What Employers Look for in a Resume

Did you know that employers spend an average of only 10 to 20 seconds reading a resume for the first time? Or that 85% of employers will stop reading a resume with spelling or grammatical errors? With such a small margin for error, taking the time to create a resume that employers want to read is definitely worth the effort.

Employers’ quick tips

Here is some of the most common advice from employers in our recent Employer Resume and Cover Letter Survey (available in the Career Resource Library):

• "Target your resume to the job – don’t send me a generic resume!"
• "Be concise and clear"
• "Be honest"
• "Keep the format clean and simple with bulleted points – don’t be flashy!"
• "Include results in your descriptions of your experiences"
• "Spell-check and proofread!"

What Should My Resume Look Like?

Everyone has a different opinion of what a resume should look like — there is no one right format. Some employers prefer the chronological format because it is clear and easy to follow. However, the most important thing is to choose the right style for you depending on how your experience matches up to the position requirements. Below are the three basic types, followed by two variations:

Chronological - Sample
This works best when you have a clear career progression and recent career-related experience. Information is presented in reverse chronological order, with the focus on work experiences.

Functional or skills-based - Sample
This works best when you have little direct experience and want to emphasize transferable skills and abilities. This style takes the attention away from your employment dates and job titles by presenting your experiences under skill-based headings. This style of resume is popular with career-changers and those with major gaps in their employment history – otherwise it is not generally recommended.

Modified chronological or combination - Sample
This works well when work experience is in several areas or there are minor gaps in your employment history. As the name implies, this combines the best of both the above types – generally starting with a skills-focused section and followed by education and relevant experience. This style is very popular with current students and recent graduates.

One-page resume - Sample
Certain industries in Canada (particularly the finance industry), as well as most employers in the United States look for a one-page resume. This will require being even more focused and concise than in a usual two-page resume.

International resumes for overseas work - Sample
International resumes can vary considerably in format depending on the country. The Global Resume and CV Guide, in the Career Resource Library, provides excellent information on local standards and expectations for resumes and cover letters for a range of countries.

What Goes in a Resume?

While there are wide variety of ways you can present your information in a resume, there are standard sections that should always be included. Contact information and objective generally appear first, but after that the order may vary depending on the position to which you are applying — you will want to put the most relevant information first when possible.

What Employers Say

"The skill-based resume is effective when work experience is limited."

Yes  80%
No  20%

Contact information
Make sure the employer has a clear way of contacting you or leaving a message. Include your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and fax number (if available).

Objective (optional)
Your objective statement should be brief, specific, short-term, and honest. It should relate to a specific career area or position.

Education
In reverse chronological order — most recent first — list all your degrees and diplomas, with dates of completion or expected dates of completion, program or area of study, and educational institutions. You may want to include selected courses, G.P.A. (include scale), awards, academic achievements, thesis or research topic if relevant to the position to which you are applying.

Experience
This can include work experience, volunteer experience, extracurricular, or even course projects if highly relevant. Experiences are listed in reverse chronological order within each section (date, position, organization, city).

Think about highlighting career-related experiences by grouping them into relevant and additional categories, or into areas of expertise such as teaching, public relations, administrative, field work, laboratory, or programming.

Include volunteer and extracurricular experiences that demonstrate leadership, communication, organizational, and other skills. In a chronological resume, they are often listed in their own sections. Extracurricular activities can include clubs, associations, and hobbies or sports.

For skills-based resumes, group your experiences into relevant categories like communication, analytical, and computer. Include a brief work chronology toward the end of the resume.

Looking for More Powerful Descriptions?

When describing your experiences be direct, assertive, honest, but not modest. Use point-form statements, beginning with positive action words to describe your responsibilities and accomplishments — include results if relevant. Accomplishment-based words include terms like: achieved, attained, established, improved, motivated, refined, and spearheaded. For help generating descriptions with more punch, read Your Skills and Your Accomplishments.

Need More Help Building Your Resume?

Sign up for the Resume and Cover Letter workshop or try the resume builder tool in Career Cruising. Once you’ve got the rough version complete you can make an appointment in the Resume Clinic to polish and target your application.