Resume Writing Tips To Help You Land A Job

Now that you are ready to search for a job or switch company, it is important to have a stellar resume which makes you stand out among the lot. Here are the tips which would help you to write an amazing resume to impress the hiring managers right from initial screening till you get hired.

1. Use keywords in your resume

In the digital age, you need to understand that resumes get screened digitally. With less demand and more supply of labor in the market, HRs don’t have enough time to go through all the resumes. They use automated systems to screen the resume.

So, no matter the flowery professional words you use in your resume, it will reach the trashcan if the required