention to detail 
• Collaboration
• Communication
• Compassion
• Conflict-resolution
• Critical-thinking
• Decision-making
• Detail-oriented
• Flexibility
• Interpersonal skills
• Leadership
• Organization 
• Problem-solving
• Teamwork
• Time management

Lastly, it’s important to remember not to lie or exaggerate on your resume. It can be tempting to add skills you don’t have because you think they “sound good,” but that can get you into trouble—especially in the medical field. 

Be honest about the skills you do have and omit any you don’t. 

How to highlight your most important achievements in your experience section

We’ve said it once (or twice) and we’ll say it again. Your resume needs to highlight achievements. Simply listing previous job responsibilities is one of the most common mistakes people make when writing their resume. 

Don’t get us wrong. It’s certainly helpful to give a recruiter or hiring manager a general idea of what you did at past positions, but it doesn’t really do much to set you apart. 

When it comes to your experience section, you want to focus on what you did best. And it’s best to be as specific as possible. Being vague won’t do you any favors. 

Here is a right and wrong example. 

Wrong experience section:

• Took vital signs, triaged patients, and assisted with patient care
• Helped transfer and transport patients
• Assisted with charting and documentation

These resume bullets are pretty bland. And all they do is describe basic medical assistant responsibilities. Most likely every other candidate will have this same experience. 

Right experience section:

• Took vital signs, triaged patients, and assisted with every aspect of patient care in a fast-paced urgent care unit
• Helped transfer and transport patients by bed, cart, and wheelchairs. Received 98% positive feedback from patient satisfaction surveys
• Conducted proper charting and documentation for patients electronic medical record via ELMS with a 12% lower than average error rate

As you can see, this experience section is much more impactful. It talks about the candidate’s job responsibilities *and* it demonstrates how good they are at what they do. Numeric achievements especially can really add to your credibility. Here are some additional ideas to add:

• Number of patients you work with a day 
• Number of tests you ran per day 
• % of positive feedback

These can all help demonstrate what kind of environment you’re used to working in and how much you’re used to handling. 

What are the differences between a resume objective and summary? Where do I use which?

If you’re wondering if you should write a resume objective or a resume summary, don’t worry. You’re not alone. Many people struggle with which to write. 

The good news is, you can’t *really* go wrong with either. No one will look at your resume and go, “Oh. They wrote an objective instead of a summary. We can’t hire this person.” That’s just not how it works. 

That being said, there’s still a way to determine which one would be better to include. Here are the differences between the two. 

A resume objective is centered around the job seeker’s goal. They’re concise—just a few sentences—and are normally tailored to the job you’re applying to. Typically, resume objectives are better suited for recent grads or people with little to no experience. 

A resume summary, on the other hand, focuses on your top skills and career accomplishments. It uses your past experience to demonstrate why you’re the best fit for the job. Instead of focusing on the job searcher’s needs, it focuses more on the employers needs. 

How to write a resume objective

Your resume objective should include a few specific sentences about what you hope to achieve in your next position.

Wrong: Aspiring medical assistant seeking a full-time position at a Seattle hospital where I continue fine-tuning my skills.

This resume objective is bland and boring. 

Right: Certified medical assistant with 2 years of volunteer experience in a fast-paced ER. Seeking a full-time position at a Seattle hospital where I can continue building my skills in patient advocacy, clinical research, and medication administration.

This objective is much more engaging and specific to what the candidate is looking for. 

How to write a resume summary 

If you’re not an entry-level candidate, a resume summary is better suited for you. A summary should include a brief overview of your previous work experience and most notable career achievements.

Wrong: Medical assistant with 4 years of experience working in a general physician’s office. Skilled in patient care, charting, and sanitizing medical equipment.

This resume summary could be used by any medical assistant with four years of experience. And it doesn’t mention any real accomplishments. And you know what that means? That means it doesn’t stand out. And if you don’t stand out, you won’t impress a recruiter. 

Right: An AMA certified medical assistant with 4+ years of experience delivering compassionate patient care in a general physician’s office. Streamlined ER protocols to decrease waiting time by 30%.

This resume summary focuses much more on the candidates achievements. A recruiter can see right away what kind of impact this person can make at their hospital or medical practice. 

How to write a caregiver resume with little to no experience

If you’re a caregiver with little to no experience, don’t worry. Everyone has to start somewhere. You can still add information to your resume that will demonstrate your ability to succeed as a medical assistant. 

Be sure to include any relevant experience—including volunteer or internship experience. Even if you haven’t worked in a hospital before, there are applicable skills that carry over from other types of positions. 

Pick the responsibilities from previous positions that most closely relate to what a medical assistant would do and be sure to feature those on your resume. 

How to make your resume stand out

In addition to proper formatting, highlighting achievements, and tweaking your resume for each application, there are a few other things you can do to ensure your resume stands out. 

Say it with style

Recruiters read the same verbs over and over. Instead of starting each sentence with “assisted” or “managed,” try to get a little more creative. Power verbs can help further emphasize your achievements and make you more memorable to hiring managers. 

Quantify achievements in your experience section

Numbers on your resume are instant eye-catchers. Not only that, but they also add to your credibility. Here are some ways medical assistants can use numbers on their resumes:

• Patients worked with per day
• Operational cost savings
• Patient satisfaction %
• Time saved

Add a pop of color

Adding color to your resume can help it stand out from other black and white documents. In addition to pleasing the eye, it can also differentiate sections on your resume and make it easier to read. 

Just make sure you it doesn’t become distracting. Stick to neutral colors and use them sparingly. If you’re unsure which colors to use, look to see what colors are in the hospital’s logo. If they’re too bright or bold, soften them a little bit. And lastly, be sure to keep the text black. If you try to switch the text color to something lighter, it becomes difficult to read. 

How Resumebuild.com resume builder tool could be utilized for an easy resume setup 

If you’re interested in an easy, professional resume set up, consider Resume Build. We offer 20+ tailored-built, out-of-the-box resume templates that are HR-approved. In just three simple steps you can create a resume that’s sure to stand out. 

