When Youre Reviewing Resumes For Open Positions What Can Make A Resume Stand Out To You What Things Can Cause A Resume To Disqualify A Job Applicant
Kristen: For me, volunteer work or a demonstrated, continued interest in helping others is important and can really stand out. However, a resume with typos and grammatical errors stands out too in the wrong way. Misspellings and grammatical errors are the main reason resumes get overlooked. It is also important to have a format and text that can be easily read.
Why Action Verbs Are Important For Resumes
If you’re writing a cover letter or building a resume, then it’s important to use powerful action verbs when describing your experiences. Action verbs are more likely to grab the attention of the hiring manager, setting you apart from other candidates and increasing the likelihood that they will take a more in-depth look at your application package. Reviewing a list of resume bullets with strong action words can help you understand how impactful they can be when added to your own resume.
In this article, we discuss why action verbs are important, provide examples of sentences that use action verbs, explain how you can choose the proper tense for your resume and offer examples of action verbs with different verb tenses.
Why Resume Action Words Are So Important
When writing your resume, you need to include lists with bullet points. These bullet points should discuss the accomplishments and achievements that you made in each position. To do this, you can use resume action words to improve your application. If youre wondering why these resume action words are so beneficial and how you can use them, read on!
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The 3 Parts Of A Resume Summary Statement
A resume summary statement is literally that: a statement that summarizes your resume. Consider your major strengths, dash in a little bit of your work experience, and top things off with one of your major accomplishments. These are the three ingredients to a great resume summary statement.
- Strengths – Strengths correlate with the things that you do well. Perhaps youre not comfortable as a public speaker but you have first-class organizational skills. Or, perhaps youre a champion salesperson. Start by jotting down a couple of your strengths that immediately come to mind. Heres a list of strengths to help you reflect and see which ones you can claim as your own.
- Work Experience – Next, its time to consider your prior work experience. What elements comprised your prior roles? Did you dabble in sales or work a point of sale system? Did you write a lot of web copy or press releases? Make a list of the core elements within your prior work experience that you would like future employers to notice.
- Accomplishments – This has more to do with major accomplishments in your past roles than accolades or awards. For example, were you tasked with the rollout of a new document management system in your department? Consider any major projects you were assigned and how you overcame them, only to turn in a polished result.
Reasons Why Clear And Effective Communication Is Important
What is communication?
At the basic level, effective communication is the exchange of thoughts, information, ideas, and messages between people or groups. But its not communication unless the transmission is understood by the receiver. Communication can occur verbally, nonverbally, in writing, and through behavior as well as by listening and using feedback.
Effective and clear communication is a fundamental concept of an individuals personal and professional life. A recent study has suggested that written and verbal communication is involved in 90% of all business transactions. Ones personal life, however, depends entirely on how effectively one communicates.
Whether youre just networking, having a casual talk, or closing the biggest deal of your corporate career, the art of communicating clearly and effectively should not be overlooked. One can go as far as to say, it is the fundamental differentiator between good and great results.
No matter who or what kind of audience you are addressing, the art of communication can be a daunting task.
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Understand The Different Tenses
In order to choose the correct tenses for your resume, you first must understand the different options. There are three different tenses you can choose from: present, past and future tense. Present tense is the grammatical tense that you use when you’re describing an action that’s currently happening. Past tense is the grammatical tense you use to describe an action that happened in the past. Future tense is used to describe actions that will happen in the future. For the purpose of resume writing, you will typically only select between present and past tense. There are unique situations where students may use the future tense when they’re applying for internships.
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The Importance Of A Resume
The resume acts as a bridge between you and the prospective recruiter. Hence the importance of a resume can never be underestimated. So, to make the first impression, it is imperative that your resume stands out from the crowd first. It is up to you how do you want to be remembered by the hiring manager? Since companies do not have that much amount of time to interview each and every candidate, they require resumes from candidate to select the best ones to work with them.
Rejection happens, and it goes on and on until they find something interesting in one particular resume. This is the time when a well-structured, clean and precise resume plays its part. You might be thinking why is it so important to have a resume? Lets find out:
A professional writer would understand your requirement, evaluate your work history, validate your educational background and articulate it in a better manner. So, there is no harm in taking professional help in making your resume a perfect one.
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Make Sure It Is Written Well:
- It is essential that your resume is professional looking as well as easy to read and understand. Remember that the resume is not only viewed by the recruiter, but also by your future bosses. Make sure that it is grammatically correct and highlights the achievements and skills that you are capable of.
- The first part of a resume should be a summary or cv profile containing relevant information, such as the job in which you are applying, your contact details, and educational details.
- Make sure that it is very well-formatted without spelling or punctuation errors. Always proofread your resume to avoid any mistakes before you send it out.
- There are a lot of tools and options on the Internet for formatting your resume. However, it is always best to make sure that you have a clean document, without any potential errors. You can also make use of resume templates to help you organize your information better.
- You can find several online sources for building an effective and professional resume, as well as free tools to help you format it correctly.
Make A List Of Your Strengths
A key factor of any résumé is a skills matrix at the top. This ensures that someone can look at your document and quickly tell which skills you possess. If you know that you arent proficient in a specific software or could use some work in a specific area, dont include it. You want this list to highlight only your strongest areas so that an employer or hiring manager focuses on your strengths and not your weaknesses. By omitting areas that you need to work on, you will only draw attention to what youre good at.
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They Have A Greater Impact
One of the best reasons to use resume action words is that they leave a lasting impact. You dont just want to bypass the vetting process, you want to get an interview. And, you want to be memorable. Action words are strong, powerful, and lively. They help demonstrate your achievements and show the purpose with which you acted. Action words grab the readers attention. Be selective and purposeful in the ones you choose to get your name to stick out to the hiring manager and help you land an interview.
