Hiring managers sift through thousands of applications every single day, and a saturated job market means that you need to work smarter to stand out from the rest. Having a well-written resume can improve your chances of getting an interview callback for your dream job.
Employers routinely use advanced tools such as HR recruitment software to streamline hiring processes. If you don’t want your resume to end up in the bin, you need to make sure it’s easy to read, and it highlights all your strengths and relevant experience. But if you haven’t written a resume in a while, it can be challenging to know where to begin.
-
Be selective
Many people make the mistake of listing down every job experience they’ve ever had. That’s for a curriculum vitae. The resume is a summary of your relevant skills and experience, and you need to be more discerning about what you include in the document. Only include skills and work experience that are directly related to the position you’re applying for.
-
Put your achievements at the top
Think of the resume as a one-page ad for you. People start reading from the top and work their way down, so put your best achievements in the upper half of the resume. Hiring managers typically only look at a resume for a few seconds, and you want to grab their attention right away. If you focus on your most relevant work experiences, you’re more likely to end up in the to-contact pile.
-
Limit everything to a single page
Many people would say that you should submit a two-page (or even more) resume, but never forget who you’re writing for. Your primary audience is a hiring manager who doesn’t have the luxury of time to go over every detail of a resume, so you might want to limit your content to a single page.
Make sure all your achievements, skills, and relevant experience can fit into a single page. If you’re having difficulty whittling your content down, focus on the successes that you’re most proud of. Strike a balance between brevity and impact.
-
Keep the formatting simple
While a creative resume can help you stand out among hundreds of applicants, you don’t want to bombard the reader with dizzying shapes and colors. A good resume is simple and easy to read. Use a basic font style such as Helvetica or Roboto. Leave plenty of white space to allow the eyes to rest and keep the font size between 11 and 13.
-
Use figures to your advantage
When writing your job accomplishments, make it a point to use facts and figures to supplement your claims. For instance, “reduced day-to-day costs” sounds too general and vague, but “reduced overhead by 45% without layoffs” seems like you know your stuff.
These steps will help you write a resume that will help you get noticed by hiring managers. As long as you keep your resume simple and easy to read, you’ll have no problem getting interview callbacks.
