By Georgiana Carollus
Is your resume generating interviews for you? The purpose of the
resume is to land interviews and if your resume is doing that for you,
your resume is doing its job. If you are not getting interviews, it
might be time to review and tweak your resume. Here are some resume tips
for you to consider.
Responsibilities Versus Accomplishments
Rather
than showcasing specific accomplishments, many resumes only present job
responsibilities. While it is important to note responsibilities, in
order to stand out, it is more important to capture specific
achievements that demonstrate the range of what you accomplished. If you
don't give specifics, employers will have no way of knowing what you
did or what you are capable of.
Numbers tell the story. Wherever
you can, add numbers. To your general job responsibilities, ask: What
was the result I achieved by doing this? How I can use numbers to
describe the results?
Organization and Presentation of Information
You
should pay close attention to the organization of your information.
Resume reviewers can see hundreds, if not thousands, of resumes every
day. It is essential that you present your information in a clean,
easy-to-read format. The font needs to be large enough to read and there
should be a good balance between text and white space.
One common
mistake made by those who create their own resumes is the creation of a
laundry list of bullets that include both job responsibilities and
accomplishments. A better strategy is to write a short paragraph or two
to describe job responsibilities and reserve the bullets to highlight
very specific accomplishments. This allows your accomplishments to be
more easily seen and appreciated.
Employer-Focused Resumes
The
best resumes are employer-focused and they recognize and address the
needs of the employer, not the job-searcher. Start your resume with a
Professional Summary that highlights your job-specific skills. Review
job notices and be sure to include how your skills can address the needs
of the employer. And, importantly, include keywords related to the
position requirements.
Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)
ATS
(Applicant Tracking Systems) are widely used today. While these systems
are becoming more sophisticated, there are formats, including headers,
footers, and text boxes, that can present scanning difficulties. To
avoid being invisible, take your contact information out of headers and
text boxes in Word documents.
Consult Career Service Professionals
If
your resume is not getting the results you want, consider consulting a
professional. If you are unemployed, check to see if you qualify for
State/Federal job search assistance and research local job clubs. If you
are a college graduate, find out if your college offers alumni career
services. Many Professional Resume Writers offer a complimentary review
of your resume along with an explanation of how they might be able to
help you.
An effective resume that stands out from others can
improve your chances of being noticed and invited for an interview.
Create a strong employer-focused resume to get the results you want!
Is your resume working for you? For resumes that get results, visit http://www.ResumeswithSpirit.com.
Georgiana
Carollus, a Certified Professional Resume Writer, is a career services
professional with more than 15 years of experience in career assessment,
career development and advancement, and all aspects of resume writing
and effective work search techniques.
Are you a friend to yourself? Visit http://www.FriendYourselfProject.com
to find practical tips on how to recognize your brilliance and to treat
yourself as well as you treat your friends and loved ones.