26 Feb GET YOUR DREAM JOB WITH AN IMPACTFUL WORK EXPERIENCE SECTION

What would you say if we were to ask you about the most important section in your resume? If your response is Work Experience, you have got it right! For individuals, who have worked in the past or are currently working, it is the Work Experience section that matters the most. Let us tell you one secret: It doesn’t matter if you have worked only for a couple of months. Whether you are making a resume for freshers or professionals, it is this section that matters the most.

When recruiters or hiring managers look at your resume, they want to understand how you will fit into the job role. They want to know if you have any experience in a similar position, or will they have to train you before you become productive.

When you mention your job title, the hiring managers will get an idea of what you do. They want to know what exactly are your contributions, what tools you are familiar with, and what are your achievements. In short, they want to know why you are the best candidate for the role.

Several candidates find it challenging to write an impressive experience section. They struggle with sharing the most relevant information and often skip out details that can outshine them from their competitors.

Also read what HR executives find attractive in a fresher resume.

Here is a guide that offers the best tips to write a top-notch experience section that will catch the attention of the recruiters and put you across as a perfect candidate for a job.

In this blog, you will learn the following.

• What information to share in the work experience section?
• How to stand out and highlight your achievements in your work experience section?
• Real-life work experience examples.

Let’s dive in and make you a resume that impresses and gets you that elusive interview call.

What information should I share in the work experience section?

It is advisable to optimise your work experience section and mention all the relevant details related to your job history. Missing out on these details can cause the recruiters to consider you as unqualified for the job.

State the name of your previous employers

Hiring managers want to know your career trajectory and understand your growth. When they see the names of your previous employers, they get an idea about this.

If you have worked at multiple places, it is best to mention the names of the employers in reverse chronological order. It means stating your most recent experience and moving on to the first one. It is the most widely-used format in the industry and highlights your current job responsibilities. Similarly, when you are making a cv for freshers, make sure that you mention all your internship and project experience in this format.

If you have more than a decade of experience and have too much information to share, you may want to restrict your employers to the last three only.

Mention your job designation

Stating your job positions is essential because it helps the hiring managers understand how you have grown in your career. Also, they will instantly know if you are qualified to perform in the job they are offering.

While you are mentioning your job title, be specific. For instance, instead of writing Developer, write Python Developer

Specify the dates of employment

Do not forget to mention the start and end dates of each of your experiences. The start date should be the month-year when you started working, and the end date should be the month-year when you left the company. Leaving this detail out may confuse the reader about the gaps in your employment.

List your responsibilities

It is perhaps the most crucial part of your work experience. Several candidates make the mistake of writing a job description in this section. Instead, you should mention the tasks and responsibilities in crisp bullet points that showcase how well you performed in your job. We have described how to leave an impact with each point in the next section.

List your promotions, awards, and recognition

You can always highlight your accomplishments by mentioning them separately in the experience section. They show your excellence at work, and stating them can build you build a strong case for yourself.

Here are some examples for stating this.

“Nominated as the employee of the month twice in a year.”

“Achieved the best sales manager of the year award.”

“Received appreciation from the CEO for selling the highest number of insurance products.”

How to stand out and highlight your achievements in your work experience section?

While writing the job responsibilities section, you can use the VPN formula of VIPApplicant, an ai based resume builder, to detail the tasks you have carried out in your jobs.

V– It is a verb that defines your responsibility. Some examples are – organised, developed, mentored, trained, led, analysed, studied, and researched.

P – It is the project or task that you were a part of. For instance, if you are a developer, you can mention the client’s name that you worked for. An architect can name the real estate project that they were involved in.

N – It is a number and is perhaps the most crucial part in stating how your contributions made a difference at your place of work. It adds strength to your bullet points and tells the hiring managers that you know your job well.

Real-life work experience examples

Example 1: Fresher applying for a developer role

Summer Trainee | June – August 2021

• Developed custom application on Salesforce Platform in 3 months.
• Optimised the code to reduce the file size by 45% and increase the page speed by 10%.
• Explored and learned 5 IBM Cloud tools.
• Analysed the requirements to propose 2 process improvements in the design phase.

Example 2: Fresher applying for a stack developer role

Trainee | January – March 2020

• Used MERN stack technology to develop the client website in 3 months.
• Implemented 4 APIs to fetch and transfer data.
• Used AWS for syncing files and videos and implemented authentication using Firebase and OAUTH2.

Example 3: Sales Manager FMCG

Sales Manager | January 2019 – January 2022

• Managed the sales for the western region in India that involved 200 sub-locations.
• Enhanced sales by 25% through innovative sales strategies.
• Transformed the bottom-ranked Madhya Maharasthra territory to become a top revenue generator.
• Consistently exceeded sales goals by 12% every quarter.

Example 4: Accountant

Senior Accountant | Sept. 2015 – Present

• Prepared asset, liability, and capital account entries by compiling and analysing account information. Saved ₹5,00,000 by fixing a tax-reporting error.
• Recommended financial actions by evaluating accounting options to reduce costs by 20%.
• Summarising current financial status by collecting information and preparing and publishing reports. Reduced the time by 10 hours every month by suggesting process improvements.
• Streamlined 8 internal processes to cut costs and enhance efficiency.
• Guided 4 accounting clerical staff by coordinating activities and answering questions.

Example 5: Web Developer

Freelance Web Developer | February 2019 – Present

• Prepared the prototypes of 10 new products for different clients.
• Enhanced the user experience by 20% by suggesting and implementing process improvements.
• Implemented coding best practices that reduced rework by 30% and cost by 15%.
• Worked with 7 different clients and received appreciation from all of them for differentiated work.

Example 6: HR Manager

HR Manager | May 2017 – July 2020

• Managed recruitment for 5 business verticals in the Mumbai region.
• Reduced the lead time of recruiting by 25% and hired 250 employees across levels.
• Prepared and implemented a new performance evaluation process in the company. Received appreciation from the CEO for 100% completion of the process.
• Awarded 2019 Employee of the Year Award.

To Sum Up

Your Work Experience section is the most crucial segment of your resume. With the information shared above, now you can write a differentiated experience section and give your best shot at your dream job. To make the best version of your resume, you can use VIPApplicant, an ai base resume builder, which makes the cumbersome task of making resumes simpler and effortless.