Marcus Richards
A resume is one of the most important and powerful documents for your professional goals. With new skills and ways to showcase them, there’s no doubt you will always discover a distinctive style of resume.
It’s about time you make an effort towards transforming your existing resumes from good to excellent.
Here are some tips and tricks from job recruiters that will help you improve your resume.
Avoid Paragraphs
Your resume aims to quickly convey your personal and professional accomplishments and skills to the reader.
Chunks of information can be harder to skim through and process, so it’s always better to keep it concise by using bullet points and one-line descriptions.
While avoiding paragraphs altogether isn’t necessary, it’s important to use them strategically. For example, at times, a ‘summary statement’ can be written in a paragraph.
Pro tip: Ditch the ‘objective statement’. Instead, write a ‘summary statement’. An ‘objective’ will conclude your expectations and career goals, which are some things employers don’t necessarily care about reading. A custom summary statement would provide a brief outline of what you can bring to the table.
Showcase Your Speciality
Although obvious, showcasing your specialty can be tricky. Everything depends on how you present your strengths. The words you use carry much weight.
Always begin with a commanding statement when describing your past job roles. Words like “increased”, “developed”, “created”, “delegated”, and “approved”, are apt.
When it comes to personal accomplishments, add the ones that make you stand out. You could mention awards presented to you and titles you won in competitions. Anything eye-catching like successful projects to serve the community is worth mentioning. Here are some ideas for participating in community projects.
Pro tip: Let the figures speak for you. Use numbers to quantify your achievements and make them stand out. For example, ‘increased Instagram sales by 10% within a week.’ The time frame and quantitative results will impress the recruiters.
Tone It Up with Templates
Blindly following a pre-made template could come off as unoriginal and boring.
Don’t be afraid to follow your style. As long as your resume covers the main topics such as your educational background, personal and professional accomplishments, a link to your portfolio, and updated contact information, you’re free to create your template.
If you’re aiming for a job in the design industry, you have the freedom to exercise your creativity a bit more.
Make Use of Keywords
The importance of integrating job-specific keywords into your resume has increased in recent times.
The main reason for this is to get past the initial screening process. Recruiters use Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to filter resumes based on specific keywords that fit the job description.
Take a good look at the job posting and identify relevant keywords. For example, a teacher’s resume would include keywords such as ‘curriculum development’ and ‘interactive learning.’
Customize your resume for every job. Even though you might be applying for the same type of job, your responsibilities may differ from company to company.
Pro tip: If you’ve held a similar kind of role at more than one place of work, try to switch it up with synonyms to describe them. Check out Harvard’s list of action verbs to pick from.
Be Aware of Your Audience
Always know your audience. Try to understand the recruiter’s perspective. Put yourself in the shoes of the manager or employer of the company you’re applying to work at and judge your resume.
Take advice from professionals in your desired stream or hire resume writers who would be experienced in creating resumes and CVs and are up to date with modern resume trends.
For example, MBA writers will be able to help you write a perfect resume targeted toward recruiters. These writers are professionals who understand what employers are looking for.
Pro tip: Don’t cram all your achievements and talents into your resume. Try to personalize it for the target job title.
Conclusion
Lastly, don’t forget to proofread and crosscheck all the details and facts. Lying (even accidentally) on your resume is never a good idea.
Good luck with refining that resume!
