Analyze this real estate finance resume example to see what makes it effective!
The candidate below held finance and consulting roles in the hotel real estate and development sector.
He currently works as a VP of Real Estate and Development.
Here are ten reasons why this candidate's resume is effective:
1. He includes a header with correct contact information.
The header used is simple yet effective.
At a minimum, be sure to include a professional email address and phone number that you check regularly in your resume's header.
You can also consider listing your mailing address and providing a link to your LinkedIn profile.
2. He organized his document using clear headings.
You should use standard headings to organize your information, as they will make it easier for applicant tracking systems to pull information from your document.
Additional headings you may consider include:
- Professional / Relevant / Work Experience
- Education
- Certifications and Licences
- Skills / Key Skills
- Industry / Board Involvement
- Community Involvement
- Volunteer Experience
- Awards and Honors
- Career Highlights
3. For each position, he includes company names, position titles, locations, and dates.
Be sure to format these elements consistently to make them easier to skim for your readers (and for applicant tracking systems to pull).
4. He quantifies his accomplishments whenever possible.
For the Vice President position at Hyatt, he mentions that he led seven team members, executed 45 contract agreements, and exceeded targets by 20%.
Whenever possible, you should also try to quantify in your bullet points.
By adding metrics and KPIs, you will transform your resume from a summary of day-to-day tasks to a powerful achievement-based marketing tool, allowing you to stand out from similar candidates.
5. He highlights his main points up front.
For his Wells Fargo position, he mentions securing over $300 million in new development deals in the first bullet point. That's pretty strong!
You should arrange your bullet points in order of importance.
We recommend highlighting your most impressive achievements and information that is highly relevant to your target position first.
6. He is concise.
Because his two positions at Ernst and Young were closely related (his move was a promotion, and his responsibilities didn't change much), he created only one set of bullet points to summarize both of them.
You should be as concise as possible throughout your document.
Remember that your resume is meant to serve as a high-level summary of your experience and accomplishments.
You don't need to list every single thing you did!
7. He lists key education (and leaves out irrelevant information).
In your education section, you should only list your university degrees.
Once you have graduated from college, you no longer need to list high school information.
If you started your education at a two-year college and transferred to a four-year institution to complete your degree, you should only list the degree earned from the four-year institution.
8. He naturally incorporates keywords related to his target position.
By referencing the job description and highlighting the most relevant keywords that came up, he was able to strategically incorporate them into his resume.
In this example, he listed courses he took on topics that were mentioned in the job description.
9. He lists hard skills and industry involvement.
By listing your hard skills and industry involvement, you can further optimize your resume for ATS scans.
We do not recommend listing soft skills such as leadership, teamwork, problem-solving, creativity, or effective communication, however.
Soft skills can come off as empty industry buzzwords without evidence to back them up, so we recommend highlighting these skills in the context of your work experience instead.
10. He formats his resume consistently and sticks to an appropriate length.
Your resume serves as your first impression, so it needs to reflect high attention to detail. You don't want to come off as careless or sloppy!
Check out these articles to learn more about appropriate resume length and formatting strategies.
About Resume Pilots
Resume Pilots is an award-winning executive resume writing firm and a proud member of the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches. Our previous clients include CEOs and senior executives at the world's leading companies.
As a professional services firm, we take your reputation seriously. We are committed to delivering writing excellence and superior service while operating with integrity and discretion. Recruitment firms we partner with also trust us to consistently deliver quality documents for their clients.
Our writers have studied in the Ivy League and other top-tier universities and have strong writing backgrounds coupled with industry experience.
Here's how we can help you:
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To learn more about our services, book an introductory call with our founder here or email team@resumepilots.com.