7 Resume Tips That Will Get You A Job

Your resume is the first thing that employers and the hiring department see. They don’t see you, and what you’re capable of. Consider your resume as an advertisement. If the ad is good, people will take a second look, but if it’s boring and plain, then your product (which is you in this case), will never get sold.

Do remember that the HR department comes across hundreds of resumes in a day, and chances are they are quick to spot recurring patterns and phrases that look as if they were copied from some standard format.

Also, an impressive resume of another can immediately make yours pale in comparison, so it’s best to do as much tweaks as you can to improve the way your resume looks. Below are some tips to make your resume so much better.

Make A Unique Resume Per Job

This may sound time consuming and hassling, but there are many benefits towards making a unique resume per job that you apply to.

First of all, your resume can have a personalized touch and will make the employer feel that you are really interested in getting hired in that particular company, and not just getting hired in general.

Second, it will give you an edge over other resumes that don’t even mention the name of the company or its vision in their resumes. Making a unique resume will prevent your application from generalization. Be sure to restate your job objective, and emphasize which skills, awards, education, and professional associations are relevant towards that job.

Spell Check

This is probably one of the easiest things that you can do to immediately improve your resume. Human resources personnel are immediately turned off by misspelled words and wrong grammar because it means that the applicant didn’t even spend time to make sure everything was in place. It also displays carelessness and lack of attention to detail, both of which count against you even before you’ve had an interview. Sometimes computer spell-check programs can’t detect all the errors, so it’s pertinent to review your resume yourself before handing it over. For a fresh perspective, you can have a friend look over it too.

Simplify your Language

For easy reading, it’s best to keep sentences short and not to worry about fragments. Leave out personal pronouns such as “I”, “my”, and “me”. Putting down “I performed” or “I achieved” is considered to be redundant since it is already understood that the resume talks about yourself. Articles such as “a”, “an” and “the” can also be omitted. And instead of using passive words, active verbs are more effective. By all means avoid what I call “team” terms. People want to know who “you” contributed to the team. I can’t stand when I see a resume full of “we’s”.

Use Reverse Chronological Order

Be sure to organize your resume to reflect the most recent job that you had and always include the date of employment. Employers usually prefer this type of order than functional resumes that can make it difficult to determine when you last worked where. The functional type of resume is better for those who are switching career paths.

Separate Tasks from Achievements

It is always best to separate your list of tasks from the column where your achievements can be found. Doing so can highlight all the good things that you have done in college, or at the last company where you were employed. If you used bullet form for the job description, put the tasks in a paragraph form, then save the bullet form for your accomplishments. This makes your achievements stand out among the rest and immediately make your resume look impressive. If the employer only has a few minutes to skim your resume, make it easy for him to find you accomplishments rather than having to search for them in a forest of words.

Keep the Format Simple

This is also standard operating procedure when presenting a resume. It should always use a clear and readable font that is neither too small nor too large. Avoid fancy fonts and sizes, it will only make your application look unprofessional. Recommended fonts are Times New Roman, Verdana, Tahoma, or Arial. Also avoid using different colors, icons, pictures or graphics of any kind. A page border is acceptable as long as it looks clean and works to emphasize the page.

Outsource it!

Finally, one of the things that you can do to ensure a killer resume is by hiring a professional resume critique. Check at the career center in college or with a job placement center. Career counselors can help detect confusing areas and gaps in your application. They may also be able to offer better wordings and phrases that can make your resume easier to read through. Remember, a resume is a preview of you, so it’s highly important to make it as impressive and straight to the point as possible. Leave a comment sharing your resume tips