Learn Resume Editing in Six Simple Steps

You have a great job you landed with the help of a strong resume and an effective professional cover letter. Since you made the right moves and are happy with the results, you serve as an example and natural resource for friends and family members who may be looking for work. But when your friend, daughter, uncle or former coworker brings you a resume draft and asks for your input, will you know how to respond?

Here are six resume editing tips you can share with them.

1. Ask questions first

Before you take a look at a resume, ask for some information about the jobs the other person will be targeting. Ask for an example job post and information that can help you understand what employers usually look for in a specific field.

2. Read the resume from top to bottom

Read the resume as if you’re a hiring manager, not an editor. Key a skeptical eye out for impressive claims, confusing phrases, and obvious grammar problems.

3. Ask questions again

Take the resume back to the candidate and work together to get the confusing statements ironed out in a way that keeps them relevant, clear, and meaningful.

4. Offer praise and positive feedback

Point out the claims that specifically impressed you and the phrases and sentences that felt smooth and effective.

5. Work the delete key

Circle or draw a line through any adverbs, buzzwords, repetition, or sections of text that don’t need to appear in the documents.

6. Read backwards from the bottom

Carefully read through the resume again, but this time move up the page from the bottom and read from the right side to the left. This will help you catch misspelled words, grammar problems, duplicate words, and capitalization issues.

In the meantime, you can send your friend to at our site for additional help and guidance with our simple resume builder tool.