Resume writing follows no rules. Yet because of today’s stiff job market, you need to create a strong resume to set you apart from other hopefuls. You must convince recruiters see the gains of hiring you over someone else. Tell how you’d help them achieve their goals.
What Makes a Strong Resume?
A strong resume doesn’t just impress hiring managers but can outshine other candidates, too. Now, how will you achieve a competitive resume? Learn how to write a good resume by heeding these tips.
What to Include
The details in your resume can make your piece outstanding. Hence, it pays to know what section and words to use to bolster your hiring chances.
Here’s what your resume must include to stand out from piles of application documents.
Winning Summary
Instead of an objective statement, start with a professional profile that tells the hiring manager the value you will bring to the table. In 4 or 5 sentences, tell your qualifications based on the firm’s values and needs. Use strong adjectives to describe you as a professional.
Tip: Don’t repeat statements that the recruiter can read elsewhere in your resume or cover letter.
Relevant Data
A superb resume conveys what employers want to know about you. Think hard on what’s relevant to your target position and exclude duties and details that don’t focus on the skills potential employers need. Clean up your work history clutter and let your relevant skills shine.
Vital keywords
Customize your resume to the target job by including the right keywords. These are strong resume words that convey the knowledge and expertise you’ve gained over the years. How to find them? Check company websites, review job descriptions, and study LinkedIn profiles with posts similar to what you’re eyeing. Set meetings with potential colleagues, too, and study conference program descriptions and their speaker’s profiles.
Social media profiles
Got a LinkedIn account and update it regularly? Add your profile link to your contact information. Besides giving recruiters another way to get in touch, you’d let them see how confident you are with your skills. No matter what job post you intend to pursue, having large networks will surely impress the hiring manager.
Passion and interests
Putting your hobbies in your copy isn’t a red flag. In fact, the details about your out-of-work deeds may help you be more likable and make you stand out from the crowd. Yet don’t touch on topics that relate to politics and religion.
Hyperlinks
These links work only if you’re sending an application to someone via email or other online means. With hyperlinks placed in your resume, it will be easy for would-be bosses to dig into your qualifications and achievements. Further, it shows how well you know how the Internet works and maximize it given the tough screening process these days. Make sure, though, to remove the hyperlinks before printing a hard copy.
Numbers and Figures
How to convince your future boss of the success you achieved in your past jobs? An impressive resume includes numbers and figures, which could help prove your worth. They may come in the form of whole number, percentage, or even a fraction. With figures present in the text, it will be easy for the reader to gauge your success or at least there would be a basis on your performance.
Visual Enhancers
Use visual-enhancing tools to break the dullness of texts. Bullet points, tables, border lines, graphs, bold texts, small icons and symbols, and colors to fill the section labels can help. Use these to highlight items but don’t overdo it. Always check the balance between texts and the white space all over your piece.
Note: Do not use any visual enhancer of you are to create or produce a digital copy of your piece.
Cover Letter: Extra Must-Have
Your resume isn’t enough to get the hirer’s nod to invite you for a job interview. Let a cover letter do the talking first—present you as a qualified hopeful.
With a cover letter accompanying your application, you’re giving your job search a boost. Ensure, though, your letter doesn’t duplicate the details written on your resume or online profile.
Post-Writing Tasks
Once done with the writing process, you’ll go through yet another crucial part of your quest. Before handing your resume to a hiring manager or uploading it to job sites, take enough time to foresee hurdles to ensure everything will go smoothly as planned. Do these:
Proofread your work.
The secret of a successful resume lies on the accuracy of details, which mirrors your diligence. Thus, make sure your copy has no spelling errors and includes correct grammar and punctuation marks. Any grammar or spelling mistake will question your thoroughness and credibility and dash your chances of getting an invite. To ensure each detail is correct, let other people proofread your work before sending it to potential employers.
Create a digital-friendly version.
Tweak your resume for easy upload, download, and scanning. This means disregarding the use of visual enhancers, such as odd fonts, bullets, boldface, boxes, and even indents. Further, fill your resume with keywords that will speak to experts in your field—terms that will stick out not only during an electronic search but on the resume itself, too.
Pro Writer as an Option
Resume writing isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. Yet, today’s job seekers have lots of means to craft their copies and an option to get an expert do the task.
While many websites offer free resume templates and samples, you may still not find the perfect resume guide and remain clueless about the proper resume format to use. That said, hiring a professional resume writer could be your best option to ease the already tough job hunt process. Knowledgeable about the key components of a powerful resume, an expert resume writer can help market yourself as the fittest candidate for the job.
Remember that writing a strong resume is a balancing act: you must show character while staying professional. For more tips to achieve a competitive resume, browse through our blogs page. Need help from experts? Contact us or check out our best resume writing services for more details.
Sources: salary.com | money.usnews.com | work.chron.com | biginterview.com
Photos by Lukas from Pexels and Shutterstock
