Developing an impressive resume is crucial to a successful job search. Before you can ace an interview, you have to get through the job application process first. Recruiters spend large quantities of their time reviewing and reading resumes so you want to make sure your resume stands out! The following resume tips will help you impress your recruiter and land the interview to your dream job.
Be concise. Don’t use ten words when three will do and don’t sprinkle your resume with big words just because you think they may sound impressive. Recruiters are interested in the facts about your professional experience and they don’t want to sift through a paragraph of fancy lingo to uncover those facts. Use simple, clear, and direct language throughout your resume and you will have a head start on all the applicants trying to sound more accomplished than they really are by using big, elaborate words.
Stick to the facts.Recruiters are paid by their clients to find candidates who meet certain requirements. For instance, they may want to hire someone with ten years of industry experience or someone with a history of working in companies over a certain size. Whatever the criteria, it is fact-based and can be verified. Your resume should cover all the key facts a recruiter needs to know and all these facts should be easy to find on your resume.
Drop the cliches. Every other resume has the words “dynamic,” “results-oriented,” and “thinking outside the box.” A majority of recruiters are familiar with these descriptions as they have seen them over and over and are more likely to gloss over them when skimming through piles of resumes. Avoid using these cliches in your resume to help you stand out. Truly think outside the box and come up with better descriptions of yourself as an employee in order to catch the recruiter’s eye.
Show a little personality. While you should maintain an overall professional tone in your resume, recruiters still want to get a sense of who you are as well. Be concise and factual, but write in your own words so that your unique personality can also be revealed.
Write a summarized profile. Your resume should begin with a summary that describes you in a few, short lines. Some recruiters skip these altogether, but some prefer to have a simple summary to help them get a quick sense of a candidate’s accomplishments. Tell them how many years of experience you have. Summarise three of your best accomplishments. Be sure to include the high-profile companies you’ve worked for. Choose the facts are most impressive about you and use the resume profile to highlight those facts.
Focus on your impact. Rather than focusing on previous job responsibilities, use the space to tell a story of how you made an impact in each of your jobs. If each section of your resume or career profile doesn’t clearly show how you can make a difference, you are losing out on interviews. For example, instead of writing that your job required you to handle filing, tell the story of how you cleared a backlog of six months worth of filing in just two weeks and kept things running smoothly going forward. Specific stories of your impact is what will impress a recruiter and make him or her want to meet you.
Validate yourself with proof. Anyone can write about how great they are, but being able to support those claims by providing evidence is what’s going to impress a recruiter. Do you have awards for your accomplishments? If so, highlight them in your resume. If you’ve earned several promotions, say so in the introduction. If all your performance reviews are glowing, put that in your resume and career profile. Any time your worth is validated by someone else, use it to your advantage on your resume.
Writing interesting and honest resumes are no easy task, and the added stress of knowing that’s the first step in getting your foot in the door to a new job can make the task all the more daunting. It’s important to note that above all else recruiters and human resources departments are impressed with three main things when it comes to resumes: the right combination of skills, education, and achievements, the ability to relay that information quickly and concisely, and a simple, easy-to-read format. The best way to capture a recruiter’s attention and impress them is to make sure your resume is focussed and clear. Impressing recruiters isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible if you follow these tips.
