Whether you’re entering the workforce for the first time or looking to make a career change, a well-crafted resume is essential. Your resume is your opportunity to make a great first impression and show potential employers why you're the perfect candidate. If you’re starting from scratch, don’t worry—building a resume can be straightforward when you follow a step-by-step process.
Here’s a guide to help you create your resume from the ground up.What is Resume?
A resume is document that summing up your career history like your work experience, skill sets and accomplishments. Resumes allow applicants the opportunity to describe their experience and skills in their own words.
When written correctly, a resume is a captivating force that compels the reader/hiring manager to call you for an interview.
You can put your position, company, duration and details of your work scope.
What the differences between Resume and CV?
It's confusing I know!
- Resume : A short, 1 page career overview
- Curriculum Vitae(CV) : An in depth document detailing your entire career history. Often under 3 pages.
But, in Malaysia, CV and Resume are used interchangeably to refer to the same document.
How long should a resume be?
Keep it under 3 pages.
Recruiters hate long resumes. They only want to know the most relevant parts.
If you're fresh graduate or have fewer than 5 years of experience, keep your resume within 2 pages.
If you're a mid to senior level candidate, you have enough work
Step by Step guide to creating your resume
In resume, there will be commonly 7 sections and every section has a unique purpose.
Here are the sections:
1. Header
2. Executive summary/Profile/Career Summary/Career Overview
3. Key Skills
4. Work Experiences
5. Achievements
6. Education & Qualifications
7. Miscellaneous Information
1.Header
Begin with a professional header. Include your name, career title, email, contact details and nationality.
Example:
Keep it clean and simple!
You can match the title job in the job advertisement . An identical job title immediately catches the attention of the Hiring Manager and will get their further interest.
Do:
- Keep your header short and sweet
- Include only your essential contact information
- Use a professional email address
Don't :
- Include your address, photograph or date of birth - these aren't necessary and may subject you to unconscious hiring biases.
2. Executive summary
This section is really important as can be very effective in grabbing the attention of hiring managers. Executive summary is the opening paragraph of your resume.
FYI, recruiters often only spend 6 seconds reviewing a resume and half of that time is spent in the executive summary. So, use this section wisely, fill it only with the most relevant, most impressive bits of your career.
These opening lines MUST draw attention to your top selling points. Demonstrate that you have the skills, experience and achievements to thrive in the position you've applied for.
If you're uncertain how to start, think about the story of your career.
Tips: Before you begin your executive summary, write your work experience and achievements sections. Once you've nailed these, it's easier to define your personal narrative and career overview.
Example:
3. Key Skills
List skills at the top of your resume.
Previously, I put my skills section at the end of my resume and this is a mistake!
As I said previously, recruiters only eyeball each resume for an average of 6 seconds. So, your key skills must be placed near the top for recruiters to see at first glance.
You can put your key skills section right below the Executive Summary on your resume and aligned these with the target keywords of the job you're applying for.
When crafting your key skills section, focus on higher value, hard skills instead of soft skills. Why?
Hard skills have more impact and connect more easily with hiring managers. They also have much higher chances of being picked out as keywords in an ATS scan!
Order your skills from highest value skills at the top to lowest value below. Remember, skills that feature first are most likely to be read by recruiters!
It's also crucial that each skill listed does not break at the end a line and spill over into another line! ATS scanners are not human, they cannot read across multiple lines like us.
Do:
- Focus on hard skills
- Order them such that you higher value skills feature first
- Group related skill sets together
Don't :
- Include soft skills
4. Work experience and achievements
Now, let's get to MOST IMPORTANT part of your resume!
Craft a powerful opening line to each work stint. Recruiters typically only glance at the first bullet point of each work stint and skip the rest!
So, your first bullet point must communicate everything the recruiter needs to know about what you do, in one line.
Example:
A powerful first line can contain:
- Team size
- Geography(Local, regional or international)
- Department
- Work function
- Budget managed
- Revenue generated
- Who you reported to/Liaised with/Led or Supervised
Kick off your work experience section with these details to impress recruiters!
Do:
- Capture the essence of the job in your first bullet point, include only key roles
- Substantiate your claims with numbers and metrics
Don't:
- Make your first bullet point too long! Strive for a maximum of 3-4 lines.
A powerful first line entices the recruiter to read on. Make sure the bullet point to be as IMPACTFUL as possible!
Use power verbs to write great work descriptions. Power verbs are vivid, positive words that inspire confidence in your abilities.
Replace verbs such as "Responsible" with stronger power verbs such as "Oversaw", "Spearhead" or"Supervise.
Example:
5. Achievements
Your work descriptions list your day to day experience. It's your achievements though, which show you to be a stellar executive. How do you write great achievement statements?
Use this formula:
Accomplish [X] as measured by [Y] by doing [Z]
This formula works because it tells recruiters two essential pieces of information:
- Scale and impact of results achieved
- What exactly you did to achieve these results
Every achievement contains an impactful, measurable outcome and a description of how the outcome was achieved.
What kinds of achievements can you include?
If you're unsure how to start, here are 5 questions you can think about:
- How did you make the company more money?
- How did you save the company money?
- How did you increase productivity?
- How did you solve a critical problem?
- How did you lead a large project?
Do:
- Emphasize your achievements in your work experience sections
- Use metrics as much as possible
- Apply the formula to show impact and scale of your accomplishments
Don't :
- Use confidential data directly in your resume!
6. Education and professional Qualifications
Include your relevant qualifications. Keep things simple here. Unless you're a fresh graduate, no need to go into too much detail.
Example:
For professional qualifications, you can add any industry-related or external courses or training that you've completed or are currently undertaking.
Example:
7. Miscellaneous Information
In Miscellaneous Information section, you can add only relevant information like,
- Written and spoken languages
- Interests and hobbies
- Availability or notice period
Do not mention your expected salary in your resume! Salary information should only be negotiated in the later stages of the job offer.
If you have ready references, list them here. If not, simply mention that references are available upon request.
Example:
TIPS TIPS!!!
Proofread and Edit
Once you’ve completed your resume, don’t forget to proofread it thoroughly. Check for:
- Spelling and Grammar Errors: Small mistakes can leave a negative impression.
- Consistent Formatting: Ensure fonts, bullet points, and headings are uniform throughout the document.
- Brevity: Keep it concise—ideally, one page if you’re early in your career, and no more than two pages if you have more experience.
Tailor Your Resume for Each Job
Each time you apply for a job, tweak your resume to fit the specific role. Customize your skills, work experience, and keywords to align with the job description. This will make your resume stand out and show employers that you’re the perfect match for the position.
Sample resume --> Download here
Final Thoughts
Creating a resume from scratch doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By following these steps and organizing your experience, skills, and achievements effectively, you’ll create a strong resume that highlights your strengths and increases your chances of landing the job. Good luck!
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