Top Tips on Editing Your Resume Like a Professional

You’ve read up on how to craft a killer resume. You’ve poured a lot of energy and effort into showcasing your assets on just one or two pages. Time to send in your resume, right? Not so quick. First, you must edit your resume like a professional resume editor would. Here’s how to get started:

Check that you’ve matched job descriptions to your skills: Take the descriptions for the jobs you are applying for. Write down the five skill sets that get the most priority, and make sure that your resume covers these skills. How have you deployed them to help prior employers? For example, did you upsell the most customers at a movie theater for two months in a row? You may need to tailor your resume for each job description, but that time is a good investment.
Go past your job responsibilities: Suppose one of your prior jobs was to sell concessions at a movie theater. Write about your job in a way that describes your achievements and what you can potentially do for a new employer. Instead of writing something like, “Sold concessions to customers,” you could write, “Increased personal upsell percentages by at least 3 percent every month.”
Take a break: You’re excited to send your resume to employers, but a break does you good. You’ll return to your resume with perspective and distance. Step away for two days.
Get rid of your darlings: Your high school job from 15 years ago may have been the most fun of your life, but is it truly relevant? You do not want to risk hiring managers throwing your resume in the trash after seeing little relevant information. Keep your focus on target for the position.
Proofread: This tip is an oldie but a goodie. Check for issues such as typos, misspellings and formatting errors (forgetting bullet points or bold font, for example). Even with a couple of days of distance, the more eyes the better. Hand off your resume to people qualified to proofread.