Less than 10 seconds. That’s all the attention HR managers give the average resume before they make their first judgment about you as a candidate. The direction of your career could potentially come down to a glance from a stranger.
We know. This can be a disturbing thought. But you don’t need to despair. There is plenty you can do to make the most out of that brief moment. By maximizing your resume, you can ensure that you present your best case for the position, no matter how little time you have to make an impression.
This underlines the importance of getting the most out of your resume. With that in mind, here are seven ways to improve your resume and present yourself as the best prospective candidate possible:
How You Can Better (and Get the Most Out of) Your Resume!
Keep Your Resume Updated
You have a stable job and no plans to look for a new one any time soon. Still, that’s no excuse to ignore your resume. As your career unfolds, update your work history as events happen. This way, you’ll have a more complete record of your accomplishments and be ready to pounce when you need a career change.
Make Research Part of Your Routine
Having the most effective resume means knowing what employers want to see most. Understanding those dynamics requires research. You need to stay current with the present state of the labor market, as well as best practices for resumes and cover letters.
Optimize Keywords
AI is becoming an increasingly important aspect in almost every industry. That includes HR. Companies frequently use software programs to scan resumes, meaning you need to perform well on these reviews if you want an HR manager to look at your qualifications.
To maximize your resume for machine-reading, find out the keywords that are critical for the position you want. You can do this by researching your industry and looking for the terms that are most prominent in your profession. Meanwhile, the individual job descriptions will also give you a clue.
Spotlight Your Soft Skills
As you list your skills, look beyond the specific qualifications of a particular position. At the same time, consider your broader abilities, the so-called soft skills, that apply to almost any job and are dearly valued by employers. These include such competencies as:
- Leadership
- Communication
- Organization
- Problem-Solving
- Tech Savviness
- Time Management
- Integrity
Include Specifics
Everyone can claim to have a certain skill. It helps to back up your assertion. If you can include specifics in your resume, you make your case more convincing.
Of course, you only have limited space. You can’t clutter the document with long-winded anecdotes about your achievements. Still, look for places to include statistics and other specifics. These will help you stand out compared to the competition.
Customize for Each Employer
Every employer wants a unique mix of skills. As such, you’ll increase your chance of landing each opportunity by customizing your resume for every employer.
Start with your template. From there, cut unnecessary information, focusing on the items that will appeal to that employer. You can use the job description and research about the company to give clues about how to tailor your work history and list of skills.
Add Details (and a Cover Letter)
As you create the long version of your resume, include as many details as possible. You can always trim these for the final version you send to a particular employer. But you want an in-depth collection of your experiences to make sure you have the right info for every opportunity.
Since you don’t have much room in a resume for many specifics, a cover letter becomes an excellent way to complement the document. You can drill down on a particular area of interest for that employer, giving more details than you could with just a resume.
Looking to Get the Most Out of Your Job Search?
Having a great resume is just the first stage of a successful job search. A top recruiter, like ABLE Associates, can help you at every step of the process. You’ll maximize your chances of finding your dream job.
Contact ABLE today to get started.