Tips for Creating a Great Resume. The most important part of your job application is your resume. Here’s the right way to do it.
- On average, employers only look at resumes for six or seven seconds.
- Sending your resume between 6 and 10 a.m. in the first four days after a job is offered will get you the best results.
- Your resume should be easy to read, to the point, and fit the job you are applying for.
- This article is for people looking for jobs who want to improve their resumes to make it more likely that they will get an interview.
Since there is a lack of workers and the unemployment rate is low, people looking for work are in a good position when it comes to applying for jobs. But that doesn’t mean you don’t need a resume created by a professional. Employers continue to seek out and hire the best employees for each open position, and resumes are the first step in that process. You can make your resume stand out and show that you are the best person for the job in a number of ways.
Important : Tips for Creating a Great Resume
Your resume is the most important thing you’ll send to a company when you’re looking for a job. As your first opportunity to introduce yourself to a potential employer, it serves as your frontline fighter, so to speak. Hiring managers and recruiters look at resumes for an average of only six to seven seconds each, so you need to make every second count. A good resume can make you stand out from the crowd, but a bad one can get you kicked out of the race.
Zippia research shows that professionally written resumes not only help you get an interview, but they can also increase your possible earnings by 7%.
Simple ways to make your resume stand out
It can be hard to put all of your experiences and qualifications on one page, but there are many ways to make your resume look better without going too far. We put together a list of the best resume writing tips to help you get an interview.
1. Your resume should be short and to the point.
The most important thing to remember when writing a resume is to make it brief and to the point. The general rule is that it shouldn’t be longer than one page unless you have a very good reason, like a long job or a lot of highly relevant work experience.
Putting only recent, relevant work on your resume is an easy way to keep it short. Even though your first job for a year might have taught you a lot about the field, it’s not always necessary to include every detail from your whole work history.
Most experts say that you should only list jobs from the last 10 to 15 years, but if you are new to the workforce, this time range may be shorter. Your resume may appear too busy and draw attention away from your relevant qualifications if you include too many unrelated work experiences. Your resume needs to be clear and to the point.
2. Create an original resume design.
Employers like people who are different. It can be helpful to look at a professional resume template, but you don’t have to stick to it exactly. Zippia found that more than 60% of hiring managers think that a tailored resume is the best way for job seekers to improve their chances of getting hired.
Claire Bissot, SPHR, the head of Kainos Capital, told us, “I often pass over resumes that look like they were made with Microsoft Office.” “The templates are meant to help you get started, but you should make them your own by adding to them.”
Format your resume so that it’s easy to see what qualifications you have. Bissot said, for example, that if you moved up quickly in a company, you should draw attention to that. If you changed jobs a lot, list those jobs as bullet points without giving details, and give more information about roles that are more relevant. This will use your strengths.
Veronica Yao, owner of CareerProse and marketing relations manager at Fonolo, said that when you put together your resume, make sure the information is presented in a way that makes sense. “A person in charge of hiring will read your resume from top to bottom. But even if they don’t read the whole thing — which they usually don’t — you still want to make sure your best points get across.
3. Mention skills and experiences that are useful.
It’s not a good idea to use the same resume for every job you apply for. Your resume should instead be tailored to the job you are applying for. Make sure to put the skills, qualifications, and experiences that are most relevant to the job you want to get at the top of your list. If you do and have skill on livestreaming, then write it.
Pick three or four past jobs or experiences that best show off the abilities needed for the position you’re applying for. This is not the time to list every position you have ever held because employers value concise responses. For example, if you are applying for a marketing position, you could mention your previous experience in retail and list the communication, branding, and people skills you gained there.
If you don’t have a work history that is directly related to the job you are applying for, be creative with how you talk about your other experiences. Think about the skills you used and how the group or project benefited from them. [Read: 38 in-demand skills that will help you get a job.]
4. Use numbers and measures to show the results.
When you write about your past jobs, it is always a good idea to put numbers next to your wins. Using metrics can help you show off your accomplishments and give the hiring manager or agent a clear picture of what you did at your last job. For example, someone who used to be a sales person might say, “I made more than 50 cold calls a day, and on average, 5% of them turned into sales.”
5. Make a picture of your work.
Recently, career experts have been telling job seekers to get rid of the old “objective” line and instead put a short summary, called a “career snapshot,” at the top of their resumes.
“With the career snapshot, you present a branding statement that briefly explains your unique value as well as your skills and qualifications,” said Tomer Sade, the CEO of Book a Space. “This would be followed by a few bullet points that highlight your experience and your achievements. The information you provide here should be pertinent to the position you are applying for.”
