9 Resume Essentials for Loan Officers

Looking to dust off your resume?
Wait, what was that? You don’t even have a resume?
As a loan officer, a resume is a mighty tool, whether you think you’re looking for a job or not. It has all the power of a billboard to market your strengths as a loan officer, while being able to explain your professional history in far more detail than any billboard ever could.
But, what do you put on a loan officer resume? You know to keep it as concise as possible, as most people recommend all the content fitting on one page, but you don’t know exactly how to make your resume stand out from the crowd of papers.
Good news: I viewed a lot of resumes in my former career in human resources, and I’ll explain the most essential items every recruiter will look for.
1. Contact Information
You may think it’s common sense to include all of your contact information on your resume, but I can’t tell you how many resumes I’ve viewed that simply listed a name, but no way to get in touch with the person. If the resume gets separated from the email or software from which it was submitted — which happens often in HR — you want to make sure the hiring officer can get in touch. Your name, email, and phone number will suffice, but feel free to add an address if you’d like, too.
2. Introduction or Bio
Long gone are the days of using an objective on your resume. Think about it: if you’re using a resume, your objective is to get a new position. The same goes for everyone. But before you go into your specific employment experience and career highlights, an introduction can be used to really wow your audience.
Instead of an objective, list a quick bio that highlights your biggest accomplishments or what makes you stand apart from other loan officers. When in doubt, keep it simple and complimentary.
3. Work Experience
Your career history is a resume essential, but many people often list a reel of jobs they’ve held with bullet points of their duties. If you want a stellar resume, list accomplishments, not responsibilities. You’ll also want to list your positions
And feel free to exclude any roles that don’t quite match your current role as a loan officer. You might have enjoyed a few different jobs, but only the ones with relevant experience, skills, and accomplishments should be mentioned. If you’re worried about potential gaps in your history when omitting jobs, finish this section with the following sentence.
“A complete list of career experience available upon request.”
4. Education
Let’s not forget about your education. A degree is an accomplishment, even if your choice of study had nothing to do with the mortgage industry. List the school you attended and the degree you received underneath your practical professional experience.
5. Awards or Honors
Have you won any awards or been granted any honors during your career? Make a big deal out of them! If any are relevant to the specific positions on your resume, you can list them there. If not, create a separate section to showcase your achievements.
This section can also serve as a bulleted “As Seen In” area to showcase any podcasts you were on, speaking events, or articles you’ve written or been quoted in.
6. Volunteer Experience
If you sit on any boards or volunteer committees or volunteer in your community, find a spot to share that information on your resume. Volunteer experience shows that not only are you a great loan officer, but that you care about your community as well. It makes you a well-rounded candidate.
7. References or Recommendations
Here’s your chance to list the perfect people who can speak of your skills. You can keep it simple by listing their name, email, and phone number. Or, you can include a few direct quotes from colleagues or clients who previously sang your praises.
8. Social Media Handles
Back in the early days of social media, hiring managers discreetly social-stalked potential hires before deciding whether or not to call them in for an interview or offer them a job. Now, it’s one of the first places they look — and they aren’t trying to be discreet with their search, either. Why not make it easy for them and link to your social media handles, especially LinkedIn. Just make sure to clean up your profiles so you’re showcasing posts, images, and other content you actually want a hiring manager to see.
9. Design
It might seem strange to call design one of the resume essentials for loan officers, but the design of your resume can make or break the opportunity to move forward in a hiring process. Keep your resume uncluttered and easy to read. Choose fonts like Arial or Times New Roman, and be consistent with font size. “White space” on the page will help the reader better digest the material. And finally, don’t be hesitant to put some of the shorter content in horizontal “blocks” versus listing everything vertically so you can include more without adding to the length.
For new loan officers, a resume is vital to land your first gig, but that doesn’t mean experienced loan officers can avoid updating their resumes. The better you are at your job, the more you’ll start getting recruited. But, recruiters still want to see resumes, and sometimes, prospects may even ask for you. Updating a resume is a lot easier than creating one from scratch, so keep yours current with these resume essentials for loan officers.