While news of an improving US economy gives job seekers a ray of hope in the job market, competition is fiercer than ever. To “take your A game,” you need to take a second look at your resume, to make sure you’re prepared to take on the toughest opposition. These are the six main areas of the resume that require immediate attention.
What is the OBJETIVE?
Any resume that still uses an objective statement should ditch it and create a compelling introduction that includes a personal brand statement. A personalized career summary and a refined personal brand statement will capture the attention of the hiring authority and provide all the relevant information directly – the intelligence needed in the determination to schedule an interview.
Keep in mind that the average employer spends less than 10 seconds reviewing each resume, and their focus is on the first half of the first page. Not providing a resume with an impressive summary will become the “sudden death” of the candidate in the consideration process.
Could there be a design flaw?
Professional resume writers understand the time and effort that goes into designing and formatting them. Someone just entering the job market needs to have a resume that looks very different from that of a C-level executive. Using the wrong format or a flawed layout will ultimately make the job seeker a hobbyist rather than a resume. qualified for your posting.
Using keywords?
When the employer receives a resume, they will likely use a software scanning system that looks for keywords based on the position. Not including those keywords means that the software will not identify the candidate as qualified to proceed to the next step. When the document is being reviewed by a recruiter or HR associate in the preliminary review process, the fact that the keywords are not easily found results in the same result.
Making general statements?
Every job seeker needs to stand out from their competition. Making a statement like “excellent team player” or “provider of quality customer service” says absolutely nothing to the employer. It is essential to provide an example that illustrates how the candidate is an excellent team player, rather than just making a general comment. A better listing would be “leading and managing a sales team of 15, from 1 million to 9.5 million in annual production.” Please provide accurate and detailed information to ensure the resume stays in the “keep” pile.
Speak in the tangible.
Space on a resume is precious. Including things like detail-oriented, quality communicator, etc. wastes important space and takes away from the job applicant’s ability to articulate why this employer should hire them. Speak in terms of definable skills and experience, and avoid describing the intangible qualities that anyone can claim to possess. Again, this is where specific examples rule the resume.
Talk about past work experiences.
When listing previous employers, it is essential to avoid simply giving the stock job description. After all, the goal is to be different from the rest of the group applying for the same job! Focus on addressing the challenges faced in previous roles, how they were handled, and the results. As long as the job applicant meets the employer’s qualifications, this one change instantly captures the recruiter’s attention and allows the candidate to outperform their competitors in the first round of the hiring process.
The overall goal of each resume is to grab the attention of hiring managers and encourage them to schedule the interview. Candidates must create a resume that shows their differences from any other job seeker on the market.