INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Loan Officer positions are at a 1% growth rate, which is little to no change. With that said, there are currently 322,100 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 4,300 to 326,400 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Loan Officer jobs was $63,960 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $33,650, and the highest 10% more than $133,850.
Our conclusion? The Loan Officer job market is wide open for candidates.
Top loan officer sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
Writing a memorable experience section: Loan Officer resume edition
Checklist: ways to make your experience section stand out
- Find balance: use 4-6 bullet points per position;
- Include positions that are relevant to the job you’re applying for;
- Use action verbs when describing your responsibilities and results;
- Highlight your achievements by adding numbers to them (e.g. instead of saying “achieved a steady increase in…”, say “achieved an X% increase in…”);
- Prove that you’re willing to work hard, both individually and in a team.
We’ve gathered the most impressive Loan Officer experience sections from real Enhancv resumes. Check them out for some additional inspiration!
PRO TIP
Check the Loan Officer job description for inspiration. Look for similarities between your employer’s values and your experience.
Action verbs for your loan officer resume
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Loan officer resume: Crafting a strong skills section
Do this if you want to make your skills section stand out.
- Check the job advert for keywords and add them to your skills section to pass ATS;
- List only skills that are relevant to the position to keep the hiring manager focused;
- Balance between hard, soft, and technical skills;
- Elaborate on some of your strongest skills in other sections of your Loan Officer resume, e.g. the experience section or your resume’s summary.
Top skills for your loan officer resume
SAP
SAP CI
Excel (Advanced)
VBA
MS Office
PowerPoint Presentations
Freedcamp
OneDrive
EBay
Communication
Negotiation
Critical thinking
Problem solving
Collaboration
Flexibitly
Resilience
Dedication
Empathy
PRO TIP
Add a Talent Section to your resume, where you can pick your top 3 soft skills and describe how you used them to complete a project or balance departmental communication.
Loan officer resume header: tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your loan officer resume header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
Recommended Reads:
PRO TIP
Include a link to your portfolio in your Loan Officer resume header. Most companies will require that you include one in your resume, and even if they don’t, it’s an excellent opportunity to directly show them your proudest projects.
How to write an inspiring loan officer resume summary
Checklist: Writing a resume summary that makes you stand out
- Keep it short and use well-structured sentences;
- Mention your total years of experience in the field and your #1 achievement;
- Highlight your strengths and relevant skills;
- Add keywords from the company’s website or the job description.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
When writing a resume summary or objective, avoid first-person narrative.
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Making the education section of your loan officer resume stand out
Education section checklist for your loan officer resume:
- List your highest education degree: including your major, year of graduation, and the institution you attended;
- Highlight the extracurricular activities that have helped you gain additional expertise;
- Share more about the certifications you’ve got, especially if they are relevant to the job position;
- Entry-level applicants: Mention relevant courses and projects.
Top Certifications for Your Loan Officer Resume
Become a Mortgage Loan Processor
Finibi Mortgage CEO, Joe Correa, teaches you how to become a mortgage loan processor
Loan Officer Training - How I Reached 60 Closings In A Month
I teach you what I did to reach 60 closings in a month from realtor referrals in a mid size market.
Advanced Mortgage Loan Processor: Essential Skills Training
Finibi Mortgage CEO, Joe Correa, teaches you how to take your mortgage loan processor career to the next level
Loan Processor & MLO Mortgage Math: Problems & Solutions
Mortgage skills training and SAFE Mortgage Loan Originator Licensing Exam math prep with 115 problems & solutions
Start a Profitable Career as a Mortgage Loan Originator
Learn from the president and CEO of Finibi Mortgage, Joe Correa, how the entire mortgage process works
Recommended Reads:
PRO TIP
If you hold a certain major and a minor, your majors should be mentioned first.
Loan officer resume: formatting tips & tricks
Which came first: the hen or the egg? This question reminds us of the thing our resume experts hear most often in their job – which comes first: the content or the format? Well, we advise you to pick the format first and then go on with drafting your resume’s content.
And how do you choose a resume format? Well, based on your applicant profile. In general, there are three basic resume formats for you to choose from:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
Let’s look at each one of them in more detail:
The reverse-chronological resume format is quite straightforward. Here, you describe all your previous jobs in a reverse-chronological form, meaning your latest job comes first. This resume format is great for people with lots of experience and skills who don’t have any career gaps.
If you are a recent graduate or don’t really have much experience in the industry you’re applying for, go for the functional skills-based resume format. This format focuses on skills and character traits, rather than experience. It makes the hiring manager realize you’re the perfect fit for the role without putting too much emphasis on your work history.
And if you’re looking for something a bit more intriguing and exciting, check out the hybrid resume format. It’s a combination of the reverse-chronological and functional skills-based formats, which makes it great for all types of job-seekers. The hybrid resume allows you to showcase both your professional experience and your skills, education, and additional qualifications. If you’re feeling creative, add a separate section about your typical day or life philosophy.
Our top style and layout resume format tips:
- Go for a standard 12p resume font;
- Choose 1-inch resume margins for a professional and easy-to-read feel;
- ry your best to fit your resume in a one-page template. If you’re a professional with over 10 years of relevant experience, having a two-page resume is also fine;
- Make sure to save your resume as PDF – this will help you avoid unwanted editing and formatting issues.
Read this: How to make your resume stand out
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Sometimes you’ll want to go after a job which requires more experience than you have. Instead of using a typical Loan Officer resume layout, you can use a creative layout. Getting noticed is the most important challenge and a creative resume layout might help you get invited for an interview as most of other accountants have boring resume designs.
Other sections that’ll look good on your Loan Officer resume
Do you want to move beyond the traditional skills, education, and experience section? Easy-peasy!
Just choose one or two additional sections to help recruiters get a fuller picture of who you are, both as a person and as a professional:
Adding a splash of creativity to your loan officer resume
Boring resumes are no longer an option if you’re looking to impress recruiters.
And no matter whether you’re looking to give your old resume a new life or want to start building a new one from scratch, being at least moderately creative is always a good idea. Do this by adding a ‘favorite books’ section or even a pie chart of what your typical day looks like.
What makes a great loan officer resume: key takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
