Your resume serves as an introduction to potential employers. One of the most significant elements on your resume is your work experience, but it’s essential to present it in just the right way. Best practices change frequently, so let’s look at the current best ways to highlight your work experience.
1. Choose the Right Jobs
While it’s essential to give a complete chronology of your work history for at least five years, you can choose what to highlight. Focus on the most relevant jobs to the position you want, and list anything irrelevant in a section titled “Other Experience.” You can also highlight relevant volunteer experiences. Leave off any jobs that are more than 10 years old.
2. Focus on Achievements
Don’t just list your job duties. Instead, focus on what you achieved in each position. Employers don’t care that you answered the phone or took out the trash. They care that you implemented a new safety protocol, found a new way to streamline operations, or won Employee of the Year.
3. Use Bullet Points
Break up your list of accomplishments with bullet points to make it easier to read. Each bullet point should highlight a specific achievement and include a keyword taken from the job description.
4. Select Action Verbs
Start each bullet point with an action verb, such as “Developed” or “Optimized” or “Reduced.” Action verbs for resumes typically focus on such broad ideas as making something positive happen, minimizing bad outcomes, taking the initiative, or bringing people together. Don’t be afraid to use a thesaurus or a dictionary to help you find better ways to say what you did.
5. Highlight Numbers
Your work experience is a critical part of your resume, but it’s important to present it in the best possible light. Take the time to go through this section and make sure you’re following the latest best practices.
Both total numbers and percentages can help potential employers see the value you can bring to their company. So be specific where possible. Maybe you increased overall productivity by 25%, or you were floor supervisor managing a team of 10.
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