I don’t have to tell you how important it is to gain every edge possible when hunting for a career lately. Budget conscious human resource departments are aware of the fact that they can get more for less with the oversupply of qualified but out of work individuals.
There are many areas where a “job seeker” has an opportunity to stand out from her/his peers, from education to your vocal presence. There are seminars one can take and books one can read in order to acquire or upgrade most any skill set needed to effectively compete in today’s job market. Today though I want to briefly discuss one tool that might appear so simple at first glance that it may often get overlooked as you prepare your talking points, appearance, and attitude, for your interviews.
With HR staff swamped with literally hundreds if not thousands of résumés from people looking for the same work as yourself, I thought it would be a good idea to go over some tips you can quickly follow to ensure that your resume is the one that stands out from among the countless stacks of paper.
1. Don’t omit the bonuses.
Many employers judge a candidates well roundedness on her/his extra curricular activities. Avoid the mistake of not mentioning additional training, community outreach, or awards that could possibly relate to the skill-sets needed for the career you’re applying for. This will show the passion you have for the industry you want to work in.
2. Don’t forget to pile keywords into your résumé.
Technology has allowed employers to utilize keyword search as a means to browse résumé databases for candidates to interview. Basically if the company you are applying for is searching a database for keywords and your résumé doesn’t contain those keywords you are just out of luck.
3. Don’t downplay your skill sets.
Résumés that don’t express how you are uniquely qualified for a position won’t command the same attention that a résumé loaded with action verbs describing your achievements does. Don’t be vague, your employer wants to be impressed, and see that you know your business.
4. Remember to double check for errors.
Recruiters are looking for and excuse not to consider your résumé, and poor grammar gives him/her that excuse. A poorly written résumé shows that you are either too disinterested to take care in proofreading or that you just can’t spell. Either way, nothing has an HR recruiter balling up the paper that your achievements wrote on faster than a half-hearted attempt at a resume full of grammatical errors. Go one step past spell check, get a few friends to go over it for you with a fresh pair of eyes, and also make sure you haven’t left anything out like your phone number, name, or email address.
5. Show focus.
General résumés with no focus on the job you’re applying to just isn’t seen as competitive. Your résumés need to show a clear match between your skills/experience and the job’s requirements. Take time to articulate in writing why you’re the best person for the job.
Making sure your résumé can stand out from the crowd doesn’t have to be a tedious chore. Find out which of these steps you could improve on and take them one at a time. Get advice from online sources and your peers on how to improve what you have already written.
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