Poet Resume Example

This complete guide to a poet resume will equip you with the tools you need to compete in your applications. You'll find useful insights on constructing a resume that makes the most of your unique skills, experience and strengths. You'll also learn how to tailor your resume according to the job description, and depending on your experience levels. Read on to find out how to show your creative side in a professional resume, with key tips from Jobseeker's career experts.

Core sections to include in a poet resume

It's essential to include a few core sections in your poet resume, while there are also a few optional sections you can make use of to strengthen your application.

The order you present these sections can vary according to your career stage, but it's still essential to include each of the following:

Resume Header

In your poet resume header, list your name, email address, phone number and address or location. You can also add your LinkedIn, if you have one, to help employers better understand your work history and skills. While in some countries, you might include additional personal information or a photo, these aren't necessary. Make your resume header clear, concise and as brief and compact as possible. Consider different layouts that spread the information horizontally across the page rather than using a different line for each piece of information.

Make sure your email address appears as professional as possible, and doesn't include anything like nicknames, inappropriate language or personal information. If it does, set up a new email account with an address based on your name or initials, and use that for your job applications. Always double-check your contact details are up-to-date before sending your resume.

Resume Summary

Following your resume header, write a resume summary to introduce yourself and showcase some of your key skills and achievements. Alternative names for this section are 'resume objective' and 'personal profile'. While a resume summary focuses on your career experience, a resume objective covers your ambitions and career plans. Always make sure your summary reflects the job description and highlights some of the key skills required for poet roles.

Alternatively, you could use this section to reference your objectives and ambitions, and how this role would fit into your career journey.

The best resume summaries reflect the job description and focus on qualities that are relevant to working as a poet, while highlighting elements of your personality that make you an ideal candidate. They also quantify the information provided with evidence. The graphic below showcases some good examples of what to include in your poet resume summary.

Alternatively, a poor resume summary would include bland, generic information that does little to prove your suitability for the role, while failing to provide any useful insights on you as a person or as a candidate. In the graphic above you can find some negative examples of how to write a resume summary.

Employment History

Under your work experience section, add any jobs you've had in the past that are relevant to the position of a poet. List each relevant role in reverse-chronological order starting with your current or most recent role. Add your job title, the organization name, its location and the dates you worked there.

In addition, include a few bullet points under each job, highlighting your key achievements so the hiring manager can see how they led to successful outcomes. Back up each point with evidence to show how you meet the job description.

The best resume work experience sections focus only on the most relevant previous jobs, and link each bullet point back to a skill or experience listed in the job description. It's also critical to provide evidence that shows the value you added to each role in a quantifiable way, such as project outcomes, key performance indicators or feedback from customers, colleagues or managers. See the examples below for some ideas of what a great resume work experience looks like.

Above, you can see a weaker example of a resume work experience section to best avoid. A bad resume work experience section might fail to address skills and achievements that relate directly to the job description. Falling back on clichés, vague descriptions and basic responsibilities, rather than showing the impact you made, is likely to disengage the reader.

Portfolio

Showcasing your poet work samples in a portfolio or personal website can be a great way to prove your worth to employers. If you have examples of your work online, include a URL here.

You're most likely to have a portfolio of previous projects if you work in a creative sector, such as design, web development or architecture. If you decide to include examples of your work, consider adding a link in your resume header or a separate section with links to published work or finished projects. Conversely, if you work in a non-creative sector but have evidence of your work and successful projects published online in some other way, you can include links to that here.

Education

In this section list any educational qualifications or degrees that are relevant to poet roles.

You don't tend to need a degree for poet roles, but you'll still need to list any relevant qualifications, or your relevant educational achievements. If you have MFA in Poetry, add this here, along with any other education that shows your editing and proofreading or MS Word proficiency.

List every relevant qualification, including the name and level of the course, the name of the school, college or university, its location and your graduation date. You could also add one or two bullet points to draw attention to your grades if they were particularly good, as well as any specialist subjects you studied. This will help the hiring manager understand your knowledge and special skills better.

If you were a member of any clubs or societies, or volunteered for any causes while studying, you could also mention these in your education section.

Skills

In your skills section, list any skills you've acquired or developed that are relevant to poet positions. Consider adding literary device usage, creative thinking or any other necessary skills for the job. Additionally, read the job description to make sure your skills match those required for poet positions. You could also include some unique skills that help you stand out as a candidate.

