Creating an effective entry-level resume takes skill and carefully placed keywords. Whether you are a freshly minted college graduate or a professional changing careers, your chances of getting a job interview depend on how well thought out your resume is. Keywords, bullet points and short, concise wording are three important elements of a successful resume.
Formats
An effective format for an entry-level resume is the functional resume. This type highlights your skills, relevant job functions and accomplishments rather than your work history. This is the ideal format if you have negligible work experience or if you are changing industries. The functional format typically has four sections: the objective, achievements, work experience and education. Because of the nature of the format, the functional resume also helps to minimize any employment gaps in your work history.
The combination resume is another effective format for those entering the professional workforce. It is a combination of the chronological and functional resumes. On a combination resume, you include your objective, relevant skills, experience, work history and education. The experience section should highlight your achievements in previous jobs without providing actual dates. That will come in the work history. This is a good choice of resume format if you have had a steady work history and are either changing industries or seeking your first professional position.
Keywords
Most companies scan resume for keywords. When responding to a job advertisement, note the key skills and qualifications required. If you qualify for the position based on your skills or experience, construct your resume accordingly. Use as many keywords as possible from the job ad. If the advertisement calls for data analysis or marketing, add those keywords to any job descriptions where you actually performed those duties. If the job ad requires organization skills, describe a time when you were in charge of an organizing effort. For example, if you worked in retail, you might have organized merchandise displays as a way to increase interest and traffic to the store.
Transferable Skills and Action Verbs
In college, you might have done extensive research for science projects, history papers or debate classes. When you enter the workforce, your new job might entail conducting market research or other types of research to optimize your company's earnings. Performing research is one of the many transferable skills you might include on your resume, especially those that are specific to your chosen career path. Transferable skills are those that you can carry from one field to another. Other transferable skills include motivating, collecting, interpreting information, communicating, mediating and instructing. Incorporate relevant transferable skills into your resume for optimum results.
Passive voice is a resume killer. Start each of your bulleted achievements with a strong action verb. This leaves out unnecessary words and phrases and makes your resume easier to read quickly. Examples of effective action verbs are administered, achieved, gained, motivated, strengthened and revitalized. Avoid overused words that don't add value to your resume, such as the word "utilized."
Be Honest
The purpose of a resume is to make the hiring manager interested in interviewing you. If you fabricate or inflate your knowledge or experience, it can come back to haunt you later. Any hint of dishonesty can harm your chances of getting hired and can damage your reputation in the industry. Use caution when embellishing your resume. Employers expect some self-promotion as long as it remains factual. Social and career networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook make it easy for potential employers to screen candidates by finding former co-workers as well as former managers.
