There are plenty of opportunities out there right now. But before you start searching for a new position, it’s essential that you ensure your resume is in the best shape possible.
Whether you’re looking for a position with a better work-life balance, a higher salary, or simply to progress your career, here’s our guide to making sure your resume stands out from the pack.
Stick to a Clear Structure
Before you even start typing, it’s essential that you map out your resume structure. Base this on the layout of your resume; it should be no longer than two letter-sized pages and needs to be concise and to the point.
After your name and contact details, you should start off with your career objective. This is your elevator pitch and introduction to the hiring manager. So, it needs to reveal who you are as a professional. In this part, think about your unique selling point. But remember; keep this section short and sweet. Recruiters and employers are busy people!
In the next section, you need to discuss your experience and skills. It may be tempting to include every piece of work you’ve ever done. But try to keep it relevant to the position you are applying for. The structure of this section should include the company name, your job title and when you worked there. You should also include an overview of your duties and responsibilities in the role.
To ensure that this section delivers high impact, use some attention-grabbing statistics to back up your claims. This shows the employer how great you were in the position rather than just telling them. For example, instead of saying “I helped to drive sales,” try using something along the lines of, “my contribution to a major project increased sales by 70%”.
Pick Out Key Points to Make Yourself Stand Out
Remember, in an increasingly digital and international job market, it’s important to include anything on your resume that could make you stand out from the crowd.
For example, if you’re bilingual, can use certain IT applications proficiently, or have experience operating specific machinery or hardware, then highlight this on your resume. This could help push your application to the top of the pile.
It’s also essential that you mention any key skills that are relevant to the job you’re applying for. For example, if you regularly volunteer for a charity, or you are part of a local club or society, then mention this on your resume. After all, it’s likely that you will have gained valuable transferable skills from these activities. And this will paint you in a positive light in front of employers. It also gives an employer or hiring manager a chance to understand more about your character and make your resume outstanding.
Likewise, the further you get into your working life, it can be tempting to forego any mention of hobbies or interests you have outside of your career. But these are not to be underestimated. In fact; they may just be one of the strongest tools at your disposal.
Take Note of What Not to Include
There are certain points that don’t need to be shared on a resume. So it’s worth familiarizing yourself with these. For example, personal information such as your date of birth, gender, marital status, or nationality should not be included. Employers don’t need to know these details to decide whether you are right for the role or not.
On this point, while there was a growing trend around people including photographs on their resumes, it’s unnecessary and therefore best to avoid doing so.
Alongside this, and as a general rule of thumb, don’t include references, or details of your referees on a resume. The hiring manager will ask for them as and when they are needed.
And finally, never (ever!) share your bank details or any sensitive personal information on your resume. It’s not safe and leaves you at risk of potential scamming from employers who aren’t all they seem.
Tailor Your Resume for Every Role
Once you have followed all the above, you should have your new resume in place. But, the key to getting noticed and scoring interviews is to use this information as a template. Employers are not interested in generic resumes; they want to see that you have put effort into the application, so it’s essential that you then tailor your resume to each new role you apply for.
The changes you make when tailoring your resume only need to be minor. It could be as simple as tweaking your objective to fit the job description or rearranging your key skills. Your aim is to match your resume as closely as possible to the job role – and crucially, to make the best first impression you can!
This is also important because more and more recruiters and employers are now using applicant tracking systems (ATSs) to sift through resumes. An ATS is a software that sorts through resumes and applications based on keywords in relation to a job posting.
Therefore, if you have a generic resume it is less likely to get picked up by the ATS system, and as a result, the employer. Take a look at the job description for the role you’re applying for and pick out some of the main keywords to pepper throughout your resume.
To increase your chances of success with an ATS, make sure your resume is saved as a Microsoft Word file as other files, like PDFs, risk format problems. You should type your resume up in black font, in a widely available style like Arial or Calibri.
Take note that while you may want to add in text boxes or graphics to improve your resume, these could corrupt the format and look unprofessional, so avoid them as much as possible.
In Summary
While applying for jobs may seem daunting, keeping these points as a central focus when writing your resume could ensure that you’ll be toasting to more than just the start of a new year come January.
About the author: Alex MacGregor is a content writer and blogger, and has worked for Trent and Hanover, a creative agency based in West London, and the online music magazine AMAZEPOP.
