The resume is the first thing that a recruiter notices about a candidate; therefore, one must ensure that one’s resume stands apart in the crowd. So here are some simple yet effective ideas that will give one’s resume the edge over others.
- Build experience: The most desirable factor in a candidate is the experience so concentrate on gaining experience in one’s desired field. Explore internships and volunteering opportunities that will help one to hone the skills and gain the attention of the recruiter. Everyone goes to college and gets the degree; so what makes one special? Find the answer to this question.
- Go for the details: Simple listing out your previous job responsibilities or the positions you held won’t make your resume special; because that’s what everyone does. A resume is not the place where one should be modest; write in detail about one’s achievements. Ask a friend to go through it as a third opinion is always helps.
- List the accomplishments and not skills: The recruiter wants to know how one uses one’s skills and not what are they. So, use active voice and describe how one used one’s skills to achieve those accomplishments. Instead of beating around the bush, be specific. For example, if one is applying for the customer care service sector; sentences such as ‘effectively managed customer interactions and diffused tense situations’, will make a positive impression on the recruiter.
- Keep it real: Lying on the resume is the worst mistake one can do while applying for a job because the recruiter will find out the truth sooner or later. This tip sounds obvious, but a lot of people believe that a ‘little exaggeration’ will not harm. However, one must remember that a candidate must go through a background check before being offered the position.
- Statistics is the way to go: Use statistics to talk about the results one achieved in the previous positions because it is powerful and not often used by job seekers. An average recruiter does not spend more than 30 seconds in scanning a resume so the statistics will immediately catch the attention of the recruiter.
- Make thesaurus one’s best friend: In the process of being descriptive, one might end repeating a lot of phrases and words. Use a thesaurus to avoid such an embarrassing situation and create sentences that are unique and are minimally repetitive.
- Proofread: Go through every word and line before one clicks on the send button. Silly grammatical and semantical errors are a strict no-no when it comes to hiring candidates. Errors on the resume send out the message to the recruiter that the applicant is crass or careless.
Use these simple tips at www.resumebuild.com and shine amongst the hundreds of applicants!
