You may be an excellent employee but if you can’t convince potential employers with your resume, you may be hunting for a job for a while
You may be an excellent employee but if you can’t convince potential employers with your resume, you may be hunting for a job for a while. The hiring manager doesn’t know you. You need to give them enough information to make them want to meet you in person and ultimately, hire you for that dream job. You need to learn how to build a great resume.
Here are five tips to help you.
Focus on recent achievements and future goals
Many people think resumes should revolve around previous jobs and their educational background. While you can include these, they should not be the focus of the document. Instead, focus on the experiences, certifications, and credentials that apply to your goals and the job you want to get. If you’re young and this will be your first job, all your experiences may matter. However, if you’ve had some years in the workforce, chances are your background includes some courses, jobs, and affiliations that may not be relevant now. If you’re switching careers, it is even more important that your highlight skills that are relevant to the job you’re applying for.
Focus on what makes you special
The job market is tough. Many job postings get large numbers of applicants and many managers simply don’t have time to read everything in detail. If you want to land a job with a good salary, need to set yourself apart from all the other job hunters. Were you the first to achieve something in your field? Did you hit a sales target that is still unsurpassed? Have you been recognized state-wide or nationally for something? Let your potential employer know about it. Degrees and other qualifications can only go so far.
Use keywords
Job applications are often scanned electronically these days. That means a computer system will be evaluating your resume before a human takes a look. This means you need to use the current language of your field along with keywords which your employer will be looking for. If this all foreign to you, look at the language the company uses in its online profiles. Look at the language which was used in the job posting. Try to match the tone and lingo of professionals in the industry.
Make your resume ‘skimmable’
On a related note, many employers won’t read your job application from start to finish. Think about how you read documents these days. Keep your paragraphs short. Use bullet points where possible as well as headings and subheadings to make the resume easy to follow. If there is information you can display in a chart, box or graph, go ahead and include it. It will make your resume visually attractive and make the information easier to take in.
Make it easy for employers to contact you
You don’t want to do all the above then leave your dream boss struggling to find your contact information. You want to be called for an in-person interview so make sure your details are clear. Include a clickable email address as well as a link to your professional blog and social media accounts. Hopefully, you have been using these to establish yourself as an authority in your field. Don’t forget your telephone number.
You may be a rock star in your industry and an asset to any company but if you can’t bring that across in your resume, you will have a hard time. Use these tips to help you craft a modern resume which will wow employers in this technological era.
