How to Create a Resume

Your resume is the key to your success -- or failure -- in your job search and your career. Yet surprisingly, many job candidates submit substandard resumes when applying for employment. In this article, we outline some common resume creation strategies so that you can find out the best way of putting together a resume to land yourself the job of your dreams.

Creating a Resume by Hand

Most job seekers make the error of assuming that they need to create a resume laboriously by hand, usually using some type of word processing program. Although some applicants succeed using this method, it is not generally a good idea, because it is not only time consuming, but also often results in problems with layout, organization, and content. According to studies, most job candidates do not clearly understand resume formatting standards and often fail to grasp criteria that employers use to select candidates. As a result, when they create their own resumes, they are putting themselves at a disadvantage in the job market.

Using a Word Processing Template

Some people on the job market create a resume using a pre-designed template from their word processing program. Templates are helpful because they format the material for you -- all you need to do is enter your information. However, many templates are not professional looking and it can be difficult to force the program to format your content perfectly. To make matters worse, the template will not organize content for you, so you must be very careful when entering information. For all these reasons, templates are frustrating, difficult to use, and produce substandard results in a job search.

Using an Online Resume Builder

An online resume builder combines the ease of use of a predefined template with customizability and a professional layout. Using a site to create a resume is a snap, even if you're not proficient with computers, because you simply tell the site what type of resume you would like and provide your information.

Layout, organization, and visual detail are all taken care of automatically. Unlike word processing templates, online resume builder software is designed by professional writers and human resource experts to ensure that your resume looks perfect and fulfills employer selection criteria. There is simply no better way to impress a potential employer than by using a professional online resume.