Resume Format

Resume format is something that you need consider to ensure that you're putting your best foot forward given your skills, experience and work history.

Think of your resume like a product advertisement.

Any company can advertise their product and tell you all the great things that it does.

So what?

A job candidate - like a product - needs to solve a problem, in this case a problem that the employer has.

You don't buy a car because you want leather seats and a heated steering wheel.

You buy a car to solve the problem of how you're going to travel to work each day. The leather seats and heated steering wheel are just nice options to have.

Likewise, don't simply list all your skills in a resume and expect that a hiring manager cares.

Each bullet point in your resume should adhere to the following model:

Problem

Action

Result

(or Situation, Action, Result).

Basically, you explain a problem or situation that existed, what you did in response to the problem or situation, and the result that occurred. For example:

Took 5 underachieving account managers and upskilled them in modern sales techniques resulting in increased profitability of 15%.

The problem was underachieving staff, the action was to retrain them, and the result was an increase in profitability of 15%.

This is a tangible benefit to the company and something that the reader of your resume will be impressed with.

Notice the specifics, too: There were 5 staff trained and the result was a 15% increase in profitability. Always refer to specific results whenever possible. The more detail the better.

After every statement you write, ask yourself "So What" and keep perfecting that statement until you can't ask yourself "So What" anymore.