Your resume is the first time your name will cross a hiring manager’s desk, so it needs to make an impact. If you currently consider it ‘good enough,’ this won’t cut it.
The best jobs are inundated with resumes from qualified candidates, so yours needs to shine if you want it to stand out from the crowd. Here are three tips to polish your resume to perfection.
Tailor the Content
Submitting the same resume to every opportunity doesn’t cut it anymore. Increase your chances of getting noticed by carefully reading the job description, paying close attention to both its tone and any keywords. Take your findings back to your resume, adjusting the tone to match the company’s and inserting keywords in a natural-sounding manner.
Beyond that, you’ll want to customize the skills, accomplishments and achievements listed on your resume for each position. It takes extra time, but allows you to better highlight your fit.
Ditch the Objective Statement
Once considered a resume staple, the objective statement is no longer necessary. Instead, use this valuable real estate to include a brief career summary — no more than a few sentences — that highlights your skill set relevant to the job. This should set the tone for the rest of your resume, so make sure it aligns with the content below.
Avoid Superfluous Wording
You only have a page or two to sell your fit to the hiring manager, so don’t waste space by stating the obvious. Hollow statements serve no purpose other than filling the page with mindless copy.
For example, if you’re an accountant, don’t just say you participated in the annual budget creation process — the hiring manager already knows that. Instead, highlight the amount of money you helped the company save by analyzing the books and calling out unnecessary expenditures.
Sharing specific achievements emphasizes your skills and overall fit for the job. This is what will get you hired — not just including the same generic information as everyone else.
Having trouble finding a great new job because your work history isn’t ideal? PrideStaff North Dallas wants to help. Contact us today to get the fresh start you deserve!
