5 Ways To Get Your Resume Noticed

Your resume can make or break your application for a job. Poor formatting, grammar and missing information may eliminate your chances even if you are the perfect candidate for the job. There are many professional resources (like BKG) and online tools to help you create a noticeable resume.  Follow these tips to create one with impact so you stand out from the crowd.

Modify Your Resume to Match The Job

Whether you format them or not, it’s a great idea to use buzzwords from the job ad, too.  SInce those are the details they’re looking for, it only makes sense to have them listed in your resume where they can see that you are going to be an easy match for the job position.  This should go without saying, but only do this if they’re a match for your skills!  Falsifying a resume just to get the buzzwords is never going to work well

Optimize your job history to the relevant options

There’s an assumption that you absolutely have to list every single job you’ve ever had on your resume, but this is false!  Since a resume should be a single page, ideally, you’ll want to highlight the main positions you’ve had, and leave it there.  If applicable, these should be positions related to the one you’re applying for!

Put the valuable details up high on your resume

You know that expression “above the fold” for the newspaper?  You’ll need to put valuable details up high and prominent on your resume so that the hiring personnel will see them first.  It’s very unlikely they’ll read the entire thing through, so make sure that the critical information is near the top so that they’ll learn what they need to even if they just read the introductory part!

Make it skim-friendly

Skimming is how most resumes are read, let’s be honest.  Design it with that in mind by using short sentences and bullet points wherever possible so that the readers see what they need to without slogging through long chunks of text.

Experiment with color and formatting (carefully)

This is a tricky area, but it’s a great option!  If you are applying for a job where it doesn’t specify a strict format for the resume, consider adding some color and formatting sparkle.  For example, bold with your keywords (more on that in a moment), and consider adding a bit of color to bullet point dots, or in line breaks from one section to the next.  While you will want to stick to standard fonts, try something like Arial or Garamond rather than classic Times New Roman.

Conclusion

When in doubt, have a professional take a look at your resume before you send it.  Professional recruiters, such as BKG, can often help you make sure that our resume is perfect every single time, too, which is more important than you’d think!  It always comes down to the details, at the end of the day…