World of Work

How to describe work experience in a resume

Work experience is what the company looks at first when looking for an employee. How to describe your career in such a way as to interest the employer, read our material.

Be specific

The description of work experience should be as specific as possible. Each new company in your track record should correspond to a separate line indicating the period of work, the name of the company, its brief description, your position, responsibilities, and achievements.

Specify the period of work in the organization to within a month: this will allow the HR manager to estimate exactly how much you worked there. “2014-2015” – this dating leaves several questions. If, for example, you got a job in an organization in January 2014 and quit in December 2015, it means that you have worked in the company for almost two years, and if you came in December 2014 and left in February 2015, then your experience in the last job is only two months – the difference is significant. Don’t keep the recruiter guessing: a resume with inaccurate deadlines is likely to end up in the trash can.

The name of the organization should be written in full, not relying on the fact that its abbreviation is familiar to everyone. As a rule, recruiting portals offer to provide brief information about the organization – its location (it is enough to indicate the city, in some cases – also the country), the field of activity, the number of personnel, etc. Edelweiss LLC. Sale of soft drinks (office in Tyumen). The number of staff is 100 people “- quite an acceptable option for a resume.

Work experience - worth it or not? - Fourth Day

The position should be specified clearly and clearly – “sales manager”, “chief accountant”, “nurse”. But writing a common name – “specialist”, “manager”, “employee” – is ineffective: already from the title of the position it should be clear what exactly you were doing in previous jobs.

Writing with purpose

Match the job description with the purpose of the resume. Filling out the column in the resume called “Job responsibilities and achievements”, you should not describe the content of your work in too much detail – it is better to focus on the main thing. Based on what position you are applying for. To correctly place accents, carefully read the announcement of the vacancy you are interested in and think about: what exactly from your previous experience is especially important for getting the desired position? For example, a job seeker applying for the position of a marketing manager, but who does not have a confirmed previous position of work experience, should emphasize that it is related to marketing: if you were ordering souvenirs or, for example, helped organize promotional events, all this should be reflected in the list of responsibilities. Are you applying for a leadership position? Pay special attention to your organizational experience.

If in your work you used special tools, technologies, software, be sure to name them: this may be your competitive advantage. “Design of parts and assemblies using the NX system”; “Calculation of wages of employees in the 1C program”; “Website interface development at Axure” – such lines will no doubt beautify a resume.

Special attention is paid to specific achievements in previous jobs. Avoid vague phrases and phrases like: “great experience”; “Increasing the efficiency of the department”; “Networking with the media,” etc. Remember that when describing your achievements, you should be guided by the rule: the more specific, the better. Give the numbers, give real examples of your initiatives. “Growth of the company’s sales level by 40% per year”; “Increasing the citation rate of newsmakers of the company by 3 times” – just a few such points are enough for your resume to stand out favorably against the background of hundreds of others.

If the resume contains several jobs, and the list of responsibilities and achievements practically coincides, such a CV is unlikely to interest the recruiter, because the candidate does not demonstrate any professional development. But each of your jobs must have had its own achievements! And even if they seem small to you, they are worth sharing.

If you were promoted during your work at a company, be sure to reflect this on your resume. To do this, add a new place of work, enter the previous name of the company, and in the appropriate columns indicate the name of the new position, period of work, and a list of changed responsibilities and achievements.

Avoid abbreviations and inaccuracies. The name of the educational institution, place of work, the listing of responsibilities, achievements – write all this in detail. If your resume is replete with abbreviations, the employer, most likely, will not wonder what is hidden behind letters that are incomprehensible to him.

In no case, do not indicate false information in your resume! You should not come up with non-existent jobs, responsibilities, and skills. This is hardly the way you will be able to get the job of your dreams: an experienced recruiter will easily detect deception, and the very first days at the company will make it obvious. Instead, focus on correctly presenting your real-world experience and placing the right emphasis.

Good luck with your resume writing and job search!