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10 Tips For Writing An Impressive Resume Here are a few tips to enhance your resume, and help you land that job you always wanted.

By May Rostom

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Writing a resume is very different than writing a CV. A resume is usually used with individuals who have extensive work experience and diverse skillsets, rather than fresh graduates with no previous work experience. Here are a few tips to enhance your resume, and help you land that job you always wanted.

1. Keep it short: Long paragraphs are not favored when it comes to resumes. Keep your resume short and to the point; use bullet-points to illustrate related education or work experience in each specific area, rather than a paragraph of writing.

2. Market yourself Using positive action words throughout your resume will reflect on your personality. Words like eager, punctual, accomplished, etc. will help you grab the employer's attention to your strong personality in an instant.

3. Highlight your strengths (Even if you have to be repetitive.) Your objective statement in a resume should be a powerful one, something like a mini personal mission statement that highlights your best qualities.

4. Put everything in order After your objective statement, make sure you put your qualifications and accomplishments first. Many HR managers agree that order of importance is necessary and time-saving.

5. Show them what you can do Don't focus on just what they want from you, show them what you have to offer. Rather than tailoring your resume around your responsibilities, focus on what you've previously accomplished in other companies.

6. Don't use jargon Big words are nice if you manage to use them correctly. Avoid jargon and words that your employer might not understand- in the end, you just want to get the message across fast and effectively.

7. Keep it up-to-date Regularly update your resume and customize it to each job you apply for by re-arranging experience according to new job responsibilities. Also, make sure you use a recent photo of yourself.

8. Spell-check, always Yes! Many resumes have spelling mistakes that just prove to the employer that you weren't interested enough in the job to go through the effort of spell-checking your own resume.

9. Elaborate your education This section doesn't mean only school- in this part of your resume, any classes, online courses, programs, and organizations you've been involved in should be stated. That will add to your experience level.

10. Showcase confidence That's all you need when you hand in your resume. A well-written cover letter and a representable candidate will not be turned down.

Related: Ten Tell-Tale Signs You're Stuck In A Career Rut

May Rostom

Curator, Entrepreneur Café

May Rostom is the curator of Entrepreneur Café, a new daily digest of stories from Entrepreneur Middle East to fuel your day at work. 

May has been in the fashion journalism field for more than five years, with over 500 articles published in online and offline mediums. Working closely with some of the biggest fashion brands in the region, from creating, curating, and developing content to aggregating and pitching for content from several fashion and beauty outlets in the Middle East, Rostom’s experience is multicultural and vast. She was formerly a senior lifestyle editor/writer at MSN Arabia, and she has also worked with TRESemme Egypt as a fashion expert.

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