A resume is a document used in the job application process to present the job applicant’s background, skills, and accomplishments. We effectively classify a resume into a summary of work experience, academic accolades, and other job-related skills such as language and technology skills. Having understood its purpose, we provide some guidance on the structure and content of an effective resume.

The lesson you have learned from here is based on real-life cases. which helped individuals in applying for jobs with different experience levels requirements and across a range of sectors. What we have done essentially is to identify some of the key common success factors and pointers from these experiences.

How you should format your resume:

We start with a model template that explains how you would format your resume. The best place to start is with one of our sample resume templates.

As a best practice, we advise the resume to be one page and then similar to the example. This is in recognition that one prospective employer generally goes through large amounts of resumes for any given role that is advertised. Keeping that short and concise help make it easier for them to do their job which is always a positive for you.

A resume is also used to demonstrate your writing skills. Of which one of the most important aspects is being able to summarize a large body of information, such as your entire work and academic experience into a concise sentence which forms your resume.

As such, one page is just to write length for most resumes. A simple structure we have put together is to include four key sections in the resume.

Number one: tips on how to write a resume

Personal information such as name, contact details, and date of birth.

Number two: tips on how to write a resume

A summary of your work experience to date.

Number three: tips on how to write a resume

Information related to your academic experience and achievements and then before any other job-related skills such as language or I.T. skills or anything else you think will be of interest to the prospective employer.

In terms of content for work and academic experience, we like to advise including key information such as:

No 01: tips on how to write a resume

The full name of the institute or company your experience relates to.

No 02: tips on how to write a resume

The city, country, or geographic location of that institute or company.

No 03: tips on how to write a resume

The job title or the academic subject of your experience and,

No 04: tips on how to write a resume

The relevant dates of the experience.

This basic information should be highlighted for every experience you include followed by a summary sentence or two of your school or workplaces and some bullet points of key responsibilities and achievements. We will take a much closer look at each of these in the example templates section.

Real-life Templates & Case Study to writing a resume

Legal Job Application:

In this legal job application example section, we will review the application of an individual, who is a law school student and in her final year at university in the UK. The candidate is looking at the graduate program at one of the leading international law firms and in particular at the real estate stream of the program.

Working Experience Section:

The candidate starts her resume with the most recent and relevant work experience which is her summer internship at a boutique law firm in Hong Kong. This is a good experience as it matches the geographic location of the role she is applying for. Both in terms of the team’s location and the client’s coverage as well as some of the job scope. She does well to quickly summarize the firm’s main line of business and goes on to highlight some key achievements where she included a few keywords and skills demanded by the role. Such as logical thinking and attention to detail. As a point of improvement, she could have given more concrete examples or quantified how much impact she created during her internship.

Relevant Experience:

The candidate’s secondary experience was one where she worked as part of the courier society with a focus as the law division coordinator. She mentioned some positions of responsibility which required certain leadership skills and had good quantifiable results from the experience. Most likely this would paint a picture that she has really thought about a career path in law and has already done some groundwork to understand the different career options available to her in the sector. This gives a stronger impression and adds strength to the candidate saying that this particular company’s program is the one she prefers.

Education:

Usually, we would recommend students to put their education experience first as it is likely they have more to elaborate on from their university experience. In this instance, we think the balance is good as the candidate has had numerously related and relevant work experience already. In her education section, she expands on the fact she is a law student who is in her final year and who has participated in various positions of responsibility and has a variety of interests. This gives a background to her besides her legal aspirations and that she has solid achievements across other aspects of competition and academic life.

Additional Information:

To round off her resume, she kept it brief but provided information on language proficiencies which is a direct requirement from the job description as well as additional I.T. skills.

Overall this is a solid resume that demonstrates her aspirations in the legal sector. As well as being a well-rounded candidate. She could have used more concrete examples in describing some of her work and academic experiences. But as an individual applying for a graduate program, this is a good resume, Nonetheless.

