A resume is a short self-presentation of an applicant when applying for a job. It should contain information about the education received, work experience, professional achievements, as well as the skills that the applicant plans to implement in the desired position. With the advent of digital technology, employers are increasingly demanding electronic resume from candidates. This is why it is important to know how to write a well-designed resume in Microsoft Word.
How to create a resume in Word from a template
Resume templates will be useful for those people who do not know enough Microsoft Word text formatting tools. Having a ready-made resume form, it is much easier to cope with its preparation.
You can use both ready-made resume templates in Microsoft Word, and downloaded from the Internet. But be sure to pay attention to whether the downloaded document contains all the necessary sections, whether the structure of the resume is correctly observed in it. You can find this information in our article on the correct resume writing.
- To use the pre-installed Word resume templates, open the New Document menu ( File > New ). Here you will find document templates, among which you need to choose a resume template.
- If for some reason you are not satisfied with the predefined template, you can find a better option through Office Online. To do this, in the same menu for creating a new document, find “Search for templates on the web.”
- You can also find resume templates for Word on various specialized sites.
When you’ve found a resume template that suits your job, open it, delete the default text, and replace it with your information. When finished, reread the document carefully and save it ( File > Save As ).
You can also create your own document template to make it easier to create a resume in Word later on. To save the file as a template, when saving, change the file type from Document Word to Template Word ( File > Save As > Computer > File Type ).
How to make a resume in Word without a template
Your resume should be clearly structured, so start by planning the sections of the document and their order. Your resume should include the following sections:
- Full name Write your full name as the title of the document. Do not include the word “resume” in the title.
- Photo Insert a good quality color photo into your resume. To do this, select Picture from the Insert menu, select a photo on your PC and click Insert . With the cursor, you can edit the size of the photo (it should be small).
- Accommodation Indicate the country / city / region of residence and, if necessary, where you are ready to move.
- Contact Please enter a phone number and email with a neutral title.
- Title Clearly identify the vacancy you are applying for.
- Desired income level The item is optional. If you want to indicate the desired level of income in your resume, try not to overestimate or underestimate this figure – soberly assess yourself as a specialist.
- Key Skills Choose those skills that will be useful for your future position. Don’t overdo it – 5-7 skills will be enough.
- Work experience For each organization you worked for, indicate the period of employment to the nearest month, job title, main responsibilities, and city / country if you have moved or are planning to move.
- Achievements Indicate the main results of your professional activity.
- Education For each educational institution where you studied, indicate the year of graduation, faculty, specialty and qualifications. You can also mention the courses and seminars you have taken if they are relevant to the desired vacancy.
- Additional information Indicate your language and PC proficiency.
- Recommendations Here you can either write “Recommendations are available upon request” or indicate the names and titles of persons with whom the recruiter can contact if recommendations are needed.
Once you’ve finished filling out the sections of your resume, start formatting it. Highlight the text and choose one of the standard fonts (Times New Roman, Book Antiqua, Arial, Calibri), font size (from 10 to 14) and black.
Use headings and lists to keep your resume easy to read. Highlight headings and highlights in bold. Lists can be used to register key skills, achievements, work experience, education.
For example:
Key Skills
- Project Management
- Public Speaking Experience
- Ability to multitask
When you are finished and check your resume for errors, save it to your hard drive ( File > Save As > Computer ).
The name of the file with the resume should be clear and informative. It must contain your full name and position for which you are applying. To make it easy for the employer to open your resume, save the file in doc or PDF format.
Try to style your resume properly to demonstrate your seriousness and competence. The convenient appearance and format of the resume will greatly facilitate its readability for the recruiter.