As the cost of living crisis continues unabated, higher-paying jobs have become a key challenge for many. Unfortunately, no one will hire you just because you need a job.
This is where your CV comes in! Your resume, complete with your experience, skills, qualifications and impressive language, is there to convince them that you are worthy of being invited for an interview.
Here are six essential tips to help your resume stand out and land you a new job faster.
1. Get the basics right
Of course, your next CV upgrade is worth nothing if you don’t get the basics right, so let’s start at the beginning. You need the following section:
Stay professional by writing without pronouns, using a variety of vocabulary, and avoiding images and graphics (including photographs).
2. Show off achievements
Show that you are adding value to the company by focusing on past performance. It’s not good to say “that wasn’t the job”. Everyone achieves something professionally, regardless of their role or career stage. If it hadn’t added value in some way, it wouldn’t have taken the role. Think about how your company would have been negatively impacted without you, and ask yourself how you could have helped increase profits, reduce costs, improve efficiency, or support your customers. This is just an example of what you may have achieved. If your thinking power is limited, there will be many more examples. Don’t forget to shout out for the awards and positive feedback too!
Quantification Your track record makes your resume even stronger.
3. Stay up to date
Honestly, no one cares what you did in the 80’s. Don’t make yourself look dated or open-minded
potential age discrimination By dwelling on the past. Your resume should focus firmly on your recent career and qualifications. As you progress through your career, reduce the amount of detail you include. Or even remove the previous role entirely. Think of your resume as a sales brochure, not a life story.
4. Make it relevant
The strongest CV is tailor-made for a specific job. If there are any that are irrelevant to the role in question, simply remove them. Yes, that means you may end up needing multiple versions of your resume as you apply for different roles, but it’s worth the effort. Your objective is to present a focused document showing how you fit seamlessly into the role you are advertised for, presenting you as a jack of all trades and a master of nothing It’s not about providing a rambling story. I’m not saying that you should delete your entire job, leaving a huge hole in your career story. Consider how you can reconfigure that role to meet your employer’s needs.
5. Hit without scrolling
Research shows that recruiters only spend a few seconds reading a resume for the first time, so first impressions need to make an immediate impact. All important information should be on the top half of the first page of your resume. This means explaining what you do and why you’re good at it before you mention your cat or your favorite football team (don’t do that, read point 3 aren’t you?). Followed by a 3-4 sentence profile that instantly sets the scene and positions you as a viable (or rather, desirable) candidate, and relevant keywords in the skills section.
6. Presentation, presentation, presentation
A compelling resume is more than just wording. A real first impression presentation. A CV written in a small font is jam-packed with cramped paragraphs end-to-end and is rather jarring. Keep it short and accessible, because not everyone is as drawn to the details of your career story as you are. If you want to make the reader’s job easier, you need bullet points, ample white space, standard fonts, and clear section headings. Sometimes less is more.
Put it out there!
You’ve found your dream job and created an attractive resume. Hit the send button and send your masterpiece out into the world. Now you should start honing your interviewing skills to prepare for the inevitable invitation. I wish you the best!
