Your resume, built for how Jamaica actually hires

A resume has one job: to make someone decide, in seconds, that you are worth reading properly.

What it needs

• Name and contact. A phone number with WhatsApp and a professional email address.
• Location. Parish and town. It matters for commuting.
• Experience. Employer, role, dates and what you actually did.
• Education. Qualifications and institution. CXC, CAPE, HEART certifications, degrees.
• TRN and NIS are not needed on a resume. Save those for the hiring paperwork.

What to leave out

Full identification numbers, marital status, number of children, date of birth. None of it helps the decision.

Different markets read differently

BPO and call centres: communication skills come first. Any customer-facing experience is relevant, and shift availability is worth stating plainly.

Corporate Kingston: a formal layout, and often automated screening. Keep the format simple — no tables or columns — and use the same words the vacancy uses.

Hospitality: guest-facing experience, languages beyond English, and flexibility on hours.

HEART certification counts

If you hold HEART/NSTA Trust qualifications, list them clearly. In several sectors they carry real weight with employers.

Describe the work, not the title

"Customer Service Representative" says little. "Handled 60+ inbound calls daily for a US retail account, resolved billing disputes and maintained a 90% quality score" says a great deal more.

Use numbers where you have them.

One page is usually enough

Unless you have more than ten years of history, one well-used page beats three half-filled ones.

Keep it current

A complete profile means employers find you in their searches, even when you are not actively looking.