Make your resume easy to read

Summary:

·  Only include factual information

·  Don't put too much emphasis on work experience gained a very long time ago

·  Don't try and squash all your information onto one page

---

A quick glance over your resume can make or break your application.

All your hard work in selling yourself will be for nothing if your skills, qualifications and achievements do not stand out and aren't easy to get to when an employer or consultant skims over it.

So how do you make your resume easy to read, whether it is online or on paper?

First consider the relevance of information.
Only include information that is factual, shows you have the skills to do the job and is relevant to the role you are applying for. If you don’t think it will help you secure an interview, leave it out. There is no benefit in stating you own and drive a sports car when applying for a sales position with a retail clothes store.

Present your details in a brief yet precise manner.
As much as possible use summary words, brief points or titles instead of detailed, lengthy sentences - especially for personal, education/training and membership information. Your work history should be summarised in simple detail. Large blocks of text should be avoided, as they can be difficult to read.

How much relevant information is too much?
Think about when the information relates to. The further back in time you go, the less information you should provide - employers are more interested in what you have done recently or are currently doing. Time itself can make information that you think is important, irrelevant. For example, job descriptions over 10 years ago (or approximately five jobs ago) do not need to be included at all. Simply state that details relating to this time can be provided on request.

Include plenty of white space
Don’t be afraid to use generous spacing and wider than usual margins if possible. With a brief and precise resume you can afford to add plenty of space and still keep your resume at a reasonable length.

Unless specifically requested by the employer, do not include written references in your resume. They are generally not of interest to the reader at an early stage, instead indicate these can be provided on request. You can even do without any reference to referees - a simple statement that these will be provided on request will suffice.

Do not get carried away with the number of pages
Generally, three to five pages is a decent resume length - however, shorter or longer resumes may work just as well depending upon the position. More important than page number, detailing relevant information and then presenting it in a succinct, user friendly way is your best chance for securing an interview. Review your layout, space it out evenly and produce a resume that will work for you.