By Having an exceptional resume that stands out is an added advantage to attract recruiters and hiring managers and to help you land on your next job. Your resume, therefore, ought to summarize your skills and accomplishments and should be readable. Here are essential resume tips that will significantly help you to design your resume uniquely.
Choose the right resume format
Note that there are three major types of resumes to choose from depending on the professional requirements in the job description. Basically, these are chronological, functional, or target resumes, and you need to take your time to decide on one that fits your skills, educational, and work experience. In a nutshell, chronological resumes start with a listing of your work history, having the most recent position listed first. Consequently, these kinds of resumes are typically preferred by employers since it is easy to see the type of roles you have worked on quickly.
On the contrary, functional resumes only focus on your skills and experience and not much on your work history. Such types of resumes work so well with people who have big gaps in their work history. Lastly, target resumes are a blend of chronological and functional resumes. If you prefer this type of resume, ensure that you combine well the skills that you have with your chronological work history.
Remember, everything you put on your resume should be relevant to your position.
Review resumes samples
As you craft and update your resume, go through the best examples of resumes online and from your industry that matches your professional and employment situation. Select the best style and format that aligns with your accomplishments and skills. Importantly, as you review examples of resumes, always remember that you are not supposed to copy the samples but instead use them as guides to show you how to improve your resume.
Ensure that you choose between 10-12 resume font sizes for the hiring manager to easily read your resume since most employers have limited time to go through your resume. Select a basic clean font such as Times New Roman or Arial that is clear and readable to help make your resume appear professional and legible. Moreover, make sure that you eliminate extraneous whitespaces to ensure that your resume is clear and focused.
Highlight keywords in the job posting
Take your time to read job descriptions and postings of different jobs advertised carefully. Study every job description for important keywords to identify what the employer is looking for in a candidate. Then, creatively align the keywords in your resume to fit your skills and achievements.
Use numbers in your resume
Adding numbers in your resume help to quantify your accomplishments. As a result, your potential employers will be able to see what you have achieved in your career, and they will act as a basis for persuasive negotiation when it comes to salary range and rises.
If you decide to attach a photo to your resume, then take its choice very carefully. Leave home photos, pictures from a vacation or a New Year’s corporate party in your personal archive.
Craft a specific resume profile
Tailor your resume profile to match the job that you desire and include a profile statement that consists of your job goal to get the employer’s attention. Consequently, this will give an overview of your experiences, skills, and goals and will serve to indicate to the hiring manager that you are qualified for the job you have applied for.
Remember to include your contact information in your resume to ensure that potential employers easily get in touch with you. Include the correct phone number and email address, your full name that exists in all your job application documents, street address, and even city’s zip code at the top of your resume. If you don’t give detailed or correct contact information, employers won’t be able to get in touch with you easily.
There is nothing difficult in writing an effective resume. In most cases, just getting rid of unnecessary information is enough, but there are other important points.
Prioritize and Customize Content
Your most relevant achievements and experiences in your resume ought to be listed first. To draw attention, ensure that the most essential information on your skills and accomplishments are the first to be read by the hiring managers since most hiring managers tend to spend an approximate of 6 seconds on every resume they receive.
Personalize your resume to fit each job you are applying for that perfectly match with your skills and experience. Therefore, make sure that your customized resume addresses specific requirements mentioned in the job description to give you an advantage over other candidates and to increase your chances of getting the job.
Write using active language
You should write your resume using active words such as accomplished, earned, achieved, completed, and concise sentences. Avoid using clichés with outdated business jargon and strengthen the effectiveness of your resume by using powerful action verbs that clarify your contributions and achievements in a confident tone.
Proofread and edit your resume
Before you send your resume, ensure that you go through it on your own and have a second set of eyes, maybe a friend or a professional career counselor, to ensure that there are no grammatical or spelling errors. Note that minor spelling errors and typos in your resume can reduce your chances of getting a job.
When reviewing a large number of resumes, an HR manager is more likely to take a closer look at well-structured resumes. Divide it into semantic parts, use lists, the summary should be informative, but at the same time concise. Remember that your resume should be easy to work with.
Submit your resume properly
Follow instructions on the job posting on how to submit your CV. Check out if the employer requires you to attach your resume to an email message or in a specific format, either in PDF or DOC format. Ensure that you have included all the information required before submitting your CV and at the bottom of the email message, include your contact information.
