Make Your Resume Stand Out
There are tons of things to consider when writing your resume. How many pages? Do I need a Summary section? Do I need to put in my personal information and extracurricular activities? And this is your one and only chance to impress, so want to get it right. Not to put any more pressure on, but your resume documents are some of your most important financial documents. A great resume can help increase your salary via more invitations for interviews for higher paying jobs. Here are a few tips from our resume writers.
- Summaries are the new object statement
The first 15-20 words of your resume are critically important. Write a succinct start. Think of it as a professional statement that captures who you are, what your skills are, what have you accomplished and why you are the perfect candidate for the job. This will give the manager a quick overview of who you are.
- Identify accomplishments not just job descriptions, the company, and the position
Avoid generic descriptions of your job, focus on what you did and not what the job was. Hiring managers wants to know how you used your skills, However you still want to make sure you have skills and keywords embedded.
- cater your resume for the industry
Don’t think to get the best positions you can get away with a generic resume. As resume writers, we know the importance of create a powerful and unique resume to get you ahead of your competition and to get interview invitations. If you’re not familiar with the job or the company, talk to those in the industry — or ideally two or three people — who have an idea of what is important to hiring managers or otherwise know the organization. This will give you a great amount of ideas, then ask yourself, what words or experiences do I need to highlight? What can I get rid of because it’s not relevant? Tweak your resume to the industry, the company, and the position. As certified professional resume writers this is what we do every day for our clients.
- Consider including your volunteer experience
The Deloitte Impact Survey found 82% of those who influence hiring decisions said they are more likely to choose a candidate with volunteer experience — but only one in three resumes in the United States cite volunteer work. This really depends on your industry. But be selective if you a long list of volunteer work, just go with the ones relevant or recent.
- Get professional help
Many people overstate — or understate — their achievements or struggle to find the right words. Consider getting professional help. Resume writers are not just professional writers, but they’re experts in making your resume stand out from the rest of the applicant pool. As a resume coach for our clients we can discern what needs to be on your resume and express it all professionally — to get interviews. At a minimum, have someone else check your resume for logic, grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
If all this is too much, consider paying someone to write your resume. Resume writing is a bit of an art, and it can be a good idea to simply compile all of your information and hand it off to a professional resume writing service.