The Ultimate Caribbean Resume & Cover Letter Guide (With Salary Negotiation Tips)

The right resume gets you an interview and possibly a job. The wrong resume gets you instantly rejected. People make some simple mistakes when crafting a resume. Let's not even get started on those pesky Cover Letters. I know we all hate them, but companies always ask🙄. By the end of this article, you will know how to write a winning resume that lands you that job.

How To Write A Good Resume

The best resume format to follow is definitely the UWI Resume Format. Let's use Johnathan Blake for our example of an HR Professional who is seeking a new role. He currently has a degree in Human Resources and aims to one day become the *Vice President of the Port Authority. The role paid JMD 11.4 million dollars back in 2023. We will be using the UWI Resume Format to create a resume for him.

*Note Well: It is highly recommended that you have a long term career goal. Look up the individual currently in said role and take note of the qualifications plus the path they took. This is valuable information.

Let's take a look at the hierarchy of the resume.

1. We see Johnathans full name, email, LinkedIn Profile link, and phone number. Optionally, if you had a portfolio, you could add the link to it as well.

2. Education is listed with the institution, year graduated, and degree/qualification obtained.

3. Work Experience includes the company name, start and end dates, and achievements. Achievements should always be listed.

4. Additional Information allows the resume reader to learn about you. Skills, Interests, and Languages can be listed.

Your resume should ideally be 1 page. Too many pages and/or too many words may result in unread resumes.

How To Write A Good Cover Letter

We will use the UWI COVER letter format. Johnathan wants to get a job at Grace Kennedy(GK) as a Human Resources Analyst.

Salary Negotiation

Let's say Jonathan's resume and Cover Letter land him the interview at GK. He does well in the interview and gets a job offer. Johnathan's full title is 'Human Resources Development Officer', and based on our salary data, he earns JMD $2,190,302. Our salary data shows a Grace Kennedy Human Resources Analyst at JMD $3,093,573. They offer Johnathan JMD 2.9 million, but he counters and proposes 3,200,000. He justifies the counteroffer by highlighting his years of experience in Human Resources. They approve his offer! Major congratulations to Johnathan, as he will now earn about 46% more.

Ofcourse, salary negotiations don't always go that smoothly. It is important to know the range that most companies usually pay. Usually, you are offered the lowest salary in the band. This presents a prime opportunity for a counter offer. Justify your offer well, and you should be good. Listing years of experience and actual accomplishments in the role is a good move.

The salary data on our website can be used to assist you in salary negotiations. If there is a salary you wish to see on the website that isn't there, ask a co-worker or friend(who has the job you're interested in) to add it here: https://caribsalaries.com/submit

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