1. Choose a template. All 20 tailored-built templates follow industry guidelines and best practices so your resume passes applicant tracking systems. 

2. Upload your content. Just copy and paste from your current resume or populate your template with thousands of pre-written examples. 

3. Download your resume and start sending it off. You’ll land the job you’re looking for in no time at all!

At Resume Build, we know how tough it is to write a top-tier resume. We’re here to do the heavy lifting for you. So, what are you waiting for? If you’re ready to land your dream job, let us help  build you your resume today.

The rise of social media has not only completely transformed how we communicate with each other as individuals, but also how businesses communicate with us as existing and potential customers. 

As Bonnie Sainsbury, an award winning social media influencer and digital business strategist once said, “Social media will help you build up the loyalty of your current customers to the point that they will willingly, and for free, tell others about you.”

A company with a strong social media presence and strategy can reap enormous rewards including stronger branding, growth in their customer base, an increase in website traffic, and ultimately, a better bottom line. On the flip side, a weak social media presence and strategy can spell disaster for a company. Those that fail to capture audiences on social media or make the wrong moves may not only potentially damage their reputation, but also lose customers and sales.

It’s no wonder, then, that highly-skilled social media managers have become one of the most sought-after professionals in the workplace. After all, almost all companies – regardless of which industry they’re in – can reap the aforementioned rewards if they hire a strong social media manager to oversee their social media operations and personnel. 

Whether you’re a social media manager who is on the hunt for a new job, or you’re a social media professional who is eager to finally take on a managerial role, you’ve come to the right place. 

Our 2020 social media manager resume examples and guide will show you how to keep ahead of the competition and get hired for the most prized positions out there. Just keep reading and you’ll discover a range of practical resume writing tips and tricks such as: 

• What recruiters are seeking and how to give it to them
• What the ATS is and why it’s critical to create an ATS-friendly resume
• Which skills are essential to highlight in your job search
• How to highlight your training and certifications
• The simplest way to make a resume that’s worthy of going viral

1. Multiple Template Examples

2. How Do You Write a Social Media Manager Resume That Will Get You Hired?

How to format the resume

As a social media manager, you’ll know full well that image is everything. In order to create a hit social media post, you’ll need to do everything in your power to ensure that it looks enticing enough for viewers to engage with in the first place. The post will therefore need to be organized in such a way that immediately captivates them without too much thought on their behalf.

It may sound surprising, but this is also the case for your resume. After all, recruiters spend an astonishingly short amount of time (an average of just 6 seconds!) reading each resume. That means that in order to want to write a resume recruiters can’t get enough of, you’ll need to make it both easy and enticing to read and consume. 

It’s for these reasons that we always advise job seekers to use a tried-and-tested resume format to keep their resume looking neat and organized. If you’re an experienced social media manager, the most obvious choice out of all of the resume formats is a reverse-chronological format. 

The reason it makes sense to use this format is because it puts a spotlight on your career progression and achievements. It does this by positioning your “Employment History” section prominently in your resume and also by arranging each of your jobs in reverse-chronological order (starting from your most recent job and working backwards from there).

Another important part of making your resume captivating for recruiters is ensuring that it upholds particular layout rules. For better or worse, recruiters aren’t at all accommodating when it comes to this matter. They tend to have quite a narrow idea of what a resume should look like, so it’s advisable to play by these so-called rules. We’ve listed the main ones you should make sure to follow below: 

• • Number of Pages: 1 page at most.
  • Fonts to Use: Standard fonts that you use to write your monthly reports, such as Calibri and Arial.
  • Fonts to Avoid: Any fonts that a more conservative company would request you avoid using to create social media assets, such as Punquin Crazy Pants and Dream Script.
  • Margins: 1 inch on all sides.

• Line Spacing: 1 or 1.15.

• Header size: 14-16 point size.
• Text size: 11-12 point size.

Pro tip: If you believe that your professional experiences don’t sound too crash hot, it may be in your best interests to select another type of resume format that doesn’t emphasize this aspect as much. We suggest looking into using a functional resume format instead. This format is designed to primarily draw a recruiter’s attention to your skills first and professional experiences second.

What are recruiters looking for? How can you target your resume so that you can offer these qualities to them?

Recruiters are looking to hire a social media manager who possesses the know-how, skills, and right attitude to take a company’s social media presence and strategy to the next level. Whether through formal education, training and certifications, and/or on-the-job experience, an ideal candidate must offer a high level of social media savviness. 

They must demonstrate a strong ability to utilize the right tools and strategies, formulate impactful campaigns, track results, and boost the company’s overall social media efforts across all key channels, to name just a few of the qualities recruiters are after. 

As this is a management position, recruiters are also looking for a candidate who can expertly manage a team of social media professionals. An ideal candidate must provide them with the necessary guidance as well as leadership to ensure they are all working to their full potential.

Needless to say, if you want a recruiter to perceive you as the candidate they’ve been looking for all along, you’ll need to create a killer resume that addresses the precise qualities they’re after. The process of doing so is called targeting your resume for each application. All you need to do to target your resume is to incorporate the same qualities a recruiter mentions in a job ad into your resume.

That way, when they read your resume, they will clearly see the strong connection between what they’re looking for and what you’re offering. It’s for this reason that you should never be satisfied with submitting a generic resume. If you do so, you can pretty much wave goodbye to your chances of being hired. 

If you want to get hired for your dream job, you’ll need to make sure to step up to the challenge of customizing your resume each and every time. As we explore in the following section, doing so is not only vital to address recruiters’ needs, but also those of the ATS. Keep reading to learn more.

Targeting your resume for each application is a no-brainer if you want to get recruiters knocking on your door. But there’s another reason you need to ensure your resume needs to incorporate the very same qualities a recruiter mentions in a job ad: ATS.

ATS, which is the abbreviation of Applicant Tracking System, is a special type of recruitment software which supports recruiters to work their way through the countless applications they receive for every job. Many recruiters rely on ATS to vet candidates’ resumes before they look at them themselves. In fact, in many cases, your resume may not even get seen by a recruiter unless it makes it past the ATS!

