When someone is looking at your resume, you have approximately seven seconds to catch their attention. It’s a challenge to some and easy for others. However, if you think it’ll to be a challenge to have your future employers notice you, I am in the same boat . Thankfully, after doing some research, this is not the case most of the time. There are few aspects employers look for when skimming through hundreds of resumes from strangers. Here are a few of those qualities and some tips on how to spruce up your current one.
First things first, the format of your resume has to be up to date. Also, fun fact, there’s more than one type of resume! There’s a functional one, chronological one, and a hybrid one (a combination of the two). When you choose the format suits you best, keep in mind what type of employer you are applying to work with. Your layout shows you are the type of person they can see working at their establishment.
After seeing your beautifully structured resume, employers look at your skills. Having experience may be a huge priority, but having hard and soft skills are just as important. When listing out your skills, be careful not to include overused phrases or cliches. In addition to this note, use powerful and positive words.
Think you are finished? Well, think again! Here’s another intriguing fact that you probably didn’t know existed in the job hiring world. Turns out a great deal of companies use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to sort through the thousands of resumes received online. Then, a hiring employer sees the ranked applications and searches for the people they would like to contact. That’s pretty cool and nerve-wrecking to learn!
Here’s a more detailed description about ATS: https://www.jobscan.co/blog/8-things-you-need-to-know-about-applicant-tr…
The final, yet simple, tip is to make sure your email is somewhat professional. I know you may not think about why that is so important because you had the same email for over 10 years now. If you, by chance, made a simple email that was just your first and last name, kudos to you. It’s a minute but important email tip to make yourself more prepared.
Given that you weren’t having any luck getting any call backs from jobs you applied to before, maybe one of these tips can help you score a position in the career you want. We put so much pressure on ourselves as we try to be prosperous in the adult world. Sometimes a little pressure is beneficial because we can’t grow staying in our comfort zone. Overall, you can only be the best version of yourself everyday and let the opportunities come naturally- you’ve got this!