Your résumé is your introduction to a prospective employee. What it says, or doesn’t say, will be a major factor in whether you land an interview – the first step to getting the job.
To craft a résumé that highlights your strengths and sells your skills, check out the tips below.
1. Tailor your résumé to fit the job description. By rephrasing a few key words and phrases, your résumé will showcase why you’re the right candidate for the job.
2. Find out the hiring manager’s name and send your résumé directly to him or her, instead of just sending it to a generic company e-mail or mailing address.
3. Include specifics such as how big a budget you managed or what percent you increased sales.
4. Use descriptive verbs like “streamlined,” “accelerated” and “oversaw.”
5. Don’t list the reasons you left past jobs. This can be discussed in an interview, if necessary.
6. Be consistent. If you list contact information for one of your past employers, do so for all of them. If you capitalize some job titles, capitalize them all.
7. Don’t use the words “I,” “me” or “myself.” Instead, just start each sentence with a verb. For example, “Oversaw the work of 15 CNAs in a long-term care facility.”
8. Keep your formatting simple. Excess bold, italics or underlining is distracting.
9. If you provide an e-mail address, make sure it sounds professional and isn’t something like hotstuff4ever@email.com.
10. Don’t oversell yourself. Only list skills and training you actually possess.
11. Proofread. Typos and grammatical errors make your résumé look sloppy and may land your résumé in the trash. Mistyping your contact information can also prevent an employer from being able to get a hold of you.
12. Include a cover letter with your résumé. Making the extra effort to create a brief cover letter can do a lot to help your résumé stand out.
A well thought out résumé always makes a better impression than one that is thrown together at the last minute. So, if you really want to grab an employer’s attention, take the time to create a solid résumé.
How do you try to make your résumé stand out? What are some of your struggles in creating a résumé?
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