We know that hiring managers and recruiters spend approximately under a minute scanning your résumé. In a sea of candidates, it’s important to make yours stand out. It can be difficult knowing where to begin when creating or updating a résumé, especially if you haven’t had to do it in a while. Themes and styles change over time, so it’s important to keep up with current trends and expectations.
1. Skip the Clichés
Hiring managers and recruiters are bombarded with résumés and because they’ve seen it all, you’ll need to skip the clichés and replace them with more substantial keywords. Instead of writing that you “achieved sales goals”, try “consistently surpassed sales goals and expectations by (insert percentage). Instead of calling yourself a team player, explain how you worked alongside peers and colleagues to achieve success.
2. Mirror Your Résumé to the Job Description
Monster.Com explains that “hiring managers have specific ideas about what skills and experiences candidates need to do well in open positions and your résumé should mirror that description.” Make sure that the skills and accomplishments you add to your résumé line up with what the job entails.
3. List Your Accomplishments
Employers already know what your day-to-day duties entail. Instead, list your accomplishments to highlight what made you successful in your career. Achieved goals? Successfully brought back a dying company to life? Add that to your résumé. This will undoubtedly highlight your skills instead of demonstrating your responsibilities.
4. Check Your Spelling and Grammar. Then Check It Again
This might seem obvious, but you’d be surprised to learn how many otherwise great candidates are passed up due to grammatical and spelling errors on their résumés. Hiring managers might immediately dismiss you as lazy or careless if you’ve overlooked some basic grammatical rules. You don’t have to be a poet laureate – just make sure you’ve run spell and grammar check before you submit your résumé to a potential employer.
5. Stay Organized
Your résumé should not be an exhaustive and comprehensive list of your history. Follow a logical and clear progression that markets you as the ideal candidate for the position. Also, be ready to explain gaps in your résumé’s timeline.
6. Keep it Short
No one has time to sift through pages reviewing a résumé. If your résumé is too long, you run the risk of it getting tossed aside. Try and limit all your accomplishments to a page or two. If it does run more than a page long, make sure to carry over your contact information to subsequent pages.
7. Keep the Formatting Simple
Make sure the font you select is readable, professional, and easy on the eyes. Good choices are Arial, Times New Roman, or Calibri. The font and format should be aesthetically pleasing.
Sources:
Make sure you avoid these 10 common resume errors. (n.d.). Retrieved November 23, 2016, from https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/avoid-the-top-10-resume-mistakes
43 Resume Tips That Will Help You Get Hired. (2015). Retrieved November 23, 2016, from https://www.themuse.com/advice/43-resume-tips-that-will-help-you-get-hired
What Your Resume Should Look Like in 2016. (2016, January 11). Retrieved November 23, 2016, from http://time.com/money/4171054/resume-tips-advice/