If this sounds unbelievable, consider what Josh Bersin, the principal at HR consulting firm Bersin by Deloitte, has to say on the matter. He revealed in an article by CIO that, “Most companies have thousands of resumes sitting in a database that they’ve never looked at.” 

Before you take this as a sign that making a resume is useless, keep in mind that your resume is still the most important resource in your job application. What this actually means is that in order to guarantee your resume will be read by a human, you’ll need to ensure it’s 100% ATS friendly. 

How do you achieve this feat? Look carefully at the job ad of the role you want and search for words (called keywords) that express the qualities a recruiter is after in an ideal candidate. For example, specific skills, experiences, attributes, and so on. Then, incorporate any keywords that are applicable to you into your resume.

This will help you get past the ATS because it primarily determines which resumes it will pass based on whether keywords have been included. However, keep in mind that you’ll need to include them as naturally as possible, because otherwise your resume will be flagged either by the ATS or the recruiter.

For example, let’s say you want to target the keyword ‘Buffer.’ Don’t try to over-optimize it by repeating it arbitrarily like this candidate did in their “Employment History” section:

• Scheduled posts using Buffer because based on a comparison of using Buffer and Hootsuite, Buffer proved to be more efficient.

Instead, try to incorporate keywords as naturally as possible so that they don’t stick out from the rest of what you’ve written. To show you what a difference this will make to your resume, we rewrote the above achievement with this in mind:

• Scheduled posts using Buffer to ensure social media posts were always posted during times when reader engagement was proven to be optimal. 

What are the technical and interpersonal skills a social media manager needs?

Not just anyone can excel at being a social media manager. Contrary to what some people may assume, this role doesn’t just entail casually scrolling through social media sites and posting something on them every so often. 

You need to be able to draw on your social media expertise to pinpoint not only what content to post, but also how, where, and when to do so. Additionally, you are responsible for strategizing the best ways to engage with and grow your followers on a variety of different channels. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg for the technical skills you’ll need to employ!

You will simultaneously need to draw on a range of interpersonal skills to ensure that you complete all tasks in a productive and positive manner. Your interpersonal skills will also be crucial to effectively engage with everyone you interact with, from your team and other staff members, to clients and followers/customers. 

Considering all of this, you may think that you’ll be doing yourself a favor by cramming in as many skills as possible into your resume. To the contrary, the opposite is true.

To impress recruiters, you must be ultra selective and strategic about which skills you feature in your resume. Specifically, you should strongly emphasize the skills you possess that align with those that the recruiter is after. 

Fortunately, you don’t need to be a mind reader to discover which skills a recruiter is giving preference to. All you need to do is search for skills-related keywords in the job ad of the position you wish to apply for. In case you’re wondering – yes, these are the very same keywords we mentioned in the section above! If you skipped that section, we suggest going back and giving it a good read.

Once you know which skills to target, you should start working them into your resume. Basically, you should feature them in a total of 3 sections. Each of these sections will require a slightly different approach, so pay careful attention to our advice below:

• List around 6 to 8 in a dedicated “Skills” section. Separate each skill using either commas or bullet points. 
• Mention a few stand out ones in your “Resume Objective” or “Resume Summary” section. Remember, this is the section many recruiters read first. 
• Add all of the skills you wish to target naturally throughout your “Employment History” section. Doing so will allow you to explain how you put each skill into practice.

With all of this talk about your skills, we’re sure that you’re curious about which ones recruiters may be on the hunt for. While it’s important to keep in mind that each recruiter will be after a unique set of skills, there are some general ones that are likely to keep popping up on your job search.

To this end, we compiled lists of both the technical and interpersonal skills we found in real-life social media manager job ads. You can take a look at them to gain an insight into which skills are in high demand right now:

Technical skills

• Daily social management of all key channels such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Instagram Stories, and Pinterest
• Sourcing and delivering images for all social that is on brand
• Building project timelines and updating marketing calendars across digital and bespoke events and campaigns
• Organizing key campaign launch dates and ensuring tasks are being create in timely manner
• Deep understanding of the company's voice, tone, style, and creative approach
• Ability to develop tactics and campaigns that drive the business goals
• Managing a team of social media coordinator
• Gathering analytics (social captures, pageviews, campaign highlights) 
• Creating monthly reports on all running campaigns
• Seeking out strategic partnership opportunities with social media platforms to deliver business goals

Interpersonal skill

• Enthusiasm
• Adaptability
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Problem-solving
• Teamwork
• Providing clear directions
• Ability to delegate 
• Decision-making abilities
• Managing multiple projects under strict deadlines
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment

Pro tip: Don’t forget to include any well-known social media tools that you’ve used to organize and implement your work as a social media manager! Needless to say, you should give preference to highlighting those mentioned in a job ad. But to really impress, include some additional ones that are bound to catch the recruiter’s eye. Check out this list of 50 social media tools to get your brain ticking.

How do you list your education?

Umming and ahhing about whether to include details about your educational background in your resume? The short answer is that it’s always a good idea to do so. Recruiters expect to see certain sections in your resume, and an “Education” section is definitely one of them.

It’s ideal if you graduated from a relevant college degree such as marketing, media management, or business. But even if your degree isn’t directly relevant, it’s still worth adding it to your resume. Do the same if your high school diploma is your highest educational attainment. 

The reason it’s important to list your education is because it sheds a light on some of the knowledge and skills you bring to the table. Plus, given that this section takes up such little space but provides high value, it can only enhance rather than hinder your application. 

To list your education, provide the following information about each relevant degree or diploma:

• The name of the degree or diploma
• The name of your specialization (if relevant)
• The name of the college or institution you obtained it from
• The state the college or institution is located in
• The years you studied it

For example:

• B.S.B.A. in Marketing (Comprehensive Marketing Specialization), University of West Florida, 2016 - 2020

How to list any additional details, like training and certifications?

Including additional details in your resume, like your training and certifications, can really push you ahead of the pack. As any recruiter will tell you, a well-trained social media manager is far more likely to be a fantastic hire than one with little or no training. So if a recruiter spots that you have undertaken a number of relevant and eye-catching training sessions and certifications, you’re sure to be considered a top candidate for the job.

