September is Update Your Résumé Month and a great time for you to revise, refine, and refresh your current résumé. The value of a well-targeted, well-written, concise résumé cannot be overestimated – particularly in today’s job market where companies receive hundreds of applications in response to job postings. The difference between a good and great résumé can result in doors being opened or closed to the interview.
In general, the majority of people write their résumé as an historical document setting out basic contact info along with their job history, but this type of cut-and-dry document will most likely get placed on the reject pile. Instead, you have to write it with the hiring manager in mind. You must ask yourself, what is the best way to get his or her attention? How can you get the hiring manager to notice you out of hundreds of other applicants?
Here are eight ways to get noticed:
1) Write to the future.
Begin with a clear strategy in mind when writing your résumé. What specific job position are you targeting? What is your career objective? Focus on the most relevant skills necessary to perform your desired job position and de-emphasize the tasks that are not relevant.
2) Write an outstanding qualifications summary to capture interest right away.
This is the most important part of the résumé and determines whether or not the hiring manager will keep reading. This is your opportunity to shine and sell yourself. It’s also you’re chance to convey your unique brand - the thing that sets you apart from other applicants.
3) Emphasize results.
Companies are most interested in these three things: employees that make money, save money or increase efficiency for the company. Be sure to demonstrate when you’ve done these things in the past and your future employer will be able to envision you doing the same for him or her in the future.
4) Backup the claims made in your summary statement.
Support the statements you made about yourself in the qualifications summary by setting out how and when you accomplished those things in your job history. For example, a sales manager would demonstrate a “keen sales ability” by noting within one job description that he sold $2 million worth of widgets in 2008.
5) Quantify your accomplishments for each position using numbers, percentages and dollars.
Be specific about your accomplishments. Let’s say you were a manager or supervisor. How many people did you direct and manage? What is the size of the firm in terms of dollars? How many divisions or departments did you oversee? Did you increase productivity? Be sure to use numbers to impress your audience.
6) Write a focused résumé based on the actual requirements for the job position that you’re applying for.
It’s important to ascertain the key competencies, qualifications, and credentials necessary for the job you’re applying to and then demonstrate that you have the expertise and experience to step into that position. For example, if you are applying for a meeting planner job, you will be required to have good customer service skills, be well-organized, be able to budget expenses, etc. The best résumé will highlight how you carried out those responsibilities in your past jobs.
7) Do not make spelling and grammatical errors.
Think about it - what does this say about you? This is practically the same as going on an interview with torn clothing, messy hair and dirty nails. Résumé mistakes make a bad impression. It makes the reader think that if you are sloppy and careless on your résumé, you’ll be sloppy and careless on the job. Diligently proofread and check for errors; don’t just rely on your spell check.
8) Be sure to include industry and position specific key words on your résumé.
Since your résumé will very likely end up in a database; either when listing it on job boards or when a company scans your résumé into their database, it is imperative to have enough keywords within the résumé so that yours comes up towards the top of the list. How do you find keywords for your position? You can find industry specific keywords by reviewing job board ads and company website postings for the position you’re interested in.
9) Edit, edit, edit.
Don’t think you have to include every single detail about your career history. Hiring managers only spend 10 – 30 seconds scanning résumés. If yours is too long and too wordy, they’ll move on to the next. Omit unnecessary information and only include info that makes the maximum impact.
10) Go for the “wow” factor – make it memorable!
Especially in today’s job market, it’s important to make a great first impression and to stand out from the crowd. Give your résumé the look and feel of a polished advertisement. Consider using eye-catching graphic elements, infusing color, and including small, relevant logos. Of course, match the résumé design to your industry; traditional fields require a more conservative design, however, you can take more liberties with creative fields. Be sure to add as much white space as possible to enhance readability.
