The job market today is very competitive and in order to get noted you have to make your resume stand out from the rest. To be remarkable your resume should be somewhat different from everyone else. If you aspire to be remarkable you have to be creative and your resume must be useful and in the end it should help you get the job.
Unlike the cover letter, which receives a lot of attention, your resume will probably get less than a minute of the hiring manager’s time. First impressions are very important and your resume should leave a great first impression on the person hiring. In those few seconds of reviewing your resume they are very likely to develop a crucial first impression of you as a person and most importantly as an employee.
Having said that, a minute is not a lot of time to make a lasting, remarkable and positive impression, which is why it is in fact crucial to spend time perfecting your application resume. The goal of those looking for a job should be to create a dynamic and powerful resume that enables them to easily go through the hiring manager screening process and your qualifications get the attention that they deserve. Moreover, we strongly believe that your resume should complement the other aspects of your application to help show that you are sough- after, talented and outstanding candidate.
From experience I have learnt that orienting the application material towards the needs of the employer instead of your own personal goals is a very effective way of getting noticed. Another tip to make a resume stand out is the practice of including resume accomplishments as opposed to job duties. Anyone can list a number of things that they did in position such as answering the phone, filing or booking meeting rooms. What makes it remarkable with a little bit of more effort is articulating your work history in terms of value. Something which I found to help me do this task is that I think about my previous job and ask the following questions:
- Did I help my team achieve goals in a quicker manner?
- What resources did I make use of?
- Did I help the company save money?
Once that you answer these questions and identify your accomplishments it is only a matter of phrasing. The following are statements of how to make your previous duties articulate and eye-catching:
- Trained 20 employees over 2 years
- Completed a project 3 months ahead of schedule
- Raised €20,000 through 5 direct appeal campaigns
Although you are definitely more than just a number, enumerating your resume accomplishments for an employer is one of the most effective ways of advancing in a hiring process.
Very often recruiters complain that all resumes are the same and those that are noticed are not noticed for the right reasons. They also mention that sometimes people forget that resumes are a great opportunity for people to show skills and demonstrate them. In the past, when the number of educated people using resumes was low, resumes were a very efficient tool. Nowadays, it is a very different story. The number of people with degrees and impressive educational backgrounds have exploded over the past decade has proliferated, and everyone uses a resume whether they are a nuclear scientist or a plumber. Recruiters receive thousands of resumes for a single job ad and the possibilities of standing out are quite reduced.
When you are thinking about elaborating your resume you really have to think it through. You can’t only put everything you have done and hope for the best. Being specific is very important and you have to find a market where you will stand out. If you want your resume to look more effective and less boring you need to put some life into it, your trademark, your specialty whilst at the same time always respecting the basic rules. You need to research your target and customise your resume accordingly.
To conclude I will give you some tips that will help you create a superb review that will get the employers thinking about wanting to learn more about you:
- Include the strongest material on top of your resume
- Use detailed phrases when describing your impact on the organisations that you have worked for
- Try and stick to a one page resume
- Be as thorough, but as concise as possible
- Do not make things up or be too personal
- Go through it well before you send it