**Writing a resume can be confusing, frustrating and time-consuming. How do I best showcase my experience? How long should it be? How should it be structured?

With there being more opportunities than ever before, it is certainly a candidate's market. However, to get an interview for that desired job, your resume is usually the first port of call, so writing an effective one is a very important step of the application process.**

Here are some basic points that can help you to stand out from the crowd and leave you feeling motivated rather than pushing it further down on the to-do list!

Write your resume with your ideal job in mind

When writing your resume, you want to persuade the reader that you are the person for that job!

Pick out the key skills and experiences that your ideal job is looking for and make sure they translate into your resume. For example, if the job you are going for is looking for strong digital skills, showcase and maximise your digital experience. Even if your what you are writing seems obvious to you, it may not be for the reader.

If you are considering a career change, highlighting any transferable skills or responsibilities is especially important.

Lead with key words

Your goal is to demonstrate to the recruiter or employer your expertise or potential in this particular role.

If your ideal job would see you implementing processes and leading teams, start your bullet points with high impact words such as ‘Implemented’, ‘Led’, ‘Drove’. If you are unsure of what words to use, have a look at the position description for the key responsibilities they are looking for.

You want to take into consideration that an ATS scanning software may be used too, in which case having the right words and language in your resume is vital.

Also, never underestimate the power of the ‘synonyms’ drop down.

Length

Let’s talk about the length of your resume. One of the hardest parts of writing a resume is getting all of the wonderful stuff you have done down on paper but not letting it escalate into a full-blown novel.

Many people I have spoken to are under the impression that your Curriculum Vitae has to be a certain page count, this is an old school rule, but generally you don’t want your resume extending past 4 pages as it then becomes more of a chore for your reader.

Pick the key points, rephrase your sentences so that they are concise and punchy and consider leaving out jobs that are irrelevant to the job you are applying to – the more targeted your resume to that career path, the better.

Include achievements

Including any achievements can hold your resume in good stead and is a great way to encourage a recruiter or potential employer to pick up the phone and ring you. Adding any achievements showcases areas that you have previously excelled in and suggests your ability to again in the future!

Consider also making these achievements quantifiable. Compare these two examples:

‘Won new clients’

vs

‘Successfully brought on over 20 new clients over a year, resulting in a 50% revenue increase’

The quantitative achievement sounds a lot more impressive right?

Expand on your skills

Try to expand on your skills so that you stand out from the crowd. Having ‘Communication’ listed as a skill is good but demonstrating why you are good at communication with an example is even better!

e.g - ‘Communication – ‘Successfully created educational video communicating new business implementations to over 200 employees’ sets you apart from the candidate who just lists ‘Communication’ as a skill.

Make it easy to read

Finally, Recruiters and employers can sometimes receive hundreds of applications to one job, so you want your resume to be in a clear and concise layout.

Your reader will most likely be scanning resumes initially to identify the main criteria for the role, this means that having the basic information laid out clearly is vital. Make sure that your job titles, companies, dates and locations are clearly displayed.

Don’t worry if you are not a whizz at tables and graphs, sometimes less is more!

Remember that your resume is the window to you and your experience, and even making a few small changes can improve your chances of standing out from the crowd and achieving an interview for your ideal role!