Writing Tip Jar – Tannika Nikeya

I have edited resumes for my students, friends, and family members, and one thing I note is that every resume is different from the format to the content. No two resumes are the same and neither should they be. So, how can you make your resume stand out, be professional, and get a read through instead of a toss aside?

Here are 5 ways to make a great resume:

Be Honest. If you have never worked on the moon, please don’t list it. List your actual work experiences, education, activities, and skill, even if they seem insignificant. And try to list skills, experience, and training/education that is relevant to the career position or job you are applying for.
Be professional. Make sure your resume is not riddled with emojis, text-talk, and poor grammar. Make sure your email is professional: 🚫twerkforfun@gmail.com ✔lastnamefirstname1@gmail.com. Make sure your address is up to date also. And make sure you have a consistent format and font. The typical font used for resumes is Times New Roman.
Make it stand out. Make sure your name is front and center. Make it bold or larger than the rest of the content. Make sure your contact info is right up there with your name. Make sure you print on white paper, or a special type of paper as long as it is white, or play around with your format. Just don’t overdo it and please keep it professional. If you are an artist or model, perhaps you can get away with adding a headshot photo of yourself.
Maintain great content. Use action verbs to start off with explaining your tasks or duties from your work experiences. Make your objective specific as you communicate your career goals. Don’t list your skills in a generic way. Be specific. For example: 🚫Typing. ✔Type 100 words per minute 🚫 Math. ✔Proficient in Advanced Algebra and Trigonometry. You may think your work experience isn’t diverse, in depth or great. Don’t fret. It is not what you say it, it is how you say it. If you babysit or are a stay at home mom now entering the work force, you provide child care. Find out what strengths you are developing as a result and what things you are learning. Value those things. On your resume, list some of the things you did in providing child care. If you developed or have special skills, list them also on your resume. If you have learned how to apply theatrical makeup even if you learned from watching countless YouTube videos, list it. I had a high school student who didn’t realize that he helping his uncle remodel someone’s kitchen was a skill he was developing and something to put on his resume.
Lastly, edit your resume. Check for mistakes. Everyone makes them, including me. So, go back over it and more than once. And have someone proofread it and edit it. Get feedback. Another person’s eyes can catch what you missed and give you the constructive criticism you need.
Bonus Tip: Make sure you update your resume every year. You might have recently changed your address or job, learned a new skill, renewed your license or certificate, etc. and you want your resume to reflect such and be current.

Need professional, affordable, and quality proofreading and editing? I am here to help.

For inquiries, please visit my editing page and fill out this form.

Tannika Moore is a writer, a poet, an editor, and an educator. She is a firm believer that there are two things people can’t take from you, and that is your education and faith, which are major focuses in her career and life. She has a Bachelor’s of Arts in English: Professional & Technical Writing. Her favorite genre of writing is poetry and she has self-published two poetry books titled Setting The Captive Free and Wearing Someone Else’s Shoes Ain’t Never Been Me. Tannika has edited various works from research papers to web content.

Writing Tip Jar is a series to help encourage other writers and inspiring authors along their journeys. Happy Saturday, and pull out your notebook or click on your cellular notepad! It is time to write.

Are you having trouble confidently expressing yourself in your writing? Putting your writing out there can be a very rewarding thing but also a nerve racking one. The fear of not being politically correct, fear of offending others, fear of hearing others’ critiques, fear of not being an expert, fear of releasing too much of our business or imperfections tend to surface and introduce roadblocks to our writing. Or maybe we just dont have the courage to let our hair down and write something challenging and new, thus stifling our ability to be free in exercising and building our talent/natural gift.
I was a person who was proficient in sugar coating, people pleasing–afraid to step on someone’s toes and afraid to displease someone–(still need work on this) and sometimes it carried into my writing.

It was sometimes difficult to organize experiences and feelings in words. Years ago, I felt blocked because I couldnt translate what I was feeling on paper out of fear.

Later, there would be times, I would hear “just write.” Trust God and just write. And when I obeyed, great sparks emitted through my writing releasing an energy, a flow, and revelations like none other.
Sometimes we think some great big monster is suffocating our writing. But could it actually be that we may be suppressing our own writing from flowing naturally from the streams of our hearts?

Today’s tip does not condone writing that is birthed from a heart or goal of pushing immorality, unkindness, or prejudice, or tearing down others, or even heartless, undisciplined writing. That is not writing freely, but rather harshly as well as misusing this talent/natural gift. Yet, today’s tip is about just writing freely, being yourself, being authentic, being honest, letting God fully work through you. It is about using our God-given superpower to impact and bless others on paper or screen.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV
http://bible.com/111/ecc.3.1.NIV

There will be times that you hopefully put the pen down and just experience and listen. There will be times also when you have to pick up the pen and just release.

Don’t block your writing. Don’t suppress what you are feeling. Don’t suppress what needs to be said. Don’t suppress what can save someone else’s life. Don’t suppress the truth of what God wanted you to shine a light on. Don’t suppress the goofy, bubbly personality you have.

Show and tell it on paper, and if God leads you to omit or even postpone something in release during the editing process, then hold it back or don’t release it. You have that right. But until now, let it out. Don’t block your writing because you are afraid to tap into what you’re feeling, or dont think it would sound beautiful, or because you are talking about something different than everyone else.

And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
Habakkuk 2:2 KJV
http://bible.com/1/hab.2.2.KJV

Someone needs that encouragement, that frankness, that “get yourself together”, that revelation and “aha” moment, that laugh, that realization that one is not alone, and that imperfect writing–yet full of heart and humility on its way to being beautifully and excellently skilled.

Just write.

Start there.
Put your shoes on honey, your journey awaits,

Tannika

_____________________________________

Come join me along my journey to learn to Trust God and Set The Captive Free. Visit www.stcfpoetrybook.com and get my books, Setting The Captive Free and Wearing Someone Else’s Shoes Ain’t Never Been Me.