Show How You’ve Grown By Telling A Story
You’ve probably never thought to tell a story with your resume content, but it’s a great way to get results. You can use your resume as a way to showcase your experiences, your accomplishments, and the skills you have, but also make it clear how you’ve grown over the years. How have your skills developed as the years have gone on and as you’ve changed positions? Show that off and you’re sure to get a call for an interview!
Trying To Land A New Job Here Are Some Easy Ways To Take Your Resume To The Next Level
When applying for a job, you’re counting on your skills, experience, and your overall personality to help you land that coveted position. However, before you even get that chance to meet with a potential employer, you need to get a call for an interview. And you’re counting on your resume to convince a recruiter that you are worth the time for said interview.
If you haven’t already figured it out, your resume is the key first step in helping you land your dream job. Your resume is what will get your foot in the door and land you the interview you need to secure the position you’re applying for. So, it’s crucial that you make sure your resume is spectacular before you send it off to a recruiter. To help you out, I’m sharing seven ways you make your resume stand out from the crowd and impress everyone who see it.
How Can I Find Hidden Jobs
The more people who know that youre looking for work, the more likely someone will have information about a job that isnt advertised yet, or that may become available in the near future. You might be able to get the name of a good contact, or even a recommendation or referral. The best strategies for finding hidden jobs are to build your professional network and make an interview bucket list to target specific companies.
Here are other ways to find hidden jobs in your job search:
Social Media
Take advantage of social media sites to promote your brand. LinkedIn is, of course, the most commonly used professional networking site. In fact, your chances of getting a job without having a LinkedIn profile are fairly slim. Make sure you’re so recruiters and hiring managers can find you. Also, be aware that whatever you share on social media is in no way private, and potential employers can access it. So, be smart about your social networking.
Informational Interviews
Another way to access hidden jobs is to set up informational interviews with companies youre interested in. Find someone who currently does what you want to do and ask to set up a time to have a quick chat to learn more. This is something thats often done by people just starting out in a particular field, but it can actually be helpful at all stages of your career.
Consider Contract Work Or Consulting
Career Fairs
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Why Naming A Resume And Cover Letter Is Important
Many applicants make the mistake of applying for a position digitally with a resume or cover letter file which has a generic name, such as resume.pdf, or unprofessional like Document_1.pdf. Although what is inside the file once its opened will be more important to a hiring manager, its still important to make a strong choice when naming your resume or cover letter. Not only does a professional name reflect well on your attention to detail, but it also makes your hiring managers job easier. When many candidates all apply with generic names on files and are stored in a folder of applicants for the job, its hard to differentiate them from each other on their computer. Your professional resume name will help you stand out and make it easier for the hiring manager to stay organized.
Create A Resume Checklist
Doesnât matter if this is your first resume or 100th, creating a resume checklist ensures youâve covered everything. What should be on this checklist?
- Is your resume one to two pages?
- Did you include all the necessary information, including contact info?
- Did you run a spell check?
- Did you put your resume through an optimizer like the one Prepped offers?
- Is your resume formatted correctly without odd spaces or indentation?
Remember, in most cases, your resume is your first impression with an employer. You want to make sure you represent yourself accurately and that youâre judged by your qualificationsâânot because you spelled something wrong.
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Why Are Jobs Hidden
Jobs can be invisible for several reasons. One reason is that it takes time and costs money to advertise a position. If an employer knows that the job can be filled internally or from a pool of candidates already on file, by headhunting, or via word of mouth, theyre not likely to advertise. Some companies dont post open positions because of the deluge of applicants they receive. Its impossible for them to sort through the 700+ candidates who apply for a job. Another reason why a position might not be advertised is that the employer is looking to replace the person currently in the position.
Highlight Awards And Recognition
Demonstrating that others value your contributions often has a greater influence than you tooting your own horn. Include a category heading for honors and awards if you can fill it with formal recognitions.
