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Your Resume Could Be Better: Try These Tips

April 27th, 2018

Your resume will be your very first opening salvo in your relationships with most potential employers, so if this document represents the first contact an employer makes with your name and your personal brand, you’ll want put your whole heart into the little details that can help make it stand out. In other words, no matter how great your resume may be, there are always small ways to make it even better. As suggested by the best Victorian interpreter service, you can start with these simple but often-overlooked moves.

Keywords, keywords, keywords.

Every search algorithm works differently, and the keywords that grab attention on Linkedin may not work as well for your favorite job board, or your target company’s HR database. So cover your bases by making sure these three keywords appear in your document at least once: Your target job title, your target geographic area, the name of your industry (hospitality, healthcare, manufacturing, etc), the full and accurate title of your most relevant former job, and your proudest and most relevant five skill sets. Add any other words you think your target employers might type into a search bar, but start with these.

Spacing.

A resume that’s hard to read will quickly fall through the cracks, so make sure your document provides an easy and pleasant reading experience both on screen and in hard-copy form. Keep your font large (nothing smaller than 11 points) and leave generous spacing between your lines and headings. If you fear that might push valuable information off the page, don’t worry. Just expand to two pages and carefully summarize your points.

Stick to tradition.

There are some times and places during your job search when you’ll benefit by going off script and doing things your own way. But formatting your resume should not be one of those times. When your readers scan the page in search of specific information, they should quickly and easily find what they need. So give your headings standard titles (“education”, “relevant experience”, etc) and place them in a recognizable order. Save your unique branding and personality for the next stage of the process.

Include a summary.

The top of the page, just under your name, should contain a few lines that provide readers with the most important elements of your message. Assume that your readers may only read the summary and may base their entire assessment on what they see there. In some cases, this is exactly what happens. So put your best selling points (including your ability to write a succinct and artful summary) into your summary.

Clarify your intentions.

Know exactly what you’d like to do and build your resume around that type of work or specific job title. Super vague resumes that attempt to fit any job description can be confusing and off-putting to readers who are searching for signs of a match. Don’t suggest that you’re great at everything and will accept any job, anywhere. Hone in on what you actually want.

For more information on how to create a resume that sets your apart, contact the job search team at Merritt Staffing.

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