Introduction
The task of job-seeking is highly competitive in today’s market, especially now that almost everything can be done online at the convenience of a click on your smartphone or laptop, wherever you are. While the benefits of online job hunting are many—easy, quick, cost-effective—you also have to deal with the downside that you only have your resume representing you and your skills, competing with hundreds of other resumes. In such a scenario, it is essential to have a resume that stands out from the pile of resumes that a recruiter or HR team is going to simply skim through during the selection process.
Here are seven simple and guaranteed ways to ensure your resume catches the eye of recruiters:
1. Make your resume visually appealing
How often have you skipped a LinkedIn post or an informative article because it looked cluttered? A recruiter faces the same fatigue going through numerous resumes continuously. Making your resume visually appealing is a basic yet highly effective way to stand out to a recruiter.
- Leave some space for margins on your resume. Use blank spaces to distinguish the various sections of your resume
- Enlist your skills for resume with the help of bullet points instead of a chunk of text that is hard to perceive
- Use the bold and italics options to highlight important words of the task. Avoid the underline option as it can make text slightly challenging to read
- You can even choose to create your resume with multiple fonts but make sure not to go beyond two different matching styles
- Be consistent with the cases. For instance, if you use a title case for your headings, ensure all the headings maintain the title case
- Make sure you stick with the same alignment, preferably the left align option, throughout your resume format
You can refer to the several free and modern resume templates available online before you start working on your CV. Also, pick a resume format that is unique, with a theme or design that is relevant to your niche.
2. Keep your resume clear and concise
When writing your resume for jobs, ensure you include only experience that is relevant to the role you are applying for. While it may seem like a good opportunity to flaunt all your skills, it only makes your resume look long and cluttered, giving a higher chance for the recruiter to skip the relevant skills and reject your resume. Keep your sentences precise and avoid redundancy and fluff. Avoid articles, extravagant adjectives, helping verbs, and cliche terms unless absolutely necessary. Be careful not to sound vague when trying to keep sentences short and to the point.
3. Attach a cover letter
Always attach a cover letter with your resume PDF simply because many of the recruiters expect one. A cover letter also gives you the opportunity to share many details about yourself that you cannot explain on your resume. For instance, you can explain the gap in your career, the fact that you are looking to change your career path or other details like your willingness to relocate for a job at a different location in the cover letter. That said, it is important to keep the cover letter short and precise too. So, avoid repeating the information already mentioned on your resume.
4. Result-oriented vs task-oriented
Most resume formats enlist the numerous tasks we have performed, which need not necessarily emphasize the significance of the results we have achieved. Replace the task-oriented statements on your resume with result-oriented testimonies. For instance, instead of “delegated responsibilities of my team efficiently and increased productivity” try giving out specifics like “delegated responsibilities in a team of 20 employees efficiently that led to an increased productivity rate of 15%”. The numbers certainly add value by highlighting the impact of your contribution and increase the chances of impressing the recruiter.
5. Proofread your resume
A resume with typos or human errors can be off-putting. It is easy to overlook small errors, especially if you’re short on time or your resume is long. Watch out for typos, grammatical errors, redundancy, spelling mistakes, double spaces, and formatting inaccuracies. With tools like Grammarly, eliminating these errors can be quick and easy. Make sure to proofread your resume several times slowly and carefully. Reading your resume out loud is a good tactic to keep it error-free.
With technology constantly evolving to make our lives easier, there are several AI resume builders, free resume samples and templates available online. Optimize your resumes with the help of these tools and tips and decrease the chances of your resume being rejected. Make the most of your first impression with a resume that stands out!