Writing a resume – how to do it right

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A resume summarizes your professional experience and your accomplishments in one document and is therefore the most important basis for your next career move. Here you will find tips and advice from experts, as well as attorney resume writing service.

Focus on the essentials

Curriculum vitae, also known as Curriculum Vitae (CV), accompanies us throughout our working lives. This is our colleague’s first impression when we are looking for a new job. Reason enough to dedicate some time to your resume.

There are all sorts of unusual tips on how to write a resume. Some of them are definitely worth a try, but more on that later. The first thing to do is follow the basic rules. So here are some tips from experts who see resumes every day and know exactly what’s important.

A photo

Choose a professional, current and attractive portrait style photo of yourself (passport photo format, portrait format). Don’t use personal photos or selfies, but get a picture from a good photographer. This shows that you are serious.

Personal information

Here you enter your first and last name, address, telephone number, date of birth, place of origin, nationality, work permit for non-Swiss citizens, driving license (if relevant to your work) and email address.

Also welcome: notice period (if you are in an employment relationship that has not been terminated). If you are not working at the moment, you can check “available immediately”.

Experience

Here you briefly describe your last three to four positions related to this position, in chronological order: youngest at the top, oldest at the bottom (dates, maximum five relevant tasks, responsibilities, and accomplishments in list form). For example, if a job posting requires good Excel skills, then you should list those and omit what is not important.

Education

This includes school leaving certificate and tuition with time stamp, name(s) of school(s), university(s) and, if applicable, the title of the dissertation. For example, if you are applying for the position of HR assistant and have written a dissertation on the topic of HR, then it is worth mentioning this because it signals your interest in this topic. In order of importance, start the list with the most recent training.

Computer skills, languages

List your computer (software) and language skills and how well you know them. Possible scales:

  • Languages: certification level if you have completed the course (e.g. B2)
  • Basic, intermediate, advanced knowledge

Interests

Disclosure is a personal choice. Theoretically, they are not critical to your career choice, but many mention a few leisure activities to give an idea of personality or because they are work-related.