Startup Job Application

In this startup job application example section, we will review the application of a more experienced individual, who is currently working as an assistant community manager in a startup coworking space. He is looking to get a job transfer to another coworking space as a community manager. So, the focus is on both a promotion and a job transfer.

Work Experience:

For this candidate, his work experience has two main parts. The most recent and relevant experience is the time spent at his existing coworking space community management role. The candidate explains the scope of the coworking space and outlines his client portfolio as creative and technology space startups. This match declines the set of the role he is applying for. So, it is a big plus.

Quantify Results:

He then does well to highlight his key responsibilities, to set up a startup community and recruit tenants. Quantifying that he rented out 95 percent of the workspace in six months. While successfully organizing numerous in-house events.

Another Experience:

The candidate’s second and third experiences are both related to hospitality and a couple of premium hotel environments. He does well to relate this to the role he is applying to choose to focus on exceptional customer service for a variety of stakeholders and also his team leader experience. While the experience may not be directly relevant. He will form a positive impression as the prospective employer, may associate some positive elements of a five-star hotel customer management with the candidate.

Educational Qualification:

The candidate’s second and third experiences are both related to hospitality and a couple of premium hotel environments. He does well to relate this to the role he is applying to choose to focus on exceptional customer service for a variety of stakeholders and also his team leader experience. While the experience may not be directly relevant. He will form a positive impression as the prospective employer, may associate some positive elements of a five-star hotel customer management with the candidate.

Overall this is a good resume that demonstrates the candidate’s experience in the coworking and startup ecosystem. And his strength in customer and community management. Noting his key strengths, he could have provided a bit more on other aspects of his experience. Such as key highlights of his academic journey or any other skills or key highlights. Which may resonate with the prospective employer and presents him as a more well-rounded applicant. He should also be prepared to answer more in-depth questions about his knowledge of coworking space management. And understanding of the market based on his prior experience, and the fact he is looking to be promoted into a new position of seniority.

Banking Job Application:

In our banking job application example section, we will review the application of a more experienced finance professional. Who is looking for a post-MBA role within investment banking?

Work Experience:

The candidate has three different experiences within corporate finance and banking. Which when combined positions him well for the investment banking role he is applying to. He begins his resume with his most recent somewhat MBA internship at a Chinese boutique investment bank in Shanghai. Starts by outlining the focus for the bank including the work scope and client sectors.

He then provides three key bullet points as to his main responsibilities. Which included client management, deal management, and team management. He could have expanded to include some tangible achievements. Although we understand at times that no specific information can be confidential as it was in this case and hence, he did not disclose any further details.

Other Experience:

His second experience was from a reputable investment bank. Although his role was more on the business support side and not a direct client-facing position. Nonetheless, he does well to highlight his knowledge across different Asia markets and his ability to work with cross-border teams for his daily financial reporting and consolidation responsibilities. It was also a role with a lot of accounting focus and expertise. Which represents the next step from his accounting firm experience. As well as a good foundation for an investment banking role.

Accounting First:

In this instance, the candidate’s initial work experience is fairly relevant for his job application. It was his longest work experience spanning three years. Where he qualified as a chartered accountant and where he was exposed to multiple high-profile deals. Which would have been reported in business meetings across the world? In this part of his resumé, he was very specific and provide a tangible result throughout including the size of the deals he was working on, specific details on his job scope and highlighted key achievements.

His experience was varied and there are a lot of unique and interesting businesses from bigger companies to football clubs. Which may pique the prospective employers’ interests, to find out more during an interview. He also matches the job skills requirements well with experience across different financial and legal aspects, from a wealth of deal experience.

Educational Qualification:

For his academic section, the candidate provided more detail on his most recent MBA experience. He did well to include the most relevant aspects such as his specialization in finance top tier academic record. His involvement in leading the finance club and being the editor of a well-read school newsletter and his skills. He also highlighted his time as a columnist for an international media publication. In his real application, he included a link to his publication which we have taken out here for privacy reasons.

Overall this is a very solid resume that demonstrates the candidate’s effort to land a client-facing investment banking row and having relevant experiences to equip him well in terms of technical and soft skills.

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