It’s never been easy to craft a compelling resume. But it’s more difficult in today’s online, mobile, and tech-driven job market. If you want to get employed, you must learn how to optimize your resume for electronic scanning systems and human readers.
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Here are 10 tips to improve your Resume:
1. Use a reversal-chronological order.
Recruiters, hiring managers, and application tracking systems favor this format by far. The reverse-chronological structure lays out your history in an easy-to-follow timeline.
While some experts disagree, I recommend that you avoid using the “functional” resume structure. Both hiring managers and recruiters despise this practice.
However a functional resume does not focus on your career path and instead focuses on your talents and competencies, positions are often grouped together under crucial skill sets.
The majority of recruiters utilize an applicant tracking system (ATS), which they feed resumes into and then receive an analysis based on the resume keywords used in your job application. The more ATS-friendly resume templates you have, the better your chances of landing that interview are.
Using the job post as a cheat sheet, choose the best resume keywords to utilize. Simply Google keywords for the industry you’re applying to get resume keywords. Add those keywords to your CV and wait as callbacks begin to come in.
2. Make Your Resume’s Header Pop
Consider your resume header to be a business card: if it’s unclear and out of date, it’s useless. A good resume header can really help your resume stand out.
Make sure your resume’s contact information is legible and up to date. You must provide your first and last name, phone number, and professional email address.
If applicable, include your LinkedIn profile in your resume. If you have any other social media accounts that may be relevant to the job you’re applying for, do the same. But don’t forget to keep an eye on your social media footprint. Recruiters have access to the same information as the general public.
This approach is sometimes recommended to candidates who have pauses in employment to assist in “concealing” such gaps because there is no timeline of your career experience. If you want to boost your resume, use a style that sells you while also making your professional path clear.
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3. Make use of keywords in your optimization.
Keywords reign supreme. Make sure you use the right terms throughout your resume to boost it. Are you unsure which keywords to include? Create a word cloud using the job description as a starting point. Keywords are the most important words; employ them to increase your chances of being found.
4. Make use of numbers and quantifiable accomplishments.
Numbers on your resume are worth a thousand words if a picture is worth a thousand words. Numbers and quantifiable accomplishments help your resume stand out and attract recruiters’ attention.
Let’s pretend you completed projects ahead of schedule and under budget. It’s nice, yet it fails to capture the reader’s interest. However, if you plug in some data, you’ll receive something like “delivered projects at least 8 days ahead of schedule and $15K under budget.”
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5. Proofread.
Your resume must be flawless. If it’s riddled with typos, misspellings, and grammatical problems, it sends the message that you can’t write, don’t care, or all of the above. Someone other than yourself should evaluate and proofread your resume. Here, sloppiness is not tolerated.
Proofreading your CV is both easy and essential. You can use your word processor’s built-in spell checker, but don’t rely on it alone.
You can also verify your grammar and word selections with applications like Grammarly. Reading your resume aloud might also help you notice any mistakes you may have overlooked. It’s also a good idea to have a friend or family member look through your resume.
6. You must be able to recognize when enough is enough.
On average, I advise folks to only go back 15-20 years on their resumes. Although the position you held in the early 1990s helped you reach where you are now, it isn’t immediately applicable to the ones you’re applying for now.
Furthermore, there is no reason for you to list every job you’ve ever had. You want to highlight only relevant, relatable experiences on your resume because it is a promotional document.
7. Emphasize your measurable accomplishments.
A resume that lacks accomplishments is doomed to fail. You need to sell yourself on your superstar achievements, so make sure your story revolves around them. It’s natural to think about what you did in your current or previous role. However, you must go further.
Consider what you’ve accomplished. Nobody wants to read a resume with a laundry list of responsibilities. This is one area I will surely tell you to address if you ask me how to improve your resume rapidly.
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8. Know who you’re talking to.
One of the most troubling aspects of job hunting, in my opinion, is that the entire process has little to do with you, the candidate. It all comes down to the recruiting company’s and the specific manager’s business requirements.
You should tailor your CV not for yourself, but for the recruiters and hiring managers who will be contacting you. Make sure your resume focuses on the business difficulties your audience may be facing and shows how you are the solution.
9. Customize.
Although there is a lot of contradicting advice on how to improve your CV, practically everyone believes that it should be customized for each role. The hiring manager to whom you’re sending your resume is only concerned with the current business challenge.
You want your CV to show that you understand the company’s problems and can help them solve them. Customizing your resume accomplishes two important goals. It demonstrates your awareness of the role and the company’s issues, as well as your skills and how they apply to the job.
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10. Begin with a strong goal or summary.
If you want to improve your resume, your resume objective or summary is one of the first things the hiring manager will see, so make it a home run.
Choose the resume objective if you’re starting out in your career or switching careers in the midst. It will highlight your knowledge and talents and demonstrate to hiring managers that you are serious about succeeding.
