You are ready to write a resume. You have already done the hardest part by gathering all the information you will need. Now it is putting everything together into one document.

Mission 6 in the CNC2018 Get a Job Challenge is all about resume prep. During this mission, participants took all the information from the previous missions and combined them together to make a resume. Finally, participants started to get resume feedback to get an idea of what impression their resume creates and how to make it better.

At the end of the mission, Code Newbie asked participants what was one on-the-job outcome that they quantified in their resume that they are the most proud of. Participants shared this in the CNC2018 Get a Job Facebook group or on social media using the #CNC2018 hashtag. You can share your outcomes and questions in the comments of this post.

Today's post is part one of this mission. Part one is taking your job descriptions from the second mission and using them to find keywords you can use in your resume. You will update your work history and give it a bit of a makeover so it quantifies everything you've done. Next week part two will see what will make the resume and final steps.

Getting Started

First, open an editable version of your resume. This can be in Word, Google Docs, or any writing software you use. The key thing is to have a version of your resume open that you can print out later.

This is where you will be doing your updates. Technology has made things easier and the job search has been impacted by technology. However, most employers still require non-LinkedIn resumes as part of their application process.

So that's why printable resumes count. Most writing software is nice because people can make these editable documents as PDFs so you can print them out, upload them, or share them on a website. The only other thing you will need is your job descriptions.

The job descriptions you found from Mission 2 will be used a lot here. Take some time to review Mission 2 in the CNC2018 Get a Job Series.

Keywords are the secret sauce to a good resume.

Job seekers today have heard about ATS software and the role it plays when applying for jobs. This has given keywords a lot of power and makes or breaks who gets interviews. As you put your resume together, you will want to use keywords and phrases from the job descriptions you found in your resume.

ATS software will look for these keywords and phrases; having those in your resume will help you move from the software to a hiring manager's eyes. Every job is different, so job seekers shouldn't send the same resume to everyone. Instead, they need to customize and tailor their resumes to match the job they are applying for.

It sounds like a lot of work, but this is a good guide for putting your resume together. Not sure what to figure out for keywords? Start with the hard skills.

Code Newbie defines hard skills as the skills you already have and use for a job. Don't think of this as a list of technologies and tools. Recruiters and hiring managers want to see what you've done with these tools and technologies.

Think of how you solved a problem with those tools and technologies. One of the most significant things I learned about the job search after college is that employers tend to care more about your skills than your education. They only take seconds to look at a resume, so the most important stuff you want them to see needs to be at the top when you have their attention.

Code Newbie recommends putting a section at the top of your resume like "Qualifications Summary" or "Professional Qualifications," so it focuses on your skills.
==> Look at sample 1!
==> Look at sample 2!

Writing Your Work History Story

Employers don't just pay attention to your skills. Experience also grabs their attention. This section needs to be near the top, too.

Your work history can be anything. Some ideas to put here are:

• volunteer work
• apprenticeships
• hackathons
• paid work

Code Newbie suggests keeping it code-focused as much as possible. So review your work history to look at the company titles and bullet points. Ask yourself if this content focuses on any of your hard skills.

If the answer is yes, this content is ready to go on your resume. If not, look it back over. Is there a way you can connect it to one of your hard skills? Try connecting it to one of your hard skills if possible.

Numbers matter.

Recruiters and hiring managers love numbers so you will want to use them as part of your resume. You can use them by quantifying your achievements. You can do this by reviewing the list of job duties you have for a job.

As you create each bullet point, you will want to start with an action verb. Some of the words Code Newbie likes are "achieved", "delivered", "gained", "produced", or "improved". Just repeat this with the other jobs in your work history.

Look at the examples below that Code Newbie created. Using numbers to quantify your deliverables is going to help you stand out by showing hiring managers what you were able to do.

• Maintained corporate website -> achieved 99% uptime for company X’s intranet services.
• Contributed to app development -> cut app load time by 80% by refactoring two features.
• Assisted with quality assurance -> designed test suites and ran simulations in Apple’s Test Flight system with 10 test users.

It can be tricky putting a number to something you have done. Code Newbie admits this is a challenge too, saying that people are just completing duties that were assigned to them. This can make it hard to see the values people have and lose sight of the bigger picture.

As your resume comes together, you will be able to see the value you have and focus back on the bigger picture. That is what hiring managers and recruiters are looking for when they read resumes. To help you get started, Code Newbie has a list of questions participants can use to start thinking of the bigger picture:

• Who uses the product you worked on?
• What can the user or company do now that they couldn’t do before you joined the project?
• Did you improve output somehow? Can you quantify it?
• Did you help someone save money or time?
• Think in units. Can you describe your achievements in terms of dollars, hours, days, months, users, departments, features, tests, merges, deployments, acceptances, commits, or reviews?