A total of 20% of people. That’s how many people end up making it to the interview process at a company. When it’s hard to get your foot in the front door, you have to have a killer resume to start speaking with a company. If you want a leg up in the job market, you need to know how to make a resume stand out.
Keep reading to learn four tips that will help you when writing a resume.
1. Be Direct
Job recruiters don’t want to waste a ton of time looking through resumes. They have countless applicants to look through, so they only spend a limited time on each resume they read.
Because of that, you may not convey your skill for a job if you add too much fluff to a resume. Be as direct as possible when describing your skills and experience. You want to fill in as much information as possible in as little space as possible.
2. Don’t Overcomplicate Your Design
It’s tempting to try and give off a great impression by overdesigning a resume. While this may be easy on the eye, it may not help your resume information stand out.
You don’t want to create a complex design that makes it hard for your resume text to stand out. Try to keep things simple and easy to read for job recruiters. You can use a professional resume builder online to get resume examples that look great.
3. Focus on Relevant Skills
Even if adding irrelevant skills for the job you’re applying for may make it seem like you’re a talented worker, that isn’t the best choice on a resume. Many companies use filtering software to remove resumes from a list that doesn’t contain the right keywords. The problem is that you don’t know those keywords ahead of time.
Information about the skills related to the job you’re applying for is what should be on a resume. Look at the job description and tailor your resume with keywords highlighted in the job posting. Doing this will help your resume get through the filters and into the hands of a job recruiter.
4. Use the Right Number of References
It may seem like a good idea to offer a lot of references, but that’s not the best choice. A job recruiter only has so much time to talk to people. When you provide too many references, how can someone know which people are the best to speak with about the current job?
Only provide the most qualified job references on your applications. They should be the people in the best position to talk about your job experience.
Now You Know How to Make a Resume Stand Out
It’s hard to get your resume in front of a real person in today’s world. Now that hiring managers use software to screen candidates that don’t seem like a great fit, you need to do everything you can to get past the algorithm and make a great impression on the hiring manager when they see your resume.
Now that you know how to make a resume stand out, you’re ready to start the job application process. Head back to the blog if you want to learn more tips that will help you advance your career.