The importance of a killer work experience section for your resume

Imagine that you are a hiring manager who just put up a job advertisement for the position of the product developer. Your company designs all sorts of pet care products, and you want to hire a talented product manager who will come up with tons of great ideas for the fur babies of America. You have a teetering pile of resumes on your desk by the third day, but only one resume stands out as the perfect candidate for the job—the one with a killer work experience section.

An effective resume narrates the story of your career by highlighting the great contributions you have made to your industry, and the awesome accomplishments that make you a formidable candidate. A well-written work experience section will ensure that you do not blend into the crowd in the hiring race.

Why is the work experience section so important?

While the other sections of your resume state facts that add to your value, the work experience section of your resume shows potential employers what exactly you are capable of contributing to an organization. Any job seeker can have an amazing set of skills. But only a few job seekers ever manage to use those skills to bring profit to their employers. A well-written work experience section that highlights your biggest professional wins will tell potential employers that you are ready to do the same for them.

A strong work experience section can come to your aid many times in the job search. Consider for a moment that you do not have a formal education background, but you have made some amazing sales as a real estate agent. If your resume boasts those sales right, no real estate firm will reject your job application. Even if you are switching careers, your work experience section will bring out your transferable skills and show a potential employer how valuable you can be for their team.

Here are seven pieces of advice for creating a killer work experience section for your resume:

Show, don't tell

Listing down job responsibilities in your resume will have you writing the most boring career history ever. Instead, use solid results to show the employer how you have excelled in your role before.

Tell a story

A stale career impresses no hiring manager. Let your resume reflect your career journey. Highlight how you have started out in a junior role and climbed up the career ladder, doubling and tripling your responsibilities over the years.

Be specific

The more specific you are when you write your resume, the better the outcome would be. Your resume must contain no sentence that can be used to describe any other job seeker.

Focus on the most relevant experience

There is no resume rule that says you must mention all your past jobs on your resume. Focus on the most relevant experience for the job at hand when you craft your resume.

Use keywords

Keywords play a major role in getting you seen by the right employer. If you want to pass the ATS test with no trouble, keyword optimization is the best thing you can do for your resume.

Be honest

Exaggerating qualifications or stretching dates on your resume is not the way to get seen by an employer. In some states, lying on your resume can lead to serious consequences.

Highlight transferable skills

Transferable skills are important for your resume, especially if you are changing careers. Use high-value transferable skills for your resume, such as leadership, innovation, and strategizing.