Resume Template

Writing a Standard Resume Template

A standard resume template complies with standards of international business letters. Writing a resume is not like writing a personal letter to a friend. There is a format that you need to follow and your compliance to this is an indication of how professional you are. But what exactly should a standard resume template contain?

If it is your first time to write a resume, then a resume template is just what you need. In the international business community, there is an acceptable format for resume writing that you have to abide to. Although you can squeeze a little bit of creativity, there are important things that you need to follow when writing a resume. The order of the things you place in your resume is an expectation. For example, you cannot put your resume header at the bottom. This should always be on top. First of all, the resume template you will use has standard contents. When you outline how you want to write your resume, there are certain areas that are required. Below we have outlined possible contents of a resume. All of these are arranged in chronological order.

Personal Information

• This is a requirement in any resume template.

• In this area, only place your complete name, home address, phone number, and email address.

• You can also place a picture alongside your personal information.

• The contents of this area should be real. Do not write nick names or numbers that do not work.

Objective

• This is optional but it is highly recommended.

• If you will observe carefully, any resume template has this part.

• In this area, you need to write the position you are applying for in a sentence format.

• A great objective lets the reader know your current skills or work and what position you are seeking to fill in.

• Writing an objective lets the employer know right away what you are applying for, especially in big companies that have multiple job vacancies. This helps the recruitment officer route your resume to the right department.

• Never put an objective saying that you are applying for any position available. This will get your resume nowhere or possibly to the lowest position available.

Achievements

• This is optional but it is highly recommended.

• In this area of your resume template, you need to indicate the things you have done that made significant contributions to your current or previous employer that your prospective employer might be interested in.

• Some of these might have something to do with improving a process, increasing revenue, or creating policies.

• If you are a fresh graduate, this is where you put your honors in school.

Work Experience or History

• This is a requirement.

• If you have more than three work experiences of the same nature, you do not have to elaborate on what you did on every job. Just elaborate, in bullet points, what you are currently doing or what you have done in your most recent job.

• The other jobs should only contain your official title and the company name and maybe a few bullet points about your job that you did not do in your other jobs.

• If you are a fresh graduate, list your achievements, club memberships or positions.

• Make sure that what you indicate here as your skills are relevant.

Educational Background

• This is a requirement.

• You only have to write the name of the school of your highest educational attainment.

• Do not trace back to your grade school level, not even high school.

Trainings

• This is optional but it is also important if the training or certifications you have are relevant to the job you are applying for.

• Even if you are not certified, you can still put the training sessions you attended. This builds credibility and boosts your employer’s confidence.

Character Reference

• This is a requirement.

• Do not make the mistake of writing that this is “available upon request.” Writing this indicates you may be hiding something.

• In this area, write the complete name, position, company name, and contact information of your character reference.

• Two character references should be enough.

That is a complete resume template. Once you start writing one, concentrate on the parts that are required. Keep in mind that an ideal resume should not exceed two pages. Well, the truth is there is no solid rule about the number of resume pages. But just think about it, what is the likelihood of a recruitment officer reading four pages of resume? Two pages should be enough. While writing your resume template, you should be able to determine how long your resume is going to be so you can start cutting contents, removing the excess and retaining only those that will make an impact.