It seems like whatever industry you’re in, there are never enough hours in the day or resources available to get all your work done. Human Resources is likely no exception to this rule when it comes to reviewing your resume. Between software that scans your resume for key words and human beings with other things on their minds, it’s not always easy to make your resume stand out and end up in the “yes” pile. However, here are few ideas to give your resume the best chance to succeed.
Personalize your resume to the job requirements. In the past, a prospective employee would use the Objective portion of their resume to tailor their career intentions to match the job description. Nowadays, applicants accomplish this a little differently. Instead, at the top of your resume, use the title of the job you’re seeking as a header and after that, spell out the qualifications you bring to the table for that position. This helps with the key word searches many companies run now as well.
Focus on accomplishments and results. To best address your accomplishments on your resume, sit down and think about how you’ve changed the landscape of your business. Did you set a goal and find great success? Did you find a unique way to save money for your business? For example, list how your saved your company money and just how much. This allows an employer to think about how you could do the same for them.
Quantify your achievements wherever possible. When you list out your job experiences, it’s ideal to quantify your achievements in each bullet point. You can do this by frequency, range or scale. For example, frequency could be expressed by describing how often a week you accomplished a task. Range can be spelled out through showing the number of people you supervised at a given time. And, scale illustrates to what degree you’ve had an impact, such as in dollars or efficiency.
When you’ve completed your resume, have someone in your field review it. One way to do this is joining a professional organization where peers help each other network and where they conduct workshops. After a meeting, you can grab a colleague and ask them to take a look for their critique. You can also hire a coach to help you not only sharpen your resume but practice other skills like interviewing and following up. All these steps you take will put you ahead of many others in your job search.