What Does Your Resume Say About You? Part 1: Tell Your Story

What Does Your Resume Say About You? Part 1: Tell Your Story

This post is Part 1 of a three part series. Check back next week for Part 2!

resume One of the greatest joys of placing a top candidate at an apartment property is receiving so many happy calls later, both from the candidate and the property! A key ingredient in making this match so successful is the candidate’s resume. Over the next few weeks, I’ll take a look at some of the most important things to remember when crafting a great resume, and provide a few tips to help your resume really stand out from the crowd.

What goes in your resume? What do you leave out? Questions like these are some of the most common ones we get. So let’s start by discussing what types of information – and how much of it – you should include in your resume:

  • Your resume should tell a story. Decide what story you want to tell, and then be specific! For example, if you are applying for a leasing position your resume won’t do you much good if it doesn’t discuss your leasing experience. You also can’t forget to line up references that can speak highly of your leasing skills.
  • Be careful about adding too much “fluff” because this can backfire and work against you. It is frustrating to interview a candidate who looks great on paper only to find out they don’t really know a skill that they may have advertised on their resume. (And yes, we do find out!)
  • When writing your resume, consider listing your skills and also your skill level (such as basic, advanced, and expert). By doing this, the reviewer can more easily see if you have the proper knowledge of a skill, making your placement easier and more accurate.
  • Don’t go off the deep end and start adding filler like your experience in dog walking just to make yourself seem more experienced – your resume does not need to be a book. A resume beyond one or two pages is simply too long. Remember: quality, not quantity!

I briefly mentioned references earlier; this is another hot topic for candidates. Should references even be on a resume? What types of contacts make good references? And what’s the best way to make sure your references are prepped and ready to go when the interviewer calls? We’ll talk about all this and more in Part 2. And if you have any questions about these tips, just ask below in the comments!

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