Job Center: Writing a standout resume
Your resumé is the one tool you have to reach out to a potential employer. It is a marketing piece that sells YOU. Though the resumé tells a lot about your experience, it should be more than rattling off your past lists of duties. You need to seize the opportunity to highlight your individual accomplishments in a way that relates to the position for which you are applying.
Here are 5 simple things you can do to help your resumé stand out:
- Keep it relevant and short. As a standard rule, your resumé should fit onto one page. For recent graduates, this is usually an easy feat. However, it can be more challenging for those who have been in the workforce for a long time.
- New Grads: Highlight internships or part-time jobs you've had that relate to the job opening. Also, there are certain organizational and teamwork skills that you may have acquired through other, more unrelated jobs. It never hurts to point out these areas, as long as you can tie them in to the job at hand. Feel free to expand upon your educational background by pointing out specialized courses taken and skills gained through your major.
- Job Changers: If you are changing jobs or fields, it is best to only list the jobs that are relevant to the opening. You may have a lot of experience in other fields, but your potential employer will be most interested in what you bring to the table to meet their specific needs. If you have an extensive work history and are listing only relevant work, make sure to title that section "Relevant Work Experience." Any holes in employment can be covered during the interview. That is the best time to explain that you worked in a different field during those times. The relevant work that you list on your resumé, however, is what will get you the interview.
- Use bullet points. Paragraphs of text make resumés more difficult to read. Your potential employer is receiving many resumés for each opening. The easier it is for him/her to read and digest, the better YOUR odds of getting in the door for an interview. In your first draft, be as detailed as you want with each bullet point. However, make sure you go back through to revise it several times. When revising, make sure to put each bulleted sentence in the simplest terms. Make sure the bulleted points are strong, action-oriented sentences.
- Highlight your individual accomplishments. Many people approach resumés with the mindset that they should just list out their duties. That is a critical error. Your resumé is a sales tool, and you should use it as such. Think about your daily responsibilities in your previous job, and then consider how you went beyond the expectations held for you. How did you improve processes or communication? Did you take on any special projects? Be specific, and don't be humble about your contributions. Use these accomplishments to illustrate the problems, solutions and outcomes in a succinct yet impressive manner.
- Use specific, targeted language. For every opening, you will see a description of the position. In these descriptions, the potential employer is detailing what expectations they would have of the ideal candidate. Use their language in your own resumé so it is more resonant with them. If they want someone who is efficient, proactive and assertive, use these exact descriptors in your objective statement or previous accomplishments. Making these words prominent might just make the employer see that you have the potential to be their ideal employee!
- Tailor your resumé for every position – every time. If you are applying for a variety of positions, keep in mind that similarity in the field does not equate to similarity in the positions. Your resumé should be applicable to each job, which means tweaking it every time. As specified in the 4 th tip, make sure to use the employer's own language. Another helpful hint would be to research the company's web site. This will give you valuable insight into their corporate philosophies and values. Use this information to set yourself up as their perfect match!
Your resumé is the best way to make a good first impression. Following these 5 simple tips can help you get your foot in the door for more interviews. Once in the interview, you will find out if you and the company fit each other's needs.
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