So which ones are worth adding to your resume? You should feature any relevant training and certifications that you undertook as part of your current and/or past social media jobs. You should also feature any that you completed on your own accord. Some examples of relevant courses include:

• Social media training courses and certifications
• Digital marketing training courses and certifications
• Training or certifications focused on how to use a specific social media tool

Other types of training courses and certifications that aren’t directly related to social media that would be highly beneficial to feature include: 

• Business management training courses and certifications
• Any training courses and certifications related to how to be an effective manager

To include your training and certifications, create a separate “Training and Certifications” section. Provide the following information about each one you have to your name:

• The name of the training or certification
• The name of the institution that provided it
• The state the training or certification is valid in
• The year you obtained it

For example:

• Social Media Marketing Training, Certstaffix Training, LA, 2020

Pro tip: If your “Training and Certifications” is in desperate need of a boost, consider completing an online course. There are plenty to choose from that are specifically designed for social media professionals. If you’re after some ideas, check out this guide from Hootsuite, which features both paid and free options.

How to write a resume objective and examples of this

If you’re gunning for your first social media manager job, including a resume objective is an absolute must. It’s akin to a written elevator pitch that tells the recruiter in 2 to 4 sentences why you’re the perfect hire for the job. As you won’t have any direct experience to highlight, you can instead focus on your professional experiences in social media.

When you’re writing out your resume objective, you’ll need to be mindful of the mistakes entry-level candidates tend to make. We’ve featured the most significant ones in the following resume objective example:
 

• If there’s one thing that’s clear it’s that I absolutely love social media! I have proven myself to be a skilled social media coordinator who knows how to achieve great social media media results with her eyes closed. While I have never been in a managerial position, I believe that I have the appropriate skills and attributes to really knock your socks off!

Can you work out what this candidate did wrong? We’ve summarized the main sore points below. The candidate:

• Failed to provide any evidence that they can actually achieve the “great social media media results” they promise.
• Opted for an overly casual tone over a professional one.
• Directly referenced the fact that they’re inexperienced as a social media manager.
• Didn’t highlight any relevant skills, experiences, or attributes that they bring to the table.
• Was overly vague in describing themselves as a professional. 

What, then, should you aim to do instead? Check out the following example of a well-written resume objective:

• Social media strategist with 3+ years of experience and a Bachelor in Digital Marketing who has a proven track record for growing website traffic via social media marketing by 10x. Highly-experienced with planning and implementing award-winning omni-channel campaigns. I demonstrated my leadership and teamwork abilities by assisting my manager to train a total of 5 junior social media coordinators. 

In just about the same number of words as the previous candidate, this candidate wrote an eye-catching overview of themselves that would go a long way in convincing a recruiter to take their application seriously. We’ve listed precisely what they did right below so you keep them in mind when you’re writing your own resume objective. The candidate:

• Provided evidence that they are already a skilled social media professional by highlighting an example of the impressive results they have achieved.
• Provided evidence that they have the potential to be a great manager by offering an eye-catching example of their burgeoning managerial skills.
• Maintained a consistent professional tone throughout their objective.
• Didn’t directly reference the fact that they’re inexperienced as a social media manager and instead focused on what they are experienced in. 
• Highlighted a number of relevant skills, experiences, and attributes that they bring to the table.
• Quantified their achievements using numbers.
• Was specific when describing themselves as a professional. 

How to write a resume summary and examples of this

If you already have experience as a social media manager, it’s vital to include a resume summary. Similar to a resume objective, it allows you to provide an overview of yourself in 2 to 4 sentences. The glaring difference between them is that in a resume summary, you shouldn’t hold back from highlighting how experienced you are. After all, you’ve earned it!

Just be sure not to fall into the usual traps candidates make, like the following resume summary exemplifies:

• Having worked as social media manager for a number of years, I have what it takes to be an incredible Social Media Manager at Day & Night Digital Marketing Agency. I am well-versed in all forms of social media and have a number of impressive achievements to my name. I am certain I will produce amazing results for your company if I get the chance to take charge of your social media campaigns. 

If you’re wondering what faux pas this candidate made, refer to our overview of them below. The candidate:

• Didn’t specify precisely how long they’ve been working as a social media manager.
• Providing general rather than specific statements about themselves.
• Attempted to reassure the recruiter that they’ll be an “incredible” social media manager, but didn’t back this up in any way.
• Claimed that they’re “well-versed in all forms of social media” instead of offering a richer insight into their skills and experiences.
• Asserted that they will produce “amazing results” but didn’t specify what this actually means and how they plan to achieve them. 
• Failed to mention anything about managing a team, which is also a crucial part of being a social media manager.

Interested to see how a well-written resume summary looks like? See the example below: 

• A creative and strategic media manager with over 4 years of experience in social media (2 of which as a manager), I am eager to bring my experience with working with clients such as Nike as well as my highly-organized approach to managing a team to Day & Night Digital Marketing Agency. I have spearheaded 15+ multi-million dollar campaigns and have increased social media profile followers at my current company by 10x in under a year. Facebook Blueprint Certified.

Needless to say, this is a million times more enticing than the previous resume summary example. You can follow suit by noting all of the qualities that make it so strong. The candidate:

• Specified precisely how long they’ve been working as a social media manager.
• Providing specific rather than general statements about themselves.
• Reassured the recruiter why they’ll be an asset to the company by highlighting an example of a well-known client that they’ve worked with.
• Quantified their achievements by using numbers to bring some of their key achievements to life. 
• Mentioned what their approach is to managing a team.
• Highlighted their relevant certification.

How to make your resume stand out

The fact of the matter is that there’s no shortage of social media managers – many of whom will be job hunting just like you. That means that you need to be as prepared as possible to blow the competition out of the water. 

Applying each of the tips we shared above will definitely give you a solid head start. But it will still be necessary to take some further steps to guarantee that your resume truly stands out. Here’s what we suggest you do: 

• Provide a link to your online portfolio: If you want your resume to scream “pick me!” be sure to provide a link to your online portfolio that includes your most prized social media achievements to date. You can include it in your “Contact” section or “Resume Summary” or “Resume Objective.”
  