“The top third of your resume is prime real estate,” said Lisa Rangel, the CEO of Chameleon Resumes and a senior resume writer. “Write a strong summary to catch the attention of the hiring manager.”
Think of your job snapshot as your answer to the question, “How would you describe your work experience in one sentence?” The summary is an opportunity to quickly highlight your most relevant and important skills, experiences, or assets.
6. Optimize your writing.
If a company uses an applicant tracking system (ATS) to collect and look over resumes, a human hiring manager might never even look at an application that doesn’t match the job criteria they’ve put. Trish O’Brien, vice president of human capital operations at PSI Services, said that if you change your resume to fit the position, you are more likely to pass the first level.
O’Brien said, “Make sure you read the job ad carefully and use the right keywords in your resume to get past the screener.” “Be honest, but know that your resume will probably be looked at first by an ATS.”
Make sure that your resume includes the buzzwords from the job posting. You can copy and paste the job description into a word-cloud tool to see which words are used most often. Make sure your resume includes the words that apply to you. You can also list all of your hard and soft skills in a “core competencies” or “areas of expertise” part of your resume. You can then mention these skills again when you list your experience in bullet points.
7. Think about more than just your job.
Hiring managers don’t want to see a list of all the things you did on the job. They want to see specific examples of what you have done in the past that show how you can make a difference in this new position.
Rangel said that reading about your specific strengths is more interesting than reading about your experiences. For instance, “I cut operating costs by 23% in six months” is much more interesting to a potential employer than “I’ve been in sales for 30 years.”
When choosing what to keep and what to get rid of from your resume, focus on your most impressive, non-quantifiable traits and qualifications.
“The best resumes highlight a job candidate’s actions and results,” said Bob Myhal, who is in charge of digital marketing at CBC Automotive Marketing. “Employers want employees who get things done and who enjoy and take pride in what they do. Instead of a long list of your qualifications, your resume should show what you’ve done and how excited you are about your job.
You also shouldn’t forget about the skills part. Sade urged job seekers to list any industry-related apps or programs they know how to use and to find ways to include examples of their emotional intelligence (like self-awareness and empathy) and soft skills (like work ethic and reliability) in their job descriptions.
8. To stand out, use the right words.
Simple, boring descriptions of your job tasks and successes won’t help you get hired. Sade said that when you talk about your jobs and projects, you should use strong action words like “achieved,” “designed,” “improved,” and “established.” This will make you seem sure of yourself while you give important information. But don’t rely too much on action verbs. Make sure to include information about how you changed something or reached a goal.
Sade said, “Words like “professional,” “results-driven,” and “detail-oriented” don’t tell us very much.” “It’s better to use the actual job titles than these words.”
Diya Obeid, the founder and CEO of the ATS company JobDiva, said that you shouldn’t put words on your resume like “go-getter,” “team player,” and “go-to person.” These seem like filler and take up space on your resume that could be better used.
9. Write down where you are on social media.
A lot of hiring managers check out individuals’ social networks these days. You can save them time by putting links to your profiles on your resume. Applicants who have been in the job market for a while and have a professional social presence should include the URLs for their LinkedIn page, Twitter account, and blog, if they have one.
Richie Frieman, author of REPLY ALL… and Other Ways to Tank Your Career, said that putting your social media accounts on your resume can be helpful if they are full of professional posts about your field. “They can show that you have a strong network and know how to market and communicate in the current world. The person in charge of choosing will see that you like to know what’s going on and that you want to learn more.
If you use your social media profiles the right way, they can be a potent tool for finding work and bolstering your position as an authority figure in your field.
10. Check for mistakes.
Check your own work three times, and then have someone else look over your resume to make sure it is perfect. Your resume is not the place to be sloppy.
Spelling, grammar, and punctuation: If a hiring manager sees a typo or a mistake in grammar or punctuation, they will probably throw out your application right away. “Make sure it’s clear and doesn’t have any mistakes,” Obeid said. “HR reps think that typos and mistakes are signs of being lazy. Use good English, because what you write has a big effect on the employer.”
- Formatting: “Review the formatting very closely, including the font, alignment, and spacing,” Bissot said. “Related problems are often seen as a sign of not having enough technical skills or attention to detail.”
- Yao said that candidates often send applications to the wrong employer or talk about experience that has nothing to do with the job. “Getting a resume written and addressed to someone else, or even worse, a competitor, can be a big turnoff. Even if they decide to keep reading your application, this will set a bad tone.
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