In the age of technology, job applicants are now designing and writing their resumes to get past two gatekeepers: the Application Tracking System and an HR professional. You've heard it like a broken record, tailor your language, pitch, and professional story so that you draw a clear picture for why you're right for the job. So here are the top 10 tips to get you noticed by a robo-scanner and HR professional.
1. Feature results, not your daily to-dos
A common mistake is to list all your daily tasks on your resume and let that be it. While you can use these to-dos as a guide, think about what you were able to achieve by executing those actions. What results were you able to deliver? HR professionals want to see the impact you made.
2. Choose a format fitting for your content
Typically, describing your work history in a reverse chronological timeline is the easiest way to follow an applicant's career growth. But it's not the only way, and sometimes that format doesn't work for job seekers who have held numerous roles in a variety of industries. Think about dividing your resume into sections that help you feature the most relevant work experience and achievements for the role you're applying to.
3. Make it easy to connect
Show your contact information in the easiest and most accessible place on your resume. Finding your email, phone number, or even Linkedin profile should be quick and simple. Depending on the resume format your choose, the top of the resume is one of the most popular places to feature your contact information.
4. Add a summary
Gone are the days of the "objective" where you write the position you're going after. Replace it with a "summary," which is a 2-3 line pitch for who you are, what you do, and top skills or qualities you embody that will be an asset to the company you'd like to work for. Adding this to the top of your resume will also create context for the rest of your work experience.
5. Design your resume to be "skim-able"
According to The Ladders Eye-Tracking study, recruiters spend an average of 7.4 seconds skimming a resume. This means you want to choose a format and write your achievements so that it's easily and quickly digestible. Try simple layouts and select clear fonts.
6. Order your content wisely
Keep consistent with the format and list the company, position, dates, and bullet points in the same way for each section. It makes it easier for HR professionals to spot the most relevant information. Also, consider the order of your bullet points by aligning what the job description is looking for with your prior career results. Learn what every resume needs in its design here.
7. Use the job description to create your resume
Keywords are sprinkled throughout the job description that you want to incorporate into your resume. You can feature these in your skills section, and you'll also want to give thought on how you articulate your past results to incorporate language also found in the job description. Each job description is different and describes their ideal candidate in a different way. You want to speak their language. This is why we say to tailor each resume to the job you're applying to.
8. Craft concise bullet points
Aim to craft each bullet point to one line. This makes your resume more "skim-able" (see #5), and it also challenges you to cut the fluff and capture the most important achievements.
9. Focus on transferrable skills
If you're looking to pivot your career or make a jump up the company ladder, it's inevitable that you won't have every quality needed to land that job. That's ok! Focus on featuring transferrable skills that you have honed and are applicable in a variety of ways to lead a team and/or drive results.
10. Save your resume as a PDF with your name
Again, make it easy for an HR professional to contact you. Save your resume as a PDF (so the formatting stays consistent no matter if you're opening the document on your phone, a PC, or Mac) and make sure it is labeled with your full name.
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