Writing about your previous work experiences on your resume may sound daunting, but it doesn’t have to be! We’ll walk you through tips on how to effectively highlight your past work experience to make your resume sound great.
REMSYS Resume Tips
Tip #1: Consider the Position you’re Applying to when Writing Your Resume
Your resume serves as a reflection of all your accomplishments and work experiences. Depending on the job you’re applying for, you may want to highlight different skill sets you’ve acquired at work.
For example, consider Sara. Sara has worked as a researcher in academia. Through her projects, she’s acquired skills like creating a study design, receiving grant funding, and team building. Sara is now interested in applying for a project management position in research work. She can highlight certain elements of her experience like managing her study group, communicating with funders, and supervising a project from its proposal to completion.
However, if Sara was applying for a grants management position at a research organization, she would highlight the specifics of her experience in receiving grant funding, like communicating with funders, applying for a certain amount of grants, and meeting grant deadlines.
All-in-all, considering the position you’re applying for as a first step is essential to figuring out what accomplishments or skills you want to highlight.
Tip #2: Start with Action Verbs when Writing your Resume
Once you know what position you’re applying for, you can make a list of action verbs that best describe your accomplishments. You can refer to sample lists of action verbs, here. Use action verbs to describe what you’ve done at work. If you are using a list of action verbs, go through and highlight 3 to 5 words that best describe your responsibilities for each position. Make sure you list past tense verbs for previous experiences and present tense verbs for current job or work experiences.
Now that you have your action verbs selected, you can continue drafting the rest of your experience descriptions.
Tip #3: Avoid Using First Person In the Resume Experience Description
It’s tempting to write in first person, as it’s normal for us to think in the context of “I did this” or here are “my accomplishments.” When you’re writing the experience section of your resume, it’s common practice to drop the first person pronouns like “I”, “me”, “my” from your descriptions. This is because the resume is a reflection of you! The recruiter knows that they’re reading your resume, your accomplishments, and evaluating your skills. Dropping these pronouns from your description also gives you more space to work with in your resume.
If this is a difficult concept to grasp (it was definitely hard for me as well!), then you can create your first couple of drafts of your experiences in first person, just to get you started. Once you have written your first draft in first person, you can go back and remove any places where you’ve used “I”, “me”, or “my” and edit your description to sound more cohesive.
Tip #4: Quantify Your Achievements at Work on Your Resume
This might be a difficult step for many, as many of us don’t think of the impact our work has on a day-to-day basis. That’s why it’s important to regularly update your achievements on your resume. Consider using an online resume manager app, like REMSYS, to keep your achievements up-to-date!
For example, you may have helped a co-worker with a project which led to better organizational workflows and in turn, higher company profits. Or, you may have helped serve X amount of customers who needed help, and because of your great customer service they are now happy returning customers. But, how would you quantify that amount?
In many cases, you may not get to see the financial benefit of your work or you may not track how many customers you serve. In this case, it would be best to make the best possible prediction estimate, or even speak with your manager to ask about setting tangible goals to quantify your performance and contributions to the company.
Tip #5: Only Highlight 3-5 Points in each Experience Section on Your Resume
When writing your resume, remember to list about 3 to 5 bullet points for each experience section. It’s better to keep your bullet points concise by highlighting only the most relevant accomplishments and skills. Remember, recruiters are looking for candidates who fit the job description and scan resumes to see which candidates stand out.
Now, what should you include in those bullet points? You can start each bullet point with an example of a relevant experience or skill you want to demonstrate. Your points should start with action verbs, followed by a specific action with metrics (if this applies to you). You can read more on how to format your experience section here.
Getting started with REMSYS
Sometimes, it can be difficult writing about work experiences from scratch. You can check out some resume templates from REMSYS to get started. By using the REMSYS resume builder, you can also get free access to tips on writing your experience section. Organize your work experiences on our platform for resume editing. Sign up here!
Here's another quick guide on how to create a fantastic resume using REMSYS.
Happy Resume Writing!