5 Practical Resume Tips

Imagine a stack of resumes in front of a hiring manager which is soon to be separated into two piles.  A ‘YES’ pile and a ‘NO’ pile.  How do you get your resume to the top of the ‘YES’ pile?  You need to quickly answer three questions for the hiring manager. 1) Who you are, 2) What are your qualifications, and 3) Why they should bring you in for an interview.

1. Keep the formatting of your resume clean and clear
2. Use easy to read font such as Arial 10 pt for readability
3. Bold the headings, and job titles
4. Use bullet points for work history instead of chunky paragraphs
5. Concisely highlight your accomplishments and abilities and why you are the best candidate

If your resume is easy to read while addressing their needs, it should increase your chances of being called for an interview.

There is a ton of information out there for the Do’s and Don’ts for creating a resume, but don’t get overwhelmed by it.  Remember, you must grab the attention of the hiring manager so make your resume stand out. 

Make sure to impress them with what you can do and ensure attention to detail.  Proofread your resume, avoid generalization, and demonstrate through words what you have accomplished through your skills.

Be unique and creative with your resume. A common mistake that many job seekers make is to use their one resume to apply for many jobs.  You must tailor your resume for each job that you are applying for.  Read the job mandate that you are applying to and address the requirements within your resume.  Be specific as to how you bring value to those requirements.  When addressing your accomplishment, be bold and state why you were selected to perform that role or task.  Also, use robust action words to stand out of the crowd to get noticed. 

A good resume is key to getting you into the ‘YES’ pile, so spend time to craft the best one for yourself.