Writing your resume in a way that makes your application stand out from the rest of the competition and the other candidates’ resumes can initially seem like a challenging task, but with a few tips and the right guidance, you can make yourself come across as an ideal candidate with a well-written resume.
In the post-pandemic world of business, where employers are now recruiting en masse again, competition for positions can be fiercely competitive. Here we have come up with a guide to resume writing tips, so that you are able to set yourself apart from the rest of the competition when applying for job roles today.
Look Through Resume Examples for Your Industry
To provide you with some inspiration and get you thinking about how to write your resume, take a look through examples of different resumes from the industry you work in. For example, if you work as a television producer, look for a resume example that covers how another television producer has written and structured his/her resume. Just remember to keep your resume looking exciting and easy to read for hiring managers.
Try adding examples of exceptional experiences, qualifications, or skills that may make you stand out from other applicants for a role.
Provide Relevant Examples of Your Personal Achievements
Try and only include the most relevant work and educational achievements for the job role you are applying for. Hiring managers will most likely only have a quick read of each resume. Therefore, it’s essential to keep it brief and leave out irrelevant information that will not help you land the job and distract employers from the critical pieces of information on the resume.
Put the Most Important Information at the Top
In your resume, make sure you talk about your work experience, skills, and educational achievements that are the most important to your employer. Prioritize the most important information on your resume by trying to put it higher up on the page.
Provide Up-to-date Information
Try and only include up-to-date information on your resume. The companies you have applied to will be looking to contact candidates as soon as possible to invite them to interviews, so do not put your old address, email, or telephone number on your resume.
Put your work experience in chronological order, with your most recent work experience at the top.
Use Bullet Points
Using bullet points is an excellent resume layout format that conveys your career story to hiring managers, and makes the work history section of your resume stand out. Employers looking at tons of resumes want to cut to the chase and read compelling examples of the relevant work experience candidates have that is relevant to the job title and job description.
To produce interesting bullet points on your resume which grasp employers’ attention, you need first to do some preparation during which you spend time coming up with initial ideas to help you write your bullet points. You may have a long list of varied examples of your work experience, brainstorm before writing your resume to narrow down the most relevant bullet points you are going to include. When writing your bullet points to highlight your past work achievements to employers, it’s also wise to use action verbs in the past tense following every bullet point. For example, ‘Closed multimillion-dollar channels with major clients’ and ‘Improved positive customer feedback by 20%’. To read more about resume bullet points examples, you may want to look at this article from Placement, the quality career coaching platform that can help you to plan your career path and achieve your career goals.
Ensure You Know the Keywords Employers Look for
When planning how to write your resume, it’s a good idea to look at the job descriptions for the job postings that you are interested in. Reading through job descriptions carefully will tell you the keywords which demonstrate what different employers may be looking for in an ideal candidate. You should prioritize including things in your resume labeled by the employer as ‘Requirements’ or ‘Qualifications.’ Having certain professional qualifications is a prerequisite for applying to some jobs. For example, the minimum qualification Registered Nurses (RNs) require in the U. S is an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN). When applying to a job role like this, you should ensure you meet these minimum requirements.
Including keywords in your resume will make employers more likely to sit and read through your resume. Some employers and recruitment agencies use software that searches for keywords in resumes to screen candidates and narrow down the list of candidates they want to take to the next stage and interview.
Put the Most Important Information at the Top
Hiring managers need to be interested and engaged right from the start when reading your resume. If your resume starts in a dull, plain fashion and includes information at the top which is irrelevant to the job role, employers may quickly put it to one side and lose interest. Make an effort to put the most essential information at the top of your resume to try and grasp the reader’s attention as early as possible.
Keep Your Resume Brief and Punchy
Hiring managers may have to get through hundreds, or even thousands, of resumes they have received for a popular job posting with many applicants. Therefore, they may try being as time efficient as they possibly can to avoid spending too much time reading resumes from candidates who aren’t suitable for the role. So, you should try and make your resume short and sweet and as brief as possible. Keep each section of the resume concise, to the point, and only include the most relevant information which demonstrates to employers how you are suitable for the role.
In a competitive economy, where everyone is trying to find a job to get themselves back on their feet following the chaos and uncertainty brought about by the pandemic, you must ensure your resume stands out from the crowd and sets your application apart from the rest of the competition.
