A quality resume can be a golden ticket to the job you desire. It is highly important, as it can be the only item that a recruiter considers before deciding whether or not to interview you. Though your resume may carry substantial significance to you consequentially, a recruiter is likely to spend no more than five minutes glossing over it, so it is important to make it stand out. Working at a consulting firm in Boston I see tens of resumes coming through the door each day. The competition is tough. Read the tips and tricks below to learn how to make a super star resume that stands out from the stack.
1. Make sure there are no grammar or spelling mistakes.
Though, this is something so simple and a little slip-up can really go a long way. So read it over several times and have a couple of friends or family members go over it as well.
2. Make sure it fits on one page.
According to theLadder Research, job recruiters spend an average of 6 seconds considering each resume before determining if the candidate is a good fit for the position. By forming a concise one-page resume you will deliver more in less. That one page is bound to receive more attention, than if you had multiple pages.
3. A mission statement is not important.
For Collegiettes just entering the job market including a mission statement in your resume is not that important. If your statement ends up being just a reiteration of the job description you are applying for due to lack of experience, it’s better left out of your resume.
4. Tailor your resume to the job that you are applying to.
Remember that your resume should advertise yourself as a good fit for a particular position, and should not merely be a history of your professional experience. A good way to gage what would make a perfect candidate is to study the job description or to speak to someone who works in a related field.
5. Connect your stated skills to real life experiences.
Simply laundry listing your skills is boring and lacking in evidence. Use experiences that you have had professionally or otherwise where you have demonstrated these skills to make them more substantiated.
6. Emphasize what is more important or more relevant.
Most Collegiettes use the chronological resume format. When using this format, you list more recent or current jobs first and then past experience. Go into more detail for the more recent and/or current experiences. For some past positions, you may even just want to include the title. Under each position, you should start off with the information that is more relevant and more impressive, in relation to the job that you are applying for.
7. Don’t discount any work that you have done.
An effective resume is about communicating what you do well. The position or situation that you demonstrated these skills in is less important. This is helpful to keep in mind for Collegiettes, who often have little, if any, professional experience. What will help Collegiettes most is their creativity in how they connect what they have done to the position that they are applying to.
8. Formatting is important.
The visual display of your resume is often the first thing that a recruiter will notice, so make sure it’s a masterpiece. Do not include large chunks of text. This makes the document appear cluttered and instead include some white space. The most important thing is to make sure that whatever formatting you choose is consistent in its use of font size, type, and style. Be sure to avoid fragrances, colored paper, overly fancy lettering, and ornate designs or borders.
9. Be cognizant of the language you use.
You only have so many words to use to convey to a recruiter that you are a good fit for a position, so choose wisely. Avoid personal pronoun use (I, me). We know that the resume is about you and this will get redundant. Use a mixture of action verbs when describing your professional experience. You may even want to scan the job description and pull out the keywords, to include in your own resume.
10. Don’t include any personal information.
You are trying to sell yourself as a good fit for a professional position, not trying to sell you, so most personal information will be irrelevant. In addition, information such as religion or political affiliation can be controversial.
Images Courtesy of: www.interviewcoach.com and www.forbes.com.