Resume Writing Tips

Ensure your CV follows this basic formula

There’s so many resume templates and examples on the internet, it can be difficult to know what to do when it’s time to update yours. Some candidates we speak to have never even needed a resume before! If you’re creating or updating a resume right now, here’s some helpful hints and tips from us at Teamrecruit.

Resume layout tips

Identify yourself

This is where everyone starts and it can seem to be a pretty basic task. Be sure to include your full name, contact details, current address and use a personal email address. And most importantly, make sure the information is clear and easy to read.

TIP: Ensure that your personal email address is professional enough to disclose to a potential employer. If it’s something like [email protected], it may be time to get a new one!

Make a first impression

This is where you may look at inserting a brand statement/objective/profile to explain who you are and what you offer. Make it stand out but keep it short (a few sentences at most).

Experience

List your employment history and ensure that your most recent roles are at the top. Recruiters and employers prefer to see what you’re doing now straight away, rather than scrolling through what you did earlier in your career. Be clear, include dates, and where possible include your reasons for leaving. For example: started a family, redundancy, moved into a more progressive dealership, or stepped up into a management role.

Follow this format:

Additional information

After your experience you can list additional information that’s relevant to your job search. This includes education, awards, skills/licenses, LinkedIn account details, and anything else worth mentioning. This is also a great place to list any visas you might hold. Ensure that your referees are at the bottom, or at least a section for referees with “available upon request” or similar.

General resume writing tips

When submitting your resume, you may need to make minor changes to ensure that what you submit highlights relevant responsibilities and unique selling points for the job you are applying for. You may like to list your responsibilities and how you achieved success by meeting those responsibilities. Resumes that are a ‘one size fits all’ may not always work, so try to tailor it to the role by using keywords from the ad. Take ownership of your achievements with statements like “I did…” and “I achieved.”

Relevant experience

Generally speaking, our clients are interested in two key factors: experience and skills. So be sure to list your skills, and outline your experience. Our clients have a clear understanding of dealership roles, so it’s unnecessary to detail the fundamentals of a parts interpreter role, or a sales consultant position on your resume. Instead, list specific achievements and remember that every single detail of your job is not needed on your resume. The client will ask more details in the interview if they need them.

Keep it simple

Keep your formatting consistent, use one font, and bullet points for lists. Keep your text to a maximum of two sizes (headings and regular text).

In our recruitment process, we like simple and clear resumes in Word format (or something similar). Simple formatting is paramount, as your resume is collated with a cover page in our offices before it’s sent off to the client. Avoid tables, columns, and text boxes within your resume and use tab stops and bullet points instead.

When you feel like your resume is ready, leave it for an hour and come back to it. Check over it one last time looking for spelling mistakes, typos, and missing words.

Backup and backup again!

Keep a copy of your CV in Microsoft word (.docx) to ensure you can make updates as you go. Although a resume in PDF might look better, most recruiters request them in Word format. Just another reason to keep your original resume on file!

Keep copies of the original. Save one on your computer, save one on a USB, and then email yourself a copy. There’s nothing worse than needing to update your CV after your computer has crashed and having to start from scratch!

With a clear and easy to read resume, you’ll be putting your best foot forward when you’re ready to apply for the job of your dreams.

For more tips on writing resumes and cover letters, check out our article here.