Here are some things that happen in six seconds or less:
- A honey bee flaps its wings 600 times
- Bill Gates makes an estimated $700
- Approximately 24 babies are born around the world
- An employer looks over your resume
Read that last one again. As we enter job application season, take these tips into consideration to guarantee that your resume will stay far away from the junk mail drawer.
“If a resume is not properly organized, informative and concise, it can seriously hurt your chances of moving forward in the application process,” says Adrianna Cicinelli, career and confidence strategist for The Brand Girls. “It is so important that your resume serves as the best and most authentic representation of you.”
The thought of presenting yourself as a person on paper is overwhelming, but should not be taken lightly. The definition of a resume is “a brief account of a person’s education, qualifications, and previous experience, typically sent with a job application.” However, there should be nothing typical about your resume, since it needs to stand out from thousands of other applicants.
On the day of the interview, you must present an aesthetically pleasing layout of your most recent experiences with specific descriptions of what they entailed. This ranges from job descriptions to elaborating on specific tasks that demonstrate your skill sets.
It’s your job to add a memorable professional profile. This is your compacted introduction of who you are along with your strengths and most valuable traits. This will help in confidently answering “why you?” without the sweaty palms and racing heart.
“Your personal brand is a direct reflection of you,” says Rachel Bozsik, founder and CEO of The Brand Girls. “It is what others think of you when you open your mouth or they open your PDF. Choose colors, buzzwords, and develop content that is in-line with who you are and where you want to be.”
Anyone can create a brand for himself or herself – it’s simply embodying all of these concepts into a package that they simply cannot pass up.
If struggles arise trying to comprehend the best layout for your information, a jump-starting tip lies in purchasing an affordable resume template online or creating one yourself from various inspirations.
You are competing in grabbing the attention of the employer and selling your best skills in the strongest presentation. To do this flawlessly, your resume needs to display consistency, focused content, and overall the best version of yourself—in less than six seconds.