In your descriptions of the awards, use keywords that imply recognition, like “selected,” “elected,” and “recognized.” Quality recommendations are another form of recognition. Beef up your and be sure to include a link to your profile on your resume. If an employer asks for written recommendations, select recommenders who know your skills and accomplishments well.
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How To Name Your Resume And Cover Letter
When you are applying for jobs, it’s important to give your resume a title that makes it clear that the resume is yours, not just that of any random candidate.
It is particularly important when you send employers your resume and cover letter as attachments . When the employer opens your document, he or she will see what you have named your document. You, therefore, want the title to be professional, and to state who you are clearly.
Read below for more advice on what to name your resume file and other job application documents, as well as what not to name them. Also, read below for advice on how to save your documents.
List Relevant Skills And Keywords
Resume keywords are important terms of interest that recruiters look for whether skimming a resume or searching within an applicant tracking system . The more role-specific keywordsoften hard skillsyour resume contains, the better optimized your resume is.
99 percent of Fortune 500 companies use applicant tracking systems to sort, filter, and search applicants. Some ATS, like Taleo, can automatically rank your resumes content against the job description, allowing recruiters to focus only on the best applicants. Recruiters often also search their applicant pool for important resume keywords, like customer service, accounts receivable, or Adobe Photoshop.
Where on your resume should you include important skills?
Its crucial to incorporate important skills throughout your entire resume, beginning with your headline which should, when possible, include the most relevant keyword: the job title. You can also list skills in a dedicated skills section of your resume if using the hybrid resume format.
How do you find keywords to include in your resume?
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Include Job Related Interests
You dont need to tell employers about everything you like doing, especially not generic things like watching television or playing sports. But, if your hobbies, personal interests or volunteer positions tie in with the job, including them helps to show employers that you really are passionate about the work you do, or would like to do.
Lose The Old Information
Once youve added your new experiences, you may find you dont have room for everything. So, its probably time to do some cutting and trimming of the old information.
Of course, if you have a new email address, social media handles, or even a new phone number, youll want to update those. As for other contact information, keep your city and state , but consider dropping the street address if you need room. And, you dont need to list your landline and your cell phone. One will do.
Once you have between 10 and 15 years of work experience, its not necessary to list every job youve ever had. While you probably gained some great customer experience scooping ice cream that one summer in high school, its probably not doing you any favors on your resume anymore, even if you are head of customer services.
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Understand The Job Role First Then Tailor Your Resume To It
When writing a resume typically people try to create a one size fits all version to send to any and every company they are applying to. Now imagine you are the recruiter sifting through a stack of resumes on your desk, do you think youd pick the non tailored/generic resume? Before you begin writing your resume read the description of the role to figure out what personality traits are essential and what the company is looking for in a candidate. After you find this, you can tailor your resume around these strengths and back it up with some of your real world experience. This will automatically put you a step ahead of other applicants who still stick to the one size fits all strategy.
Use The Right Language To Stand Out
Trite, lackluster descriptions of your job duties and accomplishments won’t do you any favors. Make sure you’re using strong action words like “achieved,””designed,””improved” and “established” to describe your roles and projects, said Sade. This, he said, will make you sound confident while imparting vital information. But be cautious about depending on action verbs make sure to include details about how you improved a process or achieved a goal.
“Words such as ‘professional,”results-driven’ and ‘detail-oriented’ provide very little helpful information,” Sade said. “It’s better to use actual job titles than these words.”
Diya Obeid, founder and CEO of applicant tracking software company JobDiva, also said that you should remove buzzwords like “go-getter,””team player” and “go-to person” from your resume. These come off as fluff and only take up precious space on your resume.
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Save Your Resume As A Pdf File
You want to make it as easy as possible for hiring managers to review your resume. One way to help them is by saving your resume as a PDF instead of an editable document, like a Word document. Saving a file as a PDF ensures that the file will be easy to open, and it will retain all formatting so you dont have to worry about design and layout issues.
