The very first words on your resume should be your first and last name.

(I know… duh. ? But, stick with me.)

The next line should include ONE phone number, ONE email address, and, if you prefer, the URL to your LinkedIn profile.

That’s it. Plain and simple.

I highly suggest not including your home address, your side hustle’s website, or any other information that isn’t highly relevant to the job you’re applying to.

So, the top of your resume should look something like this:

Jamie Flora
000-000-0000 | jamie@jamieflora.com | linkedin.com/in/jamieflora1

Pro Tip: Delete the “https://www.” at the beginning of the LinkedIn URL and the forward slash “/” at the end.

Remember, you want to give the least amount of information and the most high-value information.

The next section should be a qualifications summary.

You might be thinking, “Check! That’s exactly what I have after my name and contact information, too.”

Buuut, do you? ?

A lot of people put a skill summary at the top of their resume, which usually includes a myriad of subjective things about you, such as: “Outcome-driven leader focused on providing the best customer experiences.”

It sounds fancy, but the recruiter can’t prove that simply by looking at your resume.

What’s more powerful is a qualifications summary…because it includes facts that demonstrate why you are qualified for the role.

I call the qualifications summary a person’s “billboard.”

Think about like this…

The recruiter or hiring manager is in a car, driving 70 mph down the highway, and they see your billboard… ?

Is it attention-grabbing and CLEAR enough for them to comprehend what you’re advertising?

Better be if you want the job, right?!

It’s been said that you have three to six seconds before the recruiter or hiring manager decides whether to put you in the yes pile or no pile.

Therefore, you want to make the top 1/3 of your resume as easy to understand as humanly possible.

So, what do you include in a qualifications summary?

It should include three to five objective bullet points about why you’re qualified for the role.

The bullet points in your qualifications summary should match the “minimum, basic, or required qualifications” listed in the job description, and should look something like this:

Qualifications Summary

• 15 years of marketing experience in the financial services industry
• Bachelor of Arts Degree in Marketing from the University of Minnesota
• Member of the American Marketing Association
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite and Salesforce

Pro Tip: Change your “billboard” depending on whom you’re advertising yourself to. Mimic the language of the job posting in your resume.

That’s all for this week! Stay tuned for next week’s post where I share what to include in your “work experience”

section.

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