How to include hard skills on your poet resume

Hard skills are specific skills related to the job you're applying for. They include particular abilities, technical skills and industry knowledge that relate directly to jobs as a poet. Furthermore, these skills are essential for a poet resume as they showcase your expertise in the field. Include around four or five key hard skills that are listed in the job description. These skills will help to convince the hiring manager that you're a good fit for the position.

Your resume hard skills list should reflect your unique and specific industry expertise and experience, while also fulfilling the requirements listed in the job description. See the examples below for an idea of what an effective poet resume hard skills list looks like.

How to list soft skills on your poet resume

In your list of soft skills, add any personal strengths, qualities or transferable skills that make you a good fit for the job. Soft skills are often less specific to different industries, but that doesn't make them any less important. In fact, you can develop soft skills throughout your career, and they tend to be suitable for various roles and professions. You should generally look to include up to five soft or transferable skills that match the job description.

An effective poet resume soft skills section should be targeted to include skills that reflect your personality and unique characteristics, while also matching the job description. The graphic below includes some examples of good resume soft skills.

Certifications and Training

Your certifications section is the place to mention any relevant professional poet certifications, licenses or qualifications. These could be professional accreditations and licenses, or certifications that improve your level of suitability for the position. Therefore, include the details of any licenses and professional certifications required for poet roles, along with completion dates so employers can see you're up-to-date.

Take a look at some example certifications for a poet resume below:

Optional Sections

To provide further information on your suitability for the role, you could add some optional sections to a poet resume. Choose any optional sections that showcase essential or desirable skills or experience for poet jobs.

Hobbies and Interests

Including your hobbies and interests can be a valuable way of showing your key skills and qualities. Hobbies can help you show different sides of your personality and make your resume more memorable to hiring managers. They're ideal to include if you're a junior candidate who might lack real world poet experience. If you're thinking about adding hobbies and interests, just make sure they add something unique to your application, and showcase your personality and interests in unique and interesting ways.

Voluntary Work

This section can be valuable for a poet resume, if you've done any voluntary work that showcases your relevant skills. List your volunteer job title, the organization you volunteered for, its location and the dates of your involvement, alongside a brief explanation of your responsibilities in the role.

References

It's relatively unusual to include references in a standard poet resume, but they are required occasionally. Check the job advert to see if you'll need to add references to your resume. Include a maximum of three professional references, being sure to check with your referees before including them in your resume.

Best strong verbs for your a poet resume

Start each bullet point in your work experience section with a strong verb to show actions you took. Add strong verbs from the list below to create a greater impact with your work experience section.

If you need help creating a resume that impresses HR managers, take a look at Jobseeker's professional resume templates. You can also access beautiful cover letter templates that help your application stand out.

Sample poet resume

Using each of the sections above, we've created this example poet resume, to help guide you when creating your own:

How to make your resume ATS compliant

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are one of the key ways recruiters and employers manage the hiring process. The systems can screen candidates by scanning and ranking resumes based on each candidate's likely suitability for the vacancy. There are several things you can do when writing your poet resume, to give yourself the strongest chance of ranking highly in the ATS stage and progressing through the recruitment process.

Create an ATS-optimized resume by following these quick tips:

• Adopt a traditional structure for your resume, such as a reverse-chronological format or a functional format. These are likely to be the easiest layouts for ATS software to scan.
• Use keywords throughout your resume that reflect the job description, so ATS resume scanners can recognize a strong connection between your skills, and those in the job description.
• Include clear headings that make it easy to identify each section of your resume. This will help any ATS software navigate your resume during the scanning process.
• Use a resume design that includes clean, professional design elements to give your content space to breathe. This might include clear, readable fonts, subtle color accents and simple design elements.
• Use simple, concise language to keep your resume to a maximum of one to two pages in length. This will make it easier for ATS software to read.

Takeaways for your poet resume

The key to a strong resume is to showcase your relevant skills and achievements through your work experience and other activities. Select a resume format that suits your experience levels and the job you're applying for, and make sure you tailor your resume for each application.

Use Jobseeker's resume templates, other tools and resources to create an application that impresses employers. Sign up today to access a wealth of valuable resume and cover letter resources. To make the best possible impression with your applications, write a cover letter with the help of Jobseeker. You can also find plenty of expert-designed cover letter examples for inspiration.

Sources:

(1) Careers for creative people, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2015/article/creative-careers.htm

(2) Occupational Outlook Handbook, Craft and Fine Arts, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/arts-and-design/craft-and-fine-artists.htm