  It makes for a fantastic resume addition because instead of just reading that you’re a “talented social media manager who creates killer social media campaigns,” a recruiter will be able to see it for themselves. If you’re unsure of how to begin, we suggest taking a read of these 5 useful tips .

• Show that you live and breathe social media: Any social media manager worth their bread and butter will live and breathe social media – both on and off the job. For the most part, your resume should focus solely on your professional accomplishments. But given the nature of your job, it may be worthwhile sharing links to one or more of your personal social media accounts in your “Contact” section.
  
  Needless to say, your accounts should be appropriate and relevant enough to share in the first place! For example, it’s a waste of space to include your Twitter handle if you haven’t posted since 2014, but if you regularly post on LinkedIn or have thousands of fans on Pinterest include those profiles instead.

• Clean up your social media presence: Speaking of your social media accounts, it may be wise to tidy them up. While it’s well-known that recruiters often scan candidates’ social media profiles, they’re much more likely to do so for social media managers. As such, if there’s any content that you don’t want potentially scrutinized by recruiters and your potential future boss, either make it private or delete it. 

• Keep in mind that while more modern companies generally don’t mind what employees post, more conservative companies likely will. Even if there’s nothing on your accounts that could raise some eyebrows, it’s still a good idea to conduct a social media clean up so that you can be sure that you’re presenting your best self online. After all, you certainly don’t want your resume to be rejected because of your SM or online presence!

3. How Resumebuild.com’s Resume Builder Tool Can Empower You to Make an Unforgettable Social Media Manager Resume 

Making post after post go viral on Twitter and Facebook? Check.

Running a multi-million dollar, omni-channel social media campaign? Check. 

Putting together a resume that convinces recruiters to hire you? Well, that’s a bit harder! 

While you could do your job with your eyes closed, you’ll face the prospect of drawn-out job search unless your resume makes this clear. We know that it’s not exactly fair, but submitting an impressive social media manager resume really is that vital to finally succeeding in your job search.

If you want to get hired quickly for a job you love, your resume needs to be nothing short of perfect. As you may have concluded from reading our guide above, this is far easier said than done if you intend to use the standard method of making a resume.

Fortunately, you also have the option of using an innovative resume making method that will empower you to make an unforgettable social media manager resume in a matter of minutes. We’re talking about none other than our handy resume builder tool, which you’ll find available on Resumebuild.com. 

Think of our resume builder tool as your secret sidekick in your job search. It will point you in the right direction so that you can create a resume that ticks all of the boxes a recruiter is seeking from a social media manager. You’ll start off by choosing an HR-friendly template from our extensive template library. Then, you’ll work on piecing together each major section of your resume. Don’t worry, we’ll provide you with plenty of pre-written examples to ensure your resume sounds just right! Finally, you’ll get the chance to review your completed resume before downloading it.

Yes, using these three main steps sound almost unbelievably simple to complete, but it really is that straightforward to make your resume using our resume builder tool. If you have a couple of minutes to spare, why not start creating a memorable resume today?

Technical writers, often called technical communicators, are considered to be a fundamental part of many workplaces due to the unique role they play in supporting key stakeholders to comprehend complex technical information. According to the Society for Technical Communication, the value that technical writers deliver is two-fold: 

1. They make information more useable and accessible to those who need that information.
2. They advance the goals of the companies or organizations that employ them by doing so.

Many people mistakenly believe that technical writers only write instructional manuals for the tech industry. However, they may need to engage in any number of tasks that serve to communicate information more clearly to customers and/or clients. For example, technical writers may need to create relevant diagrams, compile how-to guides, and write journal articles for applications, services, procedures, and/or regulations. What’s more, tech writing jobs are not limited to the tech industry – the science and medical industries also hire tech writers in droves.

Considering all of this, it’s not surprising that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that employment of these professionals will grow 8 percent from 2018 to 2028. This is double the projected growth of media and communications workers and 3 percentage points higher than the average of all occupations. The BLS notes that this demand for technical writers is primarily driven by, “The continuing expansion of scientific and technical products and growth in Web-based product support.”

If you’re a technical writer who wants to ride the wave of job growth in the sector, don’t make the mistake of applying for jobs with a mediocre resume. In order to get hired for your dream job, it’s critical to apply with a technical writer resume that recruiters pay attention to. 

For those of you who are unsure of where to begin, just consult our easy-to-read technical writer resume writing guide below. You’ll discover:

• The correct way to format and layout your resume
• Which types of skills you should emphasize
• Insider tips for drawing attention to your achievements
• Best practices for writing your resume objective or summary
• A quick and easy method of creating a stunning resume

1. Multiple Template Examples 

2. How Do You Create a Technical Writer Resume That Will Land the Job?

How should you format your resume?

The very first step you’ll need to take on your resume writing journey is to decide on which resume format to use. There are a couple of go-to formats to choose from that have been designed to suit different circumstances. 

We strongly recommend that experienced technical writers use a reverse-chronological format. This format isn’t only our top pick; it’s also the preference of most recruiters. It’s therefore no wonder that it’s become the most popular resume format around! The good news is that implementing it only requires you to do two main things:

1. Position your “Employment History” front and center in your resume.
2. Arrange your work experiences in reverse-chronological order i.e. from most recent to least recent.

Easy, right? Now that we’ve dealt with the matter of formatting your resume, let’s move on to its layout. There are a handful of unwritten rules you’ll need to follow in order to align your resume with recruiters’ expectations. We’ve included the most pertinent ones below for your convenience:

• • Number of Pages: 1 page at most.
  • Fonts to Use: A font that reflects your expertise and professionalism, such as Garamond and Cambria.
  • Fonts to Avoid: Any fonts that you wouldn’t dream of using to write a technical manual, such as Acme Secret Agent and Geek a Byte.
  • Margins: 1 inch on all sides.

• Line Spacing: 1 or 1.15.

