So you’ve begun writing your resume or it’s time to revamp an older version. There are numerous tips and tricks all around the web that can help you get to a well written summary of your experiences and achievements. But, often it is the slight differences that really make a larger difference when you have to stand out in the overflowing pile on the hiring manager’s desk. So what can you do?
Check out these tips and see if they make any difference in the next round of resume submissions.
Numbers- Show me the Numbers!
There are thousands of resumes which talk about what you have ‘demonstrated’, ‘led’, ‘created’, ‘managed’ and more. How many have you quantified? To stand out, the first rule is to quantify your achievements. Though it might be a nuance, but nothing below matters if you haven’t spent time improving the essence of what the recruiter will see. Spend hours or days thinking about how best to show case your achievements in ‘numbers’, to show and tell that it mattered what you did.
Keywords
You’ve written a lengthy resume and showcased all your skills in the best possible way. Great job! But still after 3 weeks you haven’t heard back from the four companies you had submitted your resume online. What’s wrong? Before you say it’s not me, it’s them. Just check once on the keywords that were on the job description and those on your resume. Assuming that you are applying to those jobs that match your skills and vice versa, it’s important to take note of what the employer really wants. Check on the job description before you apply for the job and tailor your resume to the job you are applying.
Fonts
Look and feel matters when you are sending out a printed copy of your resume. When typing a resume, it is always best to use 10 – 14 points font and print it out on a 8.5×11″ paper. You should stick to using one type of font in the entire resume. And what fonts to use, you may check out this article to know more: Recruiters Reveal the 7 Best Fonts for Your Resume – Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri, Helvetica make it to the top 4.
Adding your Picture
If you are applying a job to countries in EU, Middle East or South America, it will be best to include a professional head shot. However, a resume without a headshot is all fine. There is a high chance that the recruiter or the hiring manager might check your LinkedIn profile or delve deeper to check your social media account and goes without saying that they can see more than what you want to show! So make sure you’ve also checked against what you’ve posted because it’s all out there.
PDF of any other format?
You should save a copy of the PDF resume on your computer. You may want to consider converting your PDF resume into an image format like JPG especially if you already have a lot of PDFs on your computer. PDFs files are large and can slow down your computer. JPG images are smaller and will not interrupt with your computer performance. Use Movavi to convert to jpg file.
And finally, it goes without saying that always double check it to make sure you have included all the necessary information and proof read for spelling/grammar error. Also, if you are still stuck on how to prepare a resume, reach out for help from professional resume writers, your next job is worth that small investment!