Are My Listed Skills Up
Many of us are guilty of allowing months or even years lapse between resume updates. As a result, I often see candidates leave out recent training, coursework, and projects that could make their candidacy stronger.
You may find that flipping through your calendar is a good way to capture all continuing professional educational classes, seminars and conferences that have advanced your technical skills. If you have presented a technical update at a recent professional event, include that as well.
Sometimes, intense client and personal commitments can keep professionals from investing time in personal development. If you find that you are missing key industry knowledge, use this opportunity to catch up.
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Important Steps For Clear And Effective Communication
The Importance Of Networking In The Job Search
It goes without saying that networking is incredibly important during a job search. Your chances of landing the job increase tenfold with the right employee referral. And, if you’re looking to make a career change, your professional network can support you by helping you find connections in the industry you are trying to break into or helping you find leads for jobs at specific companies.
Take the time to build meaningful relationships with those in your professional circle, so when the time comes to search for work, you can tap into those valuable connections for referrals, insights into job leads, and other valuable information.
Related: How to Network Your Way Into the Hidden Job Market
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You Can Persuade Employers Why It Is Worth Working With You
It is important to present yourself from the positive side. Your resume should include factual information and include reasons why you are worth working in the companies. Talk about what youve learned from previous experience. Describe your achievements in previous jobs. This will let employers know you can achieve more in their company.
Printing Packaging And Delivery
Use a laser printer to get crisp letter formation. Inkjet printers can have some bleed between characters that may make them overlap, and therefore be misunderstood. Folds can make it hard to scan your document. E-mail your résumé as an attachment if possible, but if a paper version is required, dont fold it. Use a clean, white piece of paper with black ink colors will only confuse the computer. Deliver the document in a nine-by-twelve-inch envelope, stiffened with a sheet of cardstock to help prevent damage to the document.
Figure 13.11 Sample Format for Chronological Résumé
Figure 13.12 Sample Format for Functional Résumé
Figure 13.13 Sample Format for Scannable Résumé
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Think Of It Like This
In her new book, Your Twenties career coach Jessica Smith tells her readers to think of updating your résumé as a special time to admire all youve accomplished. Shifting your mindset and taking this perspective when updating or writing your résumé helps to create a more positive experience, and also helps you accept credit and acknowledge all that youve accomplished. The biggest challenge people face when writing their résumés, and throughout the job search in general, is selling themselves short and underestimating their value. Think about this when you update your résumé. Be proud of your accomplishments, take credit where you deserve it, and highlight all that you can bring to the table.
Here are some guidelines on how to highlight your accomplishments and write an effective résumé.
Final Thoughts On The Importance Of Networking
It’s never too early or too late to invest in your network. The best way to improve your networking skills is to put yourself out there and give it a try. According to Baikowitz, “the worst networking mistake you can make is not trying at all.”
Click on the following link for more networking tips.
You need a strong resume to go with your strong network. Submit yours for a free resume review and we’ll tell you where you stand.
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Compile Your Academic History
This section needs to provide evidence of your academic qualifications and history. The less work experience you have, the more critical this section is. This helps individuals who are just starting in their field or changing industries highlight their candidature using their academic strengths.
Remember to mention the name of your school, the years you attended,and the degree you received. Anyone who has just left university can share their grades and coursework details to provide more information, but those applying for mid- to senior-level roles can take this information out.
Create A Great Resume
Once you have adopted a future-focused orientation, you are ready to create your resume. The presentation of your information, the layout, and the language you use to communicate value are extremely important. There are only two things you can be sure a hiring manager will do when reviewing your resume: Hiring managers will begin reviewing a resume by starting at the top, and they will read the lines from left to right. Their first impression will have the greatest impact and will influence how they perceive you. It creates the lens through which all other information is filtered.
Based on these principles, it is essential that the most relevant, important information be presented at the top and along the left side of your resume. The least important information should be at the bottom and along the right side.
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Why Is Knowing How To Make A Resume Important
Knowing how to make a resume is important because employers need it to review your qualifications and determine whether you are right for the job you have applied for. Resumes are also important because they are typically the first means of introducing yourself to an employer. What you choose to include or leave out influences their decision to schedule an interview with you.
Hartford Ctworks Career Center Offers Rsum Workshops Reviews Prior To Job Fair
Press Release/News ArticlePosted March 19, 2013
WETHERSFIELD, March 12 Its one of the most effective ways to get your proverbial foot in the door.
Having a well-written résumé often makes the difference between success and failure in terms of telling your story and making that all-important connection with a prospective employer, which can ultimately result in a job interview.
With the March 22 job fair at Manchester Community College fast approaching, we want to get the word out that our professional résumé writers from the Connecticut Department of Labor can help jobseekers who plan to attend this event but do not have a résumé or need help updating their current one, said State Labor Commissioner Sharon M. Palmer.
Free Résumé Basics workshops are now being offered at the Hartford CTWorks Career Center located at 3580 Main Street from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. on March 13 and 19. In addition, between now and the MCC job fair, those with a résumé are welcome to take advantage of free résumé critiques in the Hartford office. Walk-ins are welcome between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Mondays and Fridays.
The MCC Regional Job Fair, taking place March 22 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Manchester Community Colleges Great Path Academy Gymnasium, will feature more than 50 employers.
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Whats The Best Way To Format Your Resume
Kristen: Keep it simple and easy to read. Generally, a good resume outline should like this.
- Education
- List this first if you are a current student.
Provide What Is Needed:
To make sure that your resume is not just like other resumes that are accumulated in the hands of employers, you need to go through the different sections and fill out what they need. Most likely, there are three industries that have the main job requirements in the industry and if your resume is about those two industries, then you should go over them. If you are applying for a position that involves both, then go over both of them so that the employer knows you have experience with it.
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