Creating a resume can be difficult. There is so much to say, yet not enough space. Trust me, I know the struggle of having to be selective about what to include. I will never forget how my first resume consisted of three pages. I know, what was I thinking? I had a high school staff look at it the day I had an interview and comment that it was too much. There was no time to fix it because I had my interview right after, but it worked out because I got the job! However, I definitely do not recommend writing a three-page resume. I know this might be hard for those who haven’t had much experience with resumes, but I hope these five tips help you make your resume stand out:
- Keep Your Resume to a single page
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This is probably the most difficult part of creating a resume. I can’t stress enough how important it is to have a one-page resume. Employers only take 15 to 30 seconds to look at your resume. They don’t have time to look over anything longer than a page. They want to see if you match what they are looking for in a future employee. With this being said, it’s important to note that you don’t really need to add your phone number, address, picture or even ethnicity. It prevents some recruiters from being biased. Let them choose you for an interview based on what you bring to the table to get to know you better!
- Match Your Resume to the job description
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At first, I didn’t know how much this could affect your chances of being selected for an interview. The more your resume sounds like what they are looking for, the better your chances are of obtaining an interview. Of course, not every job that you apply for will have the same description. You need to constantly update your resume to match the job. It might be a bit time-consuming, but this trick makes the process worth it. Something one of my professors suggested was to create a document where I write all the jobs, experiences and skills that I have acquired. He said that this would make it easier when we have to create resumes for certain jobs because then we can pull and choose which experiences are most applicable. Also, make sure to use action verbs throughout your resume to avoid the bots!
- Put your headings in bold or capital letters
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As I previously mentioned, recruiters don’t spend a lot of time looking at your resume. It’s usually a quick scan and then a decision on whether they want to schedule you for an interview or not. So, it is very important that you bold or capitalize your headings. It makes your resume look cleaner, and it’s easier to read.
- Don’t put too much information on the page
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You do not need to put a lot of information on your resume. Let’s be real, who wants to know what elementary school you attended? Definitely not your recruiters because it doesn’t add to their process. These are the things that take up space, and the items you should avoid. Another thing to do is to describe as many of your experiences and work organizations as possible. However, don’t exceed more than two sentences. Try to keep it to one sentence; it’s important to be concise!
- Always Double check for errors!
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If you think you’re done with your resume, let me be the first to tell you that you’re not! It is important to always double check for any errors. You can always make something better. As I mentioned earlier, the resume you create for one job shouldn’t be the one you send to all the other jobs you applied. It needs to constantly be updated to match each job description. This will most likely boost your chances of getting noticed by a recruiter. So please, please copy edit!
Always remember to keep your resume up to date. Add the most important experiences! I am sure you will all complete wonderful resumes and ace your interviews. Always believe in yourself! You got this!