From the course: Resume Makeover

Make the most of your resume experience section

From the course: Resume Makeover

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Make the most of your resume experience section

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- Your experience section is probably going to be the longest section of your resume. Here's your opportunity to show that future employer that you don't just have the desire and the skills to take on this job, but the work experience to back it. I have reviewed thousands and thousands of resumes and can safely say that most people under utilize this section in terms of highlighting the impact that they've had on people, departments, and organizations. So let's make sure that's not you. Your new resume needs to go beyond listing out the duties and responsibilities you've held and provide what I call supporting evidence that you're an incredible choice. Think of it this way, in your summary section, you've laid out who you are professionally and what you can walk through their doors and deliver. You've told the hiring team what you're all about. The experience section is where you show them evidence to back these claims. For instance, if I've introduced myself as someone good at change management in the summary, I should highlight times when I've successfully led through change in the experience section. Yes, you should quickly summarize what you were hired to do and outline the overarching nature of your job. People need to see your core duties of course, but don't stop there. Instead, share at least a bullet point or two that spells out your relevant achievements. Here's how that might look on your resume. For each job, you'll of course list your employer, job title, and dates of employment first. Next, I recommend two or three sentences that explain what you were hired to do and the primary focus of that job. You can include main responsibilities, number of team members that you manage, size of budget if you have a budget, and so forth. And now you're going to add some bullet points. This is where you highlight your achievements. The bullet points will make it very easy for people to see what makes you a standout as they skim your resume. I recommend using this formula to lay in your bullet points. Impact that you made, and this can be quantitative or qualitative, followed by what you did that led to this result. For example, drove a 24% improvement in plant efficiency by automating the supply chain and revamping training processes. Notice also that I bold the impact statement to draw the eye right to the most important part of that bullet point. When crafting your experience section, always strive to share details whether these are skills, responsibilities, or achievements that closely align with the job that you want next. What this means is that even if you're highlighting something that was actually a secondary part of the job itself, it's still important to show how and why you are a fit for that next role that you're seeking.

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