Advice on Sprucing up my Resume

Learning to build your own resume is invaluable, I think. I won't share mine here, but I'm always happy to look at the resumes of other TFPers and offer advice. I am responsible for hiring in my little job, for teaching high schoolers how to write resumes, and my technical writing instructor in university was previously an HR guy; he taught me a TON about writing a really good resume.

First things first: who's your target audience? You need to establish that before you go any farther. A resume should be tailored to the reader. My husband's engineering resumes look very, very different from my education resumes--as they should! Start there, and follow the KISS principle. Only mention what's relevant.

This piece on Lifehacker addresses some modern concerns about resumes, namely that they'll likely be put through a screener, and here are some things you can do to up your odds: Jobscan Analyzes Your Resume, Helps You Get Past Computer Screeners

 

First...I typically suggest not centering your Name/Title.
EVERYONE does this...because they've been taught this way.
Little marketing hint...as they're going through hundreds of resumes...justify it left or right...left is more formal.
It will stand out. BTW...make sure you bold your name and make it a bit bigger.
It's a little subconscious marketing for yourself.

Second...put all your "lists" on the first page!!
Skill lists, education lists, certification lists, etc.
Why???
Because the most often go through HR or other resources first before they get to the managers/SMEs
They don't know the context, they are just going through a check list.
But as they go through hundreds...they get a bit lazy or overwhelmed or tired.
When you get past them...you'll get them to the mgrs, who'll look at the details and experience on the following pages.

Third...if you put it on online sites like Monster, CareerBuilder or Dice and such.
MAKE SURE you refresh it every Sunday.
This means just reload your Resume, or change just one letter and save.
Why??
Because this refresh kicks it back up to the top of the search engine...it looks recent and doesn't fade.
And if you do it on Sunday...that's before all the recruiters start for the week, handing out assignments and new hot searches.
You'll get at least a 25% increase in responses.

Last...get others to review your resume. Get them to talk it out with you. (actually, ask whoever you can...and take some with a grain of salt)
Get them to draw out & describe your accomplishments.
Do NOT just do a summary of your duties.
This is your ad for yourself, a marketing of yourself.
Toot your own horn, don't lie, but also do NOT underestimate yourself.
I can't tell you how many quality people do this to themselves.
It is not a time to be humble...or say well I haven't had a class or cert in this. (Did you do it? Then put it down)

BTW...if you did technical stuff, make sure you put in a little description of the environment (softwares, platform, etc)
It gives the mgrs a sense of what you did this stuff in.

And buzz words, power words are not bad...just don't overuse them, be subtle/casual about it.

I hope this helps. Good luck.
I'm looking for a new gig too.
Life is too short to stay insane...especially as the market heats up this winter end and spring.
It's going to be a big old square dance this year.
Too many people are tired of being taken for granted or working dysfunctionally.