“How to make a good resume?” is the most important question for jobs seekers. The resume is the central document of your application. It shows HR managers at a glance which training and requirements you have for a position. Resume writing is an art and I will discuss, step by step how to make a good resume and offers you suitable resume template to fill in.
Resume templates for download.
Do you need inspiration for your tabular resume and want to spend as little time as possible? Download free resume template from here. You may check the Microsoft Word template as for writing your resume. But must spend some time resume writing.
You will find more resume template at the end of the article.
“How to make a good resume?”: the most valuable information.
The curriculum vitae (CV), also known as resume, clearly shows the previous career with all relevant stations and achievements of applicants. For HR managers, it is therefore the most important document in your application. Many use it to get a first impression and often even make it dependent on whether they are still reading the cover letter at all.
Here are the most frequent questions about the criteria a good resume writing should meet:
What types of resumes are there?
There are three types of resumes that can be relevant to your application. The content structure is almost the same, regardless of the variant chosen.
The most usual form is the tabular curriculum vitae. Unless the advertised position requires otherwise, you should choose this variant.
What should you watch out for in the content?
It is complete, meaningful, error-free, structured, and clear.
Where does the resume go in the application folder?
It comes in the order immediately after the cover letter and before the certificates.
How many pages should a resume have?
It should no longer be 1 to 2 A4 pages long. A general rule of thumb: as short as possible, if necessary.
Which design should you use?
There are three types of tabular resume layouts:
- The classic resume
- Creative resume
- The modern resume
Which design you choose depends on the specific industry of the employer. In corporations or in banking, for example, traditional applications are welcome, in start-ups or the tech industry, creative and modern applications are also welcome.
The design of an application is essential. That’s why you can find more specific tips for your industry in the list below.
RESUME TEMPLATE
Template for finance, Template for marketing, Template for counselors, Template for salespeople, Template for HR managers, Template for logisticians, Template for management assistants, Template for humanities scholars
Creating a resume: the structure.
- Contact details
- Personal Information
- School / training / study (anti-chronological)
- Practical experience / professional experience (anti-chronological)
- Knowledge / additional qualifications
- Interests / hobbies
Contact details & personal data.
Position the contact details in such a way that HR managers can discover them immediately, either in the header, next to the application photo or on the cover sheet if you have one. The most important contact details are:
- First and Last Name
- Postal address (street, house number, zip code, city)
- Telephone number (where you can best be reached)
- E-mail address
You should not give any information about your religion or your parents. However, your personal information should include:
- Birthday (dd.mm.yyyy)
- place of birth
- nationality
School, training, and studies.
Now it really starts with the tabular resume: This is followed by the details of your previous education. These relate to the last school leaving certificate, vocational training and / or studies. It is important that you start with your last training qualification. In contrast to the chronological curriculum vitae, the order should be anti-chronological, so the most recent station is at the top.
The following table gives you a pattern for this. The period of training is on the left, for example 10/2014 – 02/2018, and on the right is the description and all other information.
| STATION | INFORMATION | COMMENT |
| SCHOOL | Period Location Type of school Name of school Final grade |
Employers are usually only interested in the last school leaving certificate, for example the Abitur. Elementary school doesn’t matter. Exception: You grew up in another country. Then it is interesting information, because it is evidence of international experience, internationality, intercultural competence, and language skills. If the advanced courses in the High school are directly related to the desired activity, you can also list them here. |
| VOCATIONAL TRAINING | Period of vocational training / job title Main focus areas of responsibility Training company Final grade |
Particularly emphasize the priorities of your vocational training, if they are related to the desired position. |
| EDUCATION | Period Name of the course Focus Degree Title and grade of the thesis Overall grade |
Main fields of study should be indicated if they relate to the position sought. |
| PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE | Period Title and position of the position Department and company Main tasks in key points |
As a career starter, you usually have very little practical experience. This is why you should state all your previous internships and part-time jobs here, especially if they are related to the desired occupation. If you already have several years of professional experience, you no longer need to list your internships in your CV. This only makes sense if you want to switch to another area. |
Additional knowledge & interests.
Knowledge, additional qualifications, and interests are important points on your resume. In resume writing include these points, for example:
- linguistic proficiency
- Computer and EDP skills
- International experience
Important here: Choose a clear arrangement with concise subheadings. For many HR managers, the heading “Other” in the resume is too general and makes the skills appear less important.
When specifying the software and language skills in the application, you should also make an assessment of your respective ability at the same time, for example “English business fluent, basic French”. A language test such as the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) or TOEFL (“Test of English as a Foreign Language”) can also be cited as proof of language skills.
You only need to provide information about your driver’s license if you are likely to drive a lot in your future job, for example as a sales representative.
Interests / hobbies.
Interests and hobbies do not have to be stated on the resume, but they do give the recruiter the opportunity to get a more complete picture of your personality. Be careful not to mention too many leisure activities. Interests and hobbies are at the very end of your resume.
| HOBBIES THAT YOU SHOULD FOREGO | HOBBIES THAT YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY STATE |
|---|---|
| Extreme sports such as skydiving or cave diving indicate a high willingness to take risks. | Interests that are related to the desired profession are particularly popular. For example, if you are applying in the automotive industry and you are particularly interested in cars in your private life, you should state that too. |
| Particularly passive interests such as television, cinema or playing computer games do not make a good impression either. | Activities that show that you also take responsibility in your free time, such as volunteering or involvement in clubs. |
The same applies to your interests: Choose a concise heading such as “Interests and hobbies”, “Commitment” or “Leisure activities”.
Gaps in the resume.
It is important to avoid gaps, but they are often unproblematic for less than six months. Nowadays there are hardly any HR managers who expect employees to have been continuously employed since their studies or training.
Many employers even welcome it when someone has not always worked in one area but has gained a wide range of experience. That speaks for thinking creatively, as well as for innovation and the courage to break new ground. Therefore: courage to leave gaps!
If you have registered as looking for a job, you can say it that way. You can even score points here: Longer periods of unemployment should be used sensibly, for example by acquiring specialist knowledge, completing language courses, or taking longer trips. If the employer asks what you have done in this phase, you can refer to the experience you have gained – ideally with a common thread that fits the job offer.
Checklist for your professional resume.
You can find out in the checklist whether your résumé meets all the criteria and contains all the important points and stations:
- You have chosen the right CV template (application sample) for your industry.
- You have chosen the correct variant (e.g., tabular, non-anonymized).
- All contact and personal data are up-to-date and correctly positioned.
- You have listed all relevant information about school, studies, and vocational training in an anti-chronological way.
- You indicated knowledge and additional qualifications including an assessment.
- You listed relevant interests and hobbies.
- You filled in gaps in your resume with experiences.
If you take these points to heart when writing a resume and use our free resume template, you will save time and be professionally prepared for the job search.
Resume Template
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