How many resumes do you think corporate recruiters review every day? It may depend on their hiring circumstances, but Pasona recruiters meet more than 500 job seekers every year and the number of resumes that they review are 30 times that number; 15,000 resumes per year! Despite these daunting numbers, by following a few simple steps, it's not difficult to make your resume stand out.
What Is A Resume?
A resume is your communication tool to summarize and showcase your abilities, attributes, experience, skill sets and education to employers. Resumes should be only one or two pages long so you need to optimize this space to sell yourself. Your resume must convince hiring managers to want to meet with you in person.
Resumes That Attracts Hiring Managers
Remember, not only do Human Resources departments review your resume, but also Division Managers and Supervisors. Even at the first screening stage, there may be a handful of people reviewing your resume.
Resumes should be short and to the point. Recruiters tend to skim through resumes that are long and drawn out. If you have less than 5 years of experience, your resume should be one page. If you have more than 5 years of experience, it could be up to 2 pages. Too much emphasis on the appearance of a resume such as font type, font size or having too many paragraphs, may distract recruiters. Rather than trying to stand out on form, create a resume that is easy for recruiters to read. Use no more than two different font sizes, keeping in mind that size 10 font is widely used and make sure that you have adequate margin space.
Recently, many recruiters have begun screening resumes by key words. Gather key words that appear on the job posting, company website, etc, and insert those words on your resume, when appropriate. When describing past experience, try to use "Action Verbs" such as Directed and Managed. These terms have a powerful influence and make your resume sound impressive.
Make sure that your resume is consistent.
We sometimes see resumes where the targeted job is totally unrelated to the past experience. If you are applying for a job in a completely new field, maybe this cannot be helped. Nevertheless, it is important to try to describe your past experience in a manner that is consistent with the job for which you are applying. If you have an unrelated designation or skill set for a particular job, it may be best not to mention them on your resume.
Having specific numbers on resumes can be effective. If you have Management or Supervisory experience, you may want to mention how many people you managed. If you are in sales, mention how many clients/accounts you handled. If you are in the accounting field, then mention the sales volumes of the companies where you worked. Numbers can bring a resume alive.
Resume Headings And Placement
Name, address, phone number, email address.
Desired position, your abilities and capabilities, what you want to do and how you can contribute to the company.
List work experience summary, qualifications and computer software that you have experience with. You can also list your strengths and positive attributes. Use “Key Words" as described above.
This is the most important section on your resume. List the names of the companies where you worked, the positions/title held and length of employment for each position. Start with the most recent employment and work back.
Name of school, major, GPA and graduation date. Start with the most recent school attended. (GPA is optional.)
List of certificates and licenses.
Languages, computer software, programming languages, and other technical skills
Skills, capabilities, qualifications, and education on your resume should contain Key Words that suit the position for which you are applying. A concise resume that has consistent content will be more appealing to the recruiter and will increase the possibility of being selected for an interview.
Company names, positions held and length of employment are listed in chronological order. Commonly used and easily reviewed by recruiters.
Based on the position and duties that you are applying for, this format highlights your past experience and skill sets. Commonly used by candidates who have either a lot of experience or very little experience. It is also used by candidates who have frequently changed jobs.
Most basic format resume. Suitable for new graduates.