RADAR108

5 Things To Do For A Better Resume

We have all been there. The thought of writing a new resume or just updating your old one while applying to jobs can be one of the most daunting and boring tasks. So how do you make a resume that stands out against the competition and grabs the attention of the recruiter? Remember, most recruiters spend no more than 30 seconds to scan through a resume to find a possible fit before they move on to the next one. Here are 5 things that you can include in your resume to get to the top of the list quickly.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> 1.       Be Concise<o:p></o:p> Having long summaries or objectives on your resume is outdated. It’s very rare that recruiters will spend more than 5 seconds going through your summary. <a style="mso-comment-reference:RP_1;mso-comment-date:20190711T1033; mso-comment-done:yes">Be very specific and frugal with words by describing your experience in no more than 2 or 3 lines. Be sure to highlight your total years of experience, skills relevant to the job being applied to, and how you would be a good fit there. </a><a style="font-size: 10pt;">Remember, the recruiter is not looking to see how accomplished you are as a professional or your soccer skills (unless you’re applying to Manchester United)</a>; rather, they’re scanning quickly to see what you can offer to the company.<o:p></o:p> Steer clear of generic words or phrases like outstanding, enthusiastic, “high performer”, and “team player.” These phrases can be the quickest way for recruiters to lose interest in your resume.<o:p></o:p> 2.       Grammar and Typos<o:p></o:p>  this is the most Important aspect of your resume but is often overlooked. Did you find something wrong in the previous sentence, and is it bothering you? The lowercase t beginning the sentence and the uppercase I in important is all it takes for many recruiters to lose interest in your resume. <o:p></o:p> Hey, if you cannot pay attention to generic mistakes in your resume, which a spell check can <a style="mso-comment-reference:RP_3; mso-comment-date:20190711T1044;mso-comment-done:yes">easily</a>  correct, then maybe you’re not as detail-oriented as you claim to be.<o:p></o:p> 3.       Customize Your Resume<o:p></o:p> While it is good practice to have a resume listing all your skills and experience, it is extremely important that you customize it to each job that you’re applying to. Think of yourself as a car salesman. People look for different things in a car before they buy one. You can talk to them about a generic car and lose their interest, or you can focus specifically on what appeals to them, like the performance to a younger person, or the convenience features to an elderly customer. All the other standard <a style="mso-comment-reference: RP_4;mso-comment-date:20190711T1139;mso-comment-done:yes">features find a mention</a> only later. <o:p></o:p> Your resume works in a similar way. You can either make a generic resume about what you did and lose the interest of the recruiter in no time, or try and highlight your work and achievements in areas where the company is looking for help. <o:p></o:p> 4.       Keywords<o:p></o:p> Using the right keywords in your resume is essential to catch the attention of recruiters. Most companies today use an applicant tracking system which scans for these buzzwords from your resume and generates search results on the information provided by you. <a style="">If </a>you are a sales executive, for instance, use very specific keywords such as “sales”, “account management”, “sales planning”, “area sales”, that are applicable to your profile to drive the search algorithms to find you for sales roles. These words can be woven into your achievements in prior jobs to highlight your suitability for the new one. A word of caution here, do not use keywords unless you have actually worked on them. Being honest on your resume always helps. Also, do not use any abbreviations unless they are very generic industry terms. The applicant tracking systems and the recruiters may overlook your resumes when they do not understand the abbreviations.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> 5.       Online Portfolio<o:p></o:p> There is only so much you can write on a resume. With the pressure to keep the resumes short and catchy, sometimes you might feel that you’re missing out on mentioning your achievements, awards, or anything else important. Here is where your online presence comes to the rescue (we’re not talking about your Spotify playlist here). Always give links to your professional blogs, online portfolios, or LinkedIn profile on your resume. A well-maintained LinkedIn profile or a professional blog with a few followers goes a long way in impressing the recruiters and hiring managers.<o:p></o:p> <div style="font-size: 10pt;"> <div style="mso-element:comment"><div id="_com_1" class="msocomtxt" language="JavaScript"> </div></div><div style="mso-element:comment"><div id="_com_5" class="msocomtxt" language="JavaScript"> <o:p> </o:p> </div> </div> </div>

Posted on 8/22/19, 12:00:00 AM.000

Stay ahead of the game