• Header size: 14-16 point size.
• Text size: 11-12 point size.

Just like your resume formatting, these aren’t difficult to follow. The only challenge you may encounter is in ensuring that you apply these rules consistently throughout your resume. 

Pro tip: If you’d rather put all your effort into actually writing your resume and not waste time on perfecting its format and layout, consider using a premade resume template. Resume templates come complete with all of these considerations worked out for you. And just in case you’re wondering, it isn’t considered taboo to use a resume template – in fact, they’re used by countless job seekers! 

How do you list your education on the resume?

Most technical writer positions require candidates to hold a college degree. Ideally, the degree should have direct relevance to the field of technical writing. For example, most recruiters would look favorably on candidates with the following degrees:

• Science
• Engineering
• Technology
• Writing
• Journalism
• Technical communications

Even if your college degree is unrelated in any way to technical writing, it’s important to feature it in your resume. Recruiters tend to prefer technical writers with college degrees, regardless of what that degree is. 

So what should you do if you didn’t go to college? Simply include your high school diploma instead.

In order to feature your degree or diploma in your resume, you’ll need to first create a separate “Education” section. Before you start fleshing it out, keep in mind that lengthy descriptions about your educational background are frowned upon. To see what we mean, take a look at the following example:

EDUCATION

• In an effort to graduate from college with a degree that would benefit me as a future technical writer, I studied electrical engineering at the University of Virginia. In my 4 years at college, I developed my knowledge of physical and mathematics as well as my understanding of electrical systems. I proudly graduated in 2019.

While you may assume a recruiter is expecting this level of detail, you couldn’t be further from the truth. When recruiters look at your “Education” section, they only want to see hard and fast details about your educational background. That’s why you should only list key details about each degree or diploma, as follows:

• The name of the degree or diploma
• The name of the college or school
• The state the institution is located in
• The years you studied it

Putting this into action, the candidate above should rewrite their “Education” section so it looks like this:

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Electrical Engineering, University of Virginia, VA, 2015 - 2019

What are the differences between hard and soft skills?

In order to perform your job well as a technical writer, you need to constantly draw on the range of useful skills you have at your disposal. These skills can be respectively categorized into two types: hard skills and soft skills.

Hard skills encompass any teachable abilities that are easily measurable. Hard skills are often referred to as technical skills as they require a certain level of expertise to perform. They are often specific to a given job and usually need to be developed through training and/or on-the-job experience.

In contrast, soft skills are interpersonal abilities that are often innate to each individual. They are difficult to measure in a quantifiable way given their intangible nature. Soft skills will present themselves in both how you interact with others as well as how you perform a given task.

To give you a taste of which hard and soft skills recruiters may be looking for from candidates for technical writer jobs, we looked through several real-life job ads to identify the most commonly-requested skills. Take a look at our lists below to see which ones you may be expected to include in your own resume: 

Hard skills 

• Designing, writing, and editing technical and process documentation
• Improving existing documentation, both technically and aesthetically
• Thorough knowledge of the fundamentals of writing, grammar, syntax, style, and punctuation
• Ability to write in adherence to appropriate editorial styles and publication guidelines
• Thorough research and fact verification skills
• Writing clear, lively, engaging and compelling copy in a variety of styles appropriate to target audiences 
• Performing quality reviews of documents created/updated by colleagues
• Reviewing and managing externally 3rd party produced documents
• Ability to work with internal and external customers and suppliers to obtain information
• Contributing and editing technical parts of customer communications

Soft skills 

• Attention to detail
• Active listening 
• Collaboration skills
• Self-motivated
• Team player
• Prioritization abilities
• Ability to multitask
• Time management
• Positive attitude
• Ability to remain calm under pressure

Which skills should you put on a technical writer resume?

Now that you’re clearer about the differences between hard and soft skills, you may be wondering which specific ones you should put in your technical writer resume. We hate to break it to you, but there isn’t a golden list of hard and soft skills that you can simply copy and paste each time you apply for a new job.

This is because while many of the skills recruiters desire from candidates will be similar in nature, they will nevertheless differ from job to job. By implication, in order to show that you possess the specific skill set needed for a specific job, you’ll need to feature a distinct set of skills in each and every resume you hand in.

To be clear, this doesn’t mean that you should feature a hodgepodge of skills in your resume. You must select relevant skills that a recruiter is specifically looking for. To figure out what these skills are, scan the job ad of the role you wish to apply for and create a list of the hard and soft skills which you find in it.

Once you have your list, go through it and ask yourself, “Which of these skills can I genuinely offer?” Needless to say, the more you can offer, the better. However, keep in mind that you don’t need to offer every single skill you find in order to impress a recruiter.

After all, it also matters how you include these skills in your resume. Essentially, you should list 6 to 8 of your top ones in a dedicated “Skills” section. You should also highlight a few in your “Resume Objective” or “Resume Summary.” Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you should demonstrate how you’ve put these skills into practice by incorporating them throughout your “Employment History” section. We’ll teach you how to do this in the following section.

Pro tip: Even if a job ad doesn’t mention any soft skills, be sure to include the ones you feel confident with offering throughout your resume. Recruiters want candidates who are balanced and offer both useful technical and people skills. Plus, there isn’t a recruiter out there who wouldn’t be impressed by a candidate who shows their initiative like this!

How to highlight your achievements

Your “Employment History” section is one of the most critical sections in your entire resume. It’s your opportunity to make it known to the recruiter not only where you previously worked and what roles you held, but also what you achieved during each of them. 

Note how we just wrote ‘achieved’ rather than ‘did’. Simply listing the duties you performed in each role is a rookie mistake. You need to put a spotlight on your key achievements so that a recruiter can see the immense value you’ll bring as an employee.

So which achievements should you highlight? Any that are directly relevant to the role you’re applying for. To pinpoint the most relevant ones to include, take a careful look at the job ad of the role. As we explained in the previous section, you’ll be able to identify a range of hard and soft skills a recruiter is after from their ideal candidate. You should also take note of any other words that indicate the qualities a recruiter values in an ideal candidate. These can all form the basis of the achievements you include.