When you save your resume file, also be mindful of the file name. The hiring manager is going to see the name of the file. Use phrasing that makes it easy for them to find and access your file like: Resume for .
Highlight Your Skills On The Top Third Of The Resume
While it’s important to customize your resume with appropriate keywords to beat the bots, you also need to craft your resume with the recruiter and hiring manager in mind. Focus on the top third of the first page of your resume above the fold, as they say in the newspaper and web development worlds because this is the small window that needs to grab their attention.
Clearly line up your qualifications with the requirements from the job description and place them in a section at the top of your resume, just below your contact information and target job title. Resume writers refer to this section by many names Performance Summary, Summary of Qualifications, Professional Summary, etc. but they all serve the same function on your resume.
In only 3-5 lines or bullets, summarize your experiences and achievements that best match the most important requirements in the job description. In other words, show the reader why you’re a great fit for the role by highlighting your most impressive and relevant qualifications.
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Creating Your Cover Letter
Every time you send out a résumé, you’ll need to have a great cover letter to send along with it. It’s a good idea to customize your cover letter for each job you’re applying for. The cover letter is another way of introducing yourself to a potential employer. What it says about you can be the difference between getting in the door and missing your chance.
How Long Should A Cv Be
A standard CV in the UK should be no longer than two sides of A4. Take a look at our example of a chronological CV for inspiration.
That said one size doesn’t fit all. For example, a school leaver or recent graduate with minimal experience may only need to use one side of A4. Although not used as often, a three-page CV might be needed for those in high-level roles or for people who have gained a lot of experience or worked in multiple jobs over the last five to ten years. For example, some medical or academic CVs may be longer depending on your experience. While it’s important to keep your CV concise you should also avoid selling your experience short.
To save space only include the main points of your education and experience. Stick to relevant information and don’t repeat what you’ve said in your cover letter. If you’re struggling to edit your CV ask yourself if certain information sells you. If it doesn’t cut it out. If it’s not relevant to the job you’re applying for delete it and if it’s old detail from ten years ago summarise it.
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Creative Resume Ideas To Stand Out Online In 2021
Are you looking for a position with a new company or looking to collaborate on big projects as a specialist? Youre going to need a resume!
To stand out in todays marketplace with a memorable first impression, youll need a resume website.
A whole website just for your resume? Yes. And with the amazing resume website templates available nowadays, its much easier to create that you may think. So lets get to it.
Tips To Make Your Resume Stand Out
For every resume in existence, it seems there are 100 articles, webinars, seminars, and blog posts about how to improve your resume.
Here, Ive distilled down 20 of the best tips Ive found for a stand out resume in the military-to-civilian transition:
Related: Does your resume pass the 6-second test? Get a FREE assessment.
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Understanding Why Resume Names Are Important
Tips For Emailing A Cover Letter
Unless youre submitting your résumé and cover letter on a job submission website, chances are the employer has asked that you email your application directly. In that case, you can either attach your cover letter as a PDF to the email as you would your résumé, or you can include your cover letter in the body of the email. Other things to keep in mind:
- Make the most of an email subject line. Don’t just leave the subject line blank or insert a job number unless that’s what you’re instructed to do. Use the subject line to sell yourself. For example, if you’re applying for a sales position, in your subject line say something like “Experienced Salesperson for Executive Sales Position.”
- Use plain styling. While some email allows special formatting, many will not recognize specialized text, bullets, tabs, boldface text or formatted text.
- Remove the contact’s address. If your cover letter becomes the body of the email, you can skip the formality of including the contact’s mailing address.
- Email your cover letter to a friend before sending it to your employer. This will give you an opportunity to make sure the formatting and content look OK on the receiving end.
- Maintain a professional tone. Remember that this is not an email to your friend or family member. Avoid using abbreviations, slang, wild colors, emoticons or inspirational quotes as part of your signature or any other everyday email features.
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