Continuing on from resume writing part 1..
3. Work experience
Work experience would be the most important aspect of your resume as it should highlight all of your achievements and successes in the corporate world. The basic format should be:
WORK EXPERIENCE
COMPANY (Month and Year Start – Month and Year End)
ACHIEVEMENTS AND WORK DONE IN THE COMPANY
Do NOT put your job description as your work experience. I have seen a lot of applicants writing down their job description in their resume, presumably just to make it longer. An employer isn’t interested in applying for the job you had. What an employer wants to read is how you have performed in your job. So, what you should place here are the actual work that you have done for the company. Also, as much as possible, measure your success/contribution, because what your previous company considers as an excellent achievement might just be average for the company you are currently applying for and vice versa.
Example in a service industry:
Instead of saying, “Successfully launched sales event”
Be more specific like, “Project lead of sales event that introduced 1,000 new applicants”
Or
Instead of, “Innovated product packaging for the company”
Say, “Redesigned product packaging that saved the company P100 million/year”
Take note that multinational companies are very particular in the achievements and initiatives that you have done for the company you have worked with, that is why I say that this is the most important part of your resume. Make sure that you write it as simple and measurable as possible.
If you are just a fresh graduate and/or have no work experience yet..
4. Educational background
This part is most useful for newly grads and/or applicants with little or no working experience.
Most people say that there is a school bias in employment. For some, there is and for others there isn’t. If you’re not part of the top 4 schools here in the Philippines, why even bother making your resume look good, right? Well, for one, whether you’re part of the top schools or not, you’ve already graduated and therefore, cannot change anything about it. Better focus on what you can do now and one of that is to continually improve yourself and your resume.
The basic format for educational background looks like this:
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
SCHOOL (mention here if you graduated with honors) / COURSE
YEAR ATTENDED
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND AWARDS
If you think you have too many awards and recognition, you can use a separate section dedicated for that.
5. Extra-curricular activities
Not the straight A type of student? Don’t fret as this section will balance that out. A good employer would be wise not to look on grades alone. Heck, they even value extra curricular activities more than academics! Because they know that in the real world, even a straight A student may not be able to work under pressure and execute.
Usually, this is the time where you have joined organizations. Do take note that it doesn’t have to be school-related or an organization from your school. It could be the local barangay, church, and/or even global ones like UNESCO, etc.
The basic format for this would be:
EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
YEAR/MONTH OF ACTIVITY / ORGANIZATION NAME
POSITION HELD / ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAMS DONE
If you have held different positions in the same organization, separate them via position.
Think of this like your work experience, NEVER put your job description here. Rather tell them what significant contribution you have done in order for the organization to achieve its goal(s). It could be by being a project leader and managing the resources and persons available for a successful event.
Continue to part 3..