Wondering how this looks in action? Let’s run through an example together. Say that you’re analyzing a job ad and pick up on the fact that a recruiter is after a technical writer who is able to ‘collaborate’ well. Now that you know one of the many skills and qualities a recruiter is actively looking for, you can set out to target it in your “Employment History” section. 

To do so, reflect on your professional experiences thus far and pinpoint an example of when you demonstrated your ability to collaborate at work. Then, formulate an achievement that eloquently shows this in action. In the end, it may look something like this:

• Collaborated with a team of 5 other technical writers to produce a 100+ page manual for a multi-million dollar product.

How impressive does that sound? Not only would you show the recruiter that you hold the very quality they’re after, but you would also be able to highlight your achievement of producing an extensive manual for a critical product. Not too shabby, right? 

How do you write a resume objective or summary? When should you write which?

As a technical writer, you’ll know that it’s best practice to first provide an overview of what a given product is before providing an explanation of how to use it. You should ensure you apply this same rule of thumb when writing your resume. 

That is, you should first provide a recruiter with a general overview of who you are as a professional before launching into specific details about your employment history, skills, and so on. The reason we recommend doing so is because recruiters usually want to first see if it’s worth their while to read through your resume more extensively.

For this reason, it’s crucial to include a resume objective or resume summary section right underneath your contact details. Including one gives you the opportunity to immediately capture a recruiter’s attention in 3 to 4 sentences. You can learn more about each one below, including when you should use which. 

Resume objective

Anyone who’s starting out as a technical writer should ensure they include a resume objective in their resume. It’s the perfect excuse to subtly address the fact that while you’re inexperienced, you nevertheless have a lot to offer. 

When you’re writing yours, there are certain pitfalls you’ll need to be conscious to avoid. We’ve represented the most critical ones in the following example of a technical writer resume objective:

• Aspiring technical writer looking to get a break in the industry. Very talented writer with some technical background. While I haven’t worked in the industry yet, I know that once I have received professional training and guidance from TEK Electronics, I will be well on my way to being a star technical writer. 

As you may have noticed yourself, this candidate hasn’t said very much at all. While they’ve managed to write over 50 words, they don’t provide any substantial insight into what they believe they offer as an aspiring technical writer. The candidate has spent their entire resume objective stating that: a) they’re unqualified b) they’re keen to enter the industry, and c) they’re looking forward to receiving training and guidance from the company. 

A recruiter wouldn’t be impressed by this at all. It’s absolutely fine to show your eagerness for a role, but keep in mind that your resume objective should primarily focus on what you plan to bring to the company (and not what the company can give you). Moreover, you should try to de-emphasize the fact that you’re inexperienced by showcasing the most relevant attributes you have to offer that make up for this inexperience. 

So how should a resume objective look like? The following example represents a neat and well-written one: 

• Aspiring technical writer who graduated in the top 5% of a Mass Communications program at Glendale Community College. In an effort to further my technical writing skills and knowledge, I recently completed a Communicaid Technical Writing Course. While I am currently volunteering as a technical writer on an open source project, I ultimately wish to apply my ability to write detailed technical how-to guides and my time management skills to the role at TEK Electronics. 

We think you’ll agree that this resume objective is considerably more enticing than the previous one. This candidate has focused all of their efforts on putting their best foot forward. They’ve exclusively featured relevant tidbits about themselves that a recruiter would be genuinely interested to learn more about. 

It’s worth noting that similar to the previous candidate, this candidate is inexperienced. However, this candidate focuses on what they have to offer – and not on what they don’t! For example, they shared their impressive educational background, the writing course they undertook, their current volunteer work, as well as their hard and soft skills...all without explicitly mentioning the fact that they’re inexperienced. 

As all of these eye-catching offerings are directly relevant to the job they’re applying for, you can bet that a recruiter would greatly anticipate reading the rest of their resume. If you want to ensure your resume objective also ticks all the right boxes, be sure to keep these dos and don’ts in mind. 

Resume summary

You should swap from a resume objective to a resume summary once you have at least a few years of experience under your belt. The main difference between a resume objective and a resume summary is that you should draw strong attention to your professional experiences in your resume summary. 

You should also make sure to highlight any other information that’s relevant to the role, such as the skills and attributes you offer. To do this correctly, make sure to avoid writing in an ambiguous way, like this candidate did:

• Technical writer with 6 years of experience. Worked for a range of companies completing various technical writing tasks. With an impressive skill set and great attitude, I am fully confident that I will be an asset to your team of technical writers at XY Solutions. 

The problem with the ambiguousness of this candidate’s resume summary is that it keeps the recruiter at an arm’s length. For example, this candidate says they have “4 years of experience” at “a range of companies.” This doesn’t provide the recruiter with any indication about what the candidate’s experiences entailed or the nature of the companies they worked at. 

The candidate goes on to say they completed “various technical writing tasks” and have an “impressive skill set” and a “great attitude.” Again, this doesn’t shed any light on who the candidate is as a professional. Remember, the whole point of a resume summary is to showcase your best assets, but you can’t do so if you don’t provide any specific details about your professional experiences, skills, and attributes.

The following candidate shows how a resume summary should be written:

• In my 6 years of working as a CPTC Expert Certified technical writer in both a tech startup and Fortune 500 company, I have leveraged my superior grammar skills and meticulous attention to detail to create 500+ technical documents and improve a further 200+ for clarity and comprehension. My key achievement was creating the technical manual for a product that won a CES Innovation Award in 2019. 

What a breath of fresh air this resume summary is! It’s filled with specific details that paint the candidate as a highly competent professional. While both candidates offer the same level of experience, only this candidate gives the recruiter a multitude of reasons to take their application seriously. They achieve this by not being shy to justify why they’re worth paying attention to. They not only share the types of workplaces they’ve worked in and the fact that they’re a certified technical writer, but also their notable hard and soft skills. 

Did you notice that the candidate also quantified their achievements by highlighting eye-catching metrics about the number of technical documents they created and revised? As if this wasn’t enough, the candidate even ends with a specific key achievement to ensure their resume stays on the recruiter’s mind long after they’ve finished reading it.

