Revamping Your Resume: Buzz Words to Avoid

From time to time, it is a good idea to pull out your resume and review it. You may be planning on looking for a new job, or it might happen that an unexpected opportunity develops. You may also need to rethink the approach and organization of your resume. If it is simply a list of jobs with popular buzzwords, you definitely need to revamp it.

Your first step is to figure out what job you want, what your objective is. This will help you organize your resume because everything follows from this. The format of your whole resume will revolve around that objective, and you won’t come across as vague or unsure of yourself. 

The important thing is to view your resume as an advertisement. You are not just making a list.

Your resume is a way of selling yourself. When you compose it, think of what you need to say that will put you in the best light in order gain the interest of an employer enough to contact you. What makes you special or unique?

The function of the resume is to get you an interview, not to get your hired. So, you don’t need to worry about including every fact about your work history. What you are trying to do is just get the hiring manager interested enough to call you in for a meeting.

Make sure your resume is clear and concise, to the point. You should use bullet points and short sentences to make it easier to read. Leave white space. Don’t use anything smaller than a 10 point font.  Also, use action words.  This will give your writing more power and make it more compelling. Use numbers, and dollar amounts and percentages, which stick out in your resume. 

You want to put your strong points up front. Put the lists of employers and educational institutions at the end. Start with your strengths and your selling points. Look at the ad for the job you are applying for, and match the key words used in the job ad with the bullet points in your resume.  You can use words that apply to your particular profession or field because they will display your expertise.

Leave out anything that doesn’t apply to the requirements of the job. For example, if you think your college graduation date will raise concerns about your age, leave it out. Focus on the things that support your job objective.  

And again, use the resume to show breadth of knowledge and experience, rather than waste space going into detail. The place to demonstrate your depth of knowledge is at the interview.

If you’re an experienced insurance professional and are looking for new opportunities within this sector, send your resume to the recruiters at Insurance Relief™. Take a look at our open positions and contact a recruiter today.