Now that you’ve pinpointed the ideal information to include and have got your design on point it’s now time to decide how to end your resume.
The way you finish off your document isn’t quite as big a step as signing off in a cover letter. Nevertheless, the way you end a resume can have a significant impact on how the recruiter goes away after reading your application.
Whilst there isn’t one perfect method to finish your document, in this article, we’re going to look at the different ways that you can finish your resume with a flourish. As you’ll see, each approach has its own pros and cons and will ultimately depend on the document you create.
The Last Entry of Your Work Experience
If you’ve created a conventional reverse chronological template you’ll normally list your work experience from the present back in time to your earliest job within the last decade. This ensures that the recruiter sees your most recent employment history first.
In the case that you have no further information that you want to add at the bottom of the page, you could just simply let the list end with that and for the document to come to a natural close there. Alternatively, you can add a further sense of progression by adding an education section below detailing your professional training and academic achievements.
However, if you choose this option, it can make the ending of your resume seem a little abrupt. Whilst this might not harm your chances of getting the job dramatically, it’s often better to give your document a better sense of finality when the hiring manager is through with reading it.
A Section on Your Hobbies and Interests
It’s quite common to end on a little personal detail to give the reader some insight into your character. A hobbies and interests section could go some way to doing this and also, providing a suitable ending to your document.
This is a particularly useful section to insert if any of your personal hobbies make you seem a better candidate for the job. For instance, any physical fitness you can demonstrate, fandom in a relevant subject, or any other pursuit that might factor into your eligibility for the job should be included.
Even if your personal interests don’t make you a standout candidate, it can still be beneficial to include this data. It gives the recruiter a much better idea of your personality and character which is an underrated yet important consideration they’ll be thinking over before giving you a call.
Your Professional References
Some candidates choose to add their professional reference information at the end of their resume. However, there are a few reasons why you should pause for thought before doing so.
In some quarters this can be considered highly unprofessional and could hurt rather than help your chances of success. Yet, sometimes this is a necessary step, especially if it is specifically requested by the company that the job is available in.
Alternatively, this information can be provided during a separate part of the application or in their own document.
“Professional References Upon Request”
If you’ve been working for a while you’ve probably seen an example of this being used. By writing a line of text simply stating “professional references upon request” you give a clear sense of conclusion as well as detailing the fact you have a reference to offer.
This is a classic way of ending your resume and it still appears in modern examples even today.
This works better than other strategies like simply adding the references (for the reasons why this is a bad idea see above) or leaving the end of the document hanging. It works in a very similar way to a letter sign off and also leaves the door open for further action from the recruiter going forward.
However, you close your resume, it’s important that it keeps in line with the tone of the document. That way you’ll ease the recruiter into a gentle, gradual conclusion rather than an abrupt ending.
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