These are all things you can do in your own resume summary – you just need to make the effort to do so!

How do you write a technical writer resume when you have little or no experience?

Many entry-level job seekers have been stumped by the age-old conundrum of how to get a job if you have minimal or zero experience. With many jobs listing experience as a prerequisite, it can seem futile to score a job as an entry-level candidate. 

If this is the case for you, remember that it all comes down to how you write your resume. Need some expert advice for doing so? Follow our top tips below:

• Highlight your most relevant attributes: A common mistake entry-level candidates make is that they end up including just about every detail possible about themselves in their resume. This often happens because they’re so self-conscious about their lack of skills and experience that they try to overcompensate by providing too much information.

The key to writing an eye-catching entry-level resume is to keep it tight and focused. You should primarily hone in on the most relevant attributes you offer. If you find that these are lacking, try your best to make those that you have as relevant to as possible to the given job. For example, you can highlight the strong organizational skills you demonstrated as a waitress, or the communication skills required at your call center job.

• Search for jobs suitable to your experience level: Are you finding it all but impossible to make any tangible links between your attributes and those required by the jobs you’re applying for? The problem could be that you’re applying for jobs that exceed your experience level. 

Instead, you should actively apply for jobs that match your experience level i.e. entry-level jobs. Once you start doing so, you’ll find it far easier to create a resume that ticks the boxes a recruiter is after. To track down entry-level jobs, use relevant search terms such as “Junior” and “Entry-level.” 

• Pinpoint and address what you’re lacking: Most recruiters are willing to take a chance on hiring an entry-level candidate if they can clearly see their potential. This is why you can’t simply proclaim that you’ve always dreamed of being a technical writer and hope this gets you hired; you need to offer a range of solid reasons why you’re worth hiring. 

To do so, you’ll need to determine if you’re able to provide the qualities a recruiter is after. If you discover that you’re lacking something, figure out a practical way to gain it. For example, if you’re lacking certain skills, consider taking up a relevant course or certification to hone them. If you’re struggling to gain experience, consider applying for a technical writing internship.

How to make your resume stand out

You may have already been cautioned about the importance of making your resume stand out, but just how important is it really? Well, consider the fact that for every job you go for, there could be several hundreds of other candidates who also submit their resume. 

On one hand, many of these resumes will be uninspiring, but on the other, many will be precisely what the recruiter is after. That means that in order for your resume to be counted among the latter group, it will need to be better than just ‘ok.’ What’s more, to come out on top, it needs to truly stand out even among the best of the best. If you’re ready to do so, take on board the following tips:

• Highlight your relevant training and certifications: If there’s one surefire way to impress recruiters, it’s by providing evidence that you’ve gone above and beyond to progress your skills and knowledge as a technical writer. You can do this by including a strong “Training and Certifications” section that showcases relevant technical writing training and certifications that you’ve completed.
  
  For each one, include its name, the institution you completed it at, the state in which the institution is located, and the year you completed it. If you don’t have any, consider undertaking some to ensure that this section truly shines. If you can’t attend any in-person, there are plenty of online options available that you can complete at home. 

• Be aware of the ATS: We’ve already armed yourself with the knowledge of how to get on the good side of recruiters. However, recruiters are just one part of the story. You’ll also need to ensure your resume is ATS-friendly. ATS, which stands for ‘Applicant Tracking System,’ is a computer program that recruiters use to efficiently vet candidates’ resumes. It methodically scans each resume to identify whether or not it includes specific words found in a given job ad.
  
  These words are called ‘keywords.’ They represent the attributes a recruiter is seeking from an ideal candidate such as specific skills, qualities, job titles, and professional experiences. Getting your resume past the ATS will require you to incorporate any keywords that apply to you naturally throughout your entire resume. If you need a reminder how to do this, re-read the sections about “Skills” and “Achievements” above.

• Create an online portfolio: Your resume can only convey so much about your skills and techniques as a technical writer. So why not show a recruiter that you have what it takes by including a link to your online portfolio in your resume? While there’s no guarantee they’ll click on it, it’s highly likely that a good proportion will!

If you don’t already have an online portfolio, you can put a basic one together in just a couple of hours. To begin, you’ll need to register a domain name. We recommend selecting a logical one like yourname.com. You may also wish to buy a website template to expedite the entire process. To compile your portfolio, add any links you have to your work and/or screenshots. It’s also worth adding a professional bio and your contact information. Who knows, you may even score a few jobs directly from it! 

3. How You Can Create a Stunning Technical Writer Resume Using Resumebuild.com’s Resume Builder 

Most writers can attest to the fact that writing about yourself in an eloquent manner is an incredibly challenging task. Even the most prized writers may struggle to string together the right combination of words to properly convey who they are as a person and professional. 

So if you’re a technical writer who’s struggling to piece together your resume, take comfort in the fact that you’re not alone. While many would assume that writers of all people would excel in resume writing, this simply isn’t always the case – especially for technical writers. After all, out of the various types of writing professions out there, technical writing is literally on the opposite end of the spectrum than resume writing! 

Does this mean that you’re doomed to hand in a half-baked resume if you’re struggling to write yours? Definitely not! It just means that you’re in a similar boat to countless other job seekers. You simply need a bit of expert guidance by way of our DIY resume maker at Resumebuild.com.

Thousands of job seekers have already used it to get their resume looking sharp and ready to impress even the most nit-picky of recruiters. The reason our resume maker beats alternative resume making approaches is because it provides a quick, easy, and cost-effective means of doing so. 

It is designed to remove the confusion out of the resume making process by breaking it down into easy-to-manage steps. Each step gives you the guidance you need to expertly piece together each fundamental section of your resume. You’ll even find a generous number of pre-written examples as well as an assortment of well-formatted resume templates to choose from. 

Once you’ve completed all of the steps, you’ll have yourself a technical writer resume that blows the competition out of the water. Did we mention that you can get through all of these steps in just minutes if you’re really in a rush? If you’re ready to take our resume builder for a spin, what are you waiting for? Start building your resume now!