When researching potential job candidates, hiring companies often use social media. In fact, 94% of U.S. companies utilize social media in recruiting, according to Jobvite. A lot of companies utilize LinkedIn as their most popular social network for recruiting.

For someone pursuing a job, this means you need to have a quality LinkedIn profile.

A LinkedIn profile lets you highlight different aspects of who you are that extend beyond your resume. This guide will help show you what to include in your profile, how to make a good impression with it and help grow your professional network.

• Why do you need a well-crafted LinkedIn profile?
• Make sure you created a profile already and shared the link with your tutor.

LinkedIn Profile for Maximum Results

While there is no set perfect example of what a LinkedIn profile should look like, there are best practices that are helpful to follow. One important note is that details on your profile are critical. Make sure you pay attention to the little things, like grammar and spelling, in creating your profile.

What’s in a Name?

Keep your name simple – first and last name. It will make it easier for potential employers to find your profile.

• Check you have your first and last name in English.

Headline Design for Success

Your headline on your LinkedIn page is one of the most important sections. It’s a great place to include career-related keywords and is helpful in locations like:

• Search Results
• Connection Invitations
• Employee Listings
• Company Pages
• Messages

Here, you’re allowed to use some creativity in writing in order to draw attention. Keep it professional, but be yourself as well. Also be sure to make it something searchable.

Here’s an example of a headline that contains important keywords yet has personality:

• Discuss what kind of keywords you can use in the headline with your Cambly tutor.
• Revise your headline according to the guideline.

Choosing the Photo

The photo you choose for your profile picture is your visual representation on LinkedIn. Keep it professional yet applicable to your intended audience. Headshots are preferred, as people tend to remember faces better than names.

Below are two examples of profile photos. Mark Cuban’s photo has his personality and represents him well. Yet it’s most common to have a more friendly and professional photo like Tatiana’s.

• Do you have the right headshot? If not, find an appropriate photo to replace.

Congratulations! You’ve got the content for your cover letter. Now, it’s time to format it to make it look good to make a good impression.

Here are a few quick tips when styling your own:

1. Have margins 1” – 1.5” margins
2. Don’t go below a 12-point font
3. Choose a professional font style
4. Keep the same alignment of all paragraphs

• Is your cover letter following the guideline?
• If not, revise according to the guideline.

Red Flags

I have “Red Flags” in my work or personal history — should I address them in my Cover Letter?

“Red flags” is something in your history that might reflect poorly on your job application. Below are some of the most common cover letter red flags. Learn more so you know how to be best prepared:

1. I want a career change/ I’ve job hopped in the past
2. I need to relocate for the job
3. I have gaps in employment on my resume
4. I was terminated from a previous job
5. I’ve been laid off before
6. I was previously self-employed
7. I have a medical issues/disability
8. I have a criminal history

• Do you have any red flags that you want to address? Click the links to do further reading, then revise your cover letter with your Cambly tutor.

What is a cover letter?

A cover letter is a one-page document that you send along with your resume when you apply for a position. This cover letter:

• Introduces yourself to the hiring manager/employer
• Describes why you’d fit the job well
• Enhance and explains your resume

• Is your contact information following the guideline?
• If not, revise according to the guideline.

2. Introduction

Before you start writing, be sure you know to whom you’re writing. Beginning with “Dear sir or madame” doesn’t sound genuine. Find out the name of the hiring manager’s name by calling or looking it up online.

Introduce yourself

Begin the letter by telling them the what position you’re applyng for and how you became interested in it. Next, include your basic information including:

• Degree
• Area of expertise/study
• How your career goals align with the organization

• Who are you writing to?
• What is the name of the hiring manager for the company you are trying to apply to?
• Are you being clear about which position you are applying to?
• Are you being clear and concise about the basic information about yourself?
• Revise your introduction with your Cambly tutor.

3. Sell Yourself

For the second paragraph, respond to the job description. Explain how your abilities and experiences will help you met the organization’s needs. Use words and phrases from the description in your explanation.

For a third paragraph, you can do some research about the organization to find out what they’re doing and goals they have. Then, explain how you can help them achieve those goals.

• Discuss which format suits your current situation and goals.
• Choose the format from the 3 mentioned above.
• Reorganize the information in your resume.
• Make sure you have finished this step before moving onto Part 2.

4. Conclusion

End the cover letter with the “call to action,” which says you’d like an interview and will follow up in a week. Be sure to thank them for their time.

• Discuss which format suits your current situation and goals.
• Choose the format from the 3 mentioned above.
• Reorganize the information in your resume.
• Make sure you have finished this step before moving onto Part 2.

3. Sell Yourself

The second paragraph should respond directly to the job description written by the hiring manager. Describe how your previous job experiences, skills, and abilities will allow you to meet the company’s needs. To make that easier, you can (and should) literally include words and phrases from the job description in your cover letters.

To go the extra mile, do some research about the company, and try to find out what they are doing — and why — given the current state of their industry. In a third paragraph, explain how you can fit into that schema, and help push the company forward and achieve any goals you suspect they may have.

• Discuss what kind of position and company you are applying to.
• Are you describing the write job experiences, skills, and abilities that fit the opportunity you are applying to?
• Did you include words and phrases from the job descriptions?
• Do a little bit of research about the company. What did you find?
• Revise your second and third paragraph according to the guideline with your Cambly tutor.

4. Conclusion

The final paragraph is called the “call to action.” Inform them that you’d love to get interviewed. Tell them that you’ll be in contact with them in a week if you don’t hear back. Thank them for spending the time to read your letter.

• What are your “call to action”?
• Did you include that 1) you want an interview, 2) you’ll be in contact if you don’t hear back, and 3) you thank them for their time?
• Revise your conclusion according to the guideline with your Cambly tutor.

Last but not least..

It’s important that you go over your cover letter several times to improve its content and writing. Also, don’t forget to constantly revise as you apply to different companies and positions.

• Read over your completed cover letter and make sure you don’t have any grammar errors or typos.
• Revise your cover letter as you apply to different companies and positions.

Step 3: How to Style your Resume

Congratulations! You’ve got the content for your resume completed. Now it’s time to give your resume some personality.

I. Number of Pages

How many pages should it be? Typically, you don’t want to go over one page. However, if you have information that’s really relevant to the position and can’t fit it all on one page, add an extra one. But, don’t just add content for the sake of more pages.

II. Font and Sizing Dos and Don’ts

The font style and size is mostly your preference. However, keep these tips in mind:

• Choose fonts that are easy to read
• Keep font consistent
• Biggest fonts should be used for name, headers and bullet points
• Make sure font is large enough – not below 9pt
• Don’t spend too much time selecting the perfect font

Many resumes follow this format for sizing fonts:

• Name = 24pt
• Body headers = 12pt
• Bullet points = 10pt

Keep readability in mind when you choose font sizes. Don’t make the hiring manager need to put on his glasses to read.

Choosing a font is often between Serif or San Serif. For a paper version, it’s better to use Serif fonts, while electronic versions look better with Sans Serif fonts. For example,

III. Lines

Incorporating lines in the resume break up the sections and helps the reader process the content. Just don’t include too many breaks, or it will hurt the resume’s readability.

Below are some line styles for you to consider (see the yellow highlights):

Line Styling Sample 1

Line Styling Sample 2

Line Styling Sample 3

IV. Margins

Margins, although small details, are the first things the potential employer will see about the resume. Generally, one-inch margins work well if you have little experience. But if you have a lot of experience, you can shrink the margins to help it fit all on one page. Be careful not to make the margins too small, or else the page will look overcrowded. Don’t go below .5 inches.

• Let’s go over the following points with your tutor:
  • # of pages
  • Fonts do’s and don’ts
  • Readability
  • Lines
  • Margins
• Revise your contact information according to the guideline above.
• Do a final revision with your tutor.
• You’ve made it! Give yourself a pat on the back. Now let’s move onto “Writing A Cover Letter”.

V. Additional Sections

At this point, you’ve covered the most important pieces to your resume. Here are some sections you could add to enhance it.

Certifications/Licenses

Including certifications or licenses greatly depends on what kind of industry you’re in. For example, nursing has license requirements; customer service does not. Include them only if the hiring manager will be looking for them.

Publications

If you’ve published articles or other materials related to the job, include them in reverse chronological order, by publishing date. You can also include articles that you’re still working on. For these, include a label such as, “Works in Progress.” Here’s an example of how this publications section should be formatted.

Awards/Honors/Activities

Technical Skills

Additional Skills

If you have numerous skills related to the industry, you can include them in a short and concise list. In this list of additional skills, you can include:

• Language proficiency
• Computer applications
• Heavy machinery operation

In this section, be sure to not include things like vague statements or unrelated skills.

• Have you included all the information for your additional section?
  • Certifications/Licenses
  • Publications
  • Awards/Honors/Activities
  • Technical skills
  • Additional skills
• Revise your contact information according to the guideline above.
• Make sure you have finished this step before moving onto Part 5.

III. Professional Experience

This “work experience” section of your resume provides the support of skills that you listed in your introduction. Work experiences should be listed in reverse chronological order – from your most recent work to experiences from a long time ago. Make sure the experiences you include are relevant to the job you’re applying for.

When creating a heading for each entry, include the name, city, and state of the organization. Also include your title there and your dates of employment – both month and year. If you’re still involved in that organization, including the month and year you started and “-Present.”

It’s helpful to have about 3-5 bullet points for each experience. These bullet points should describe your main duties and accomplishments at that organization.

3 Parts of a strong bullet point:

• 1^st: action verb (should always be first)
• 2^nd: measurable Point
• 3^rd: Specific and relevant job duty

Here are some examples of effective bullet points:

Example #1:

Trained 5+ managers, equipping them with proper knowledge in trainings and preparing them to lead their team well.

Example #2:(Note that the measurable point does not need to come immediately after the action verb)

Lead the creation of the company’s first media kit, increasing global sales by 15%.

Beginning with an action verb helps grab the attention of the reader. Here is an endless list of action verbs to help get some inspiration.

Remember to write about your past experience with action verbs that are in the past tense.

Including a quantifiable or measurable point to each experience will increase the hiring manager’s confidence in you and your abilities. Be sure each job duty you describe is specific and has the most important information toward the beginning of the statement.

• Make sure you have all the information for each company.
  • the company’s name
  • city & state
  • your title
  • the dates of employment (month and year)
• Go over each line for main duties and achievements. Check whether you have included the following points and revise:
  • Action Verb (should always be first)
  • Quantifiable Point
  • Specific and relevant job duty

IV. Education

Including your education experience shows the foundation of your knowledge and expertise.

The order of either professional experience and education may depend on your situation. For example, if you are a college or high school student that lacks a lot of professional experience, you may want to emphasize this education section first. But if you have a lot of professional experience and want to highlight that, your education section can be simple.

In your education section, you’ll want to include:

• The names of your university, community college, or technical school (Don’t include high school unless you don’t have college experience)
• Location of the schools (city, state)
• Date of graduation (month, year)
• Degree(s)
• GPA (only include if GPA is above 3.0 – round up to the first decimal place. Use the format of GPA: 3.5/4.0)

Here are three examples of how you can format an education section. The highlighted areas show the education section:

• Have you included all the information for your education section?
  • The names of your university, community college, or technical school
  • Location of the schools
  • Date of graduation
  • Degree(s)
  • GPA
• Revise your contact information according to the guideline above.
• Make sure you have finished this step before moving onto Part 4.

The Order of Information

The format you choose for your resume will affect what information you will include. Below is a helpful guide to the order in which you should put your information.

I. Contact Information

First up is your contact information. You don’t need to include a label for this section. List your details in this order:

• Name (largest font on page, middle initial is optional)
• Mailing Address
• Telephone Number (Make sure you check your voicemail message)
• Email Address (make sure it’s appropriate)
• Link to online portfolio (optional)
• LinkedIn Profile

Here are three examples of how you can format your contact information section (notice the yellow highlights):

Professional Format

Classic Format

Executive Format

Don’t add your contact information in the header as sometimes the applicant tracking systems may have trouble processing it.

• Discuss which contact format suits your situation the best.
• Revise your contact information according to the guideline above.

2. Choose a Resume Introduction

The goal of the introduction is to grab the employer’s attention by mentioning your skills and experiences to benefit their organization. You’ll also have a choice of three introduction formats with different focuses: qualifications summary, career objective, and professional profile.

Qualifications Summary

Career Objective

• Discuss which introduction format suits your situation the best.
• Revise your contact information according to the guideline above.
• Make sure you have finished this step before moving to Part 3.

What is a resume?

A resume is not:

• Your whole job history.
• A description of your skills.
• An automatic ticket to a job 

Your resume is an advertisement, and YOU are the product.  The goal of the resume is to convince the hiring manager to buy in – which means getting you the interview. Your resume is a marketing tool that gives you power, but it also doesn’t guarantee the interview.

Hiring managers see a lot of advertisements – or resumes. They want to find the right fit for their company and are often attracted to resumes that look nice. Studies show that “8 out of 10 resumes are thrown out after only 10 seconds.”

Stand out from the crowd of other resumes by marketing your skills to show you’re right for the job. There’s no perfect way to write a resume, but there are some important things to keep in mind.

Step 1: Choose From 3 Formats

There’s no standard format for a resume, so where do you start?

There are three common choices for formatting your resume: Reverse-Chronological, Functional and Combination.

II. Functional

III. Combination

• Discuss which format suits your current situation and goals.
• Choose the format from the 3 mentioned above.
• Reorganize the information in your resume.
• Make sure you have finished this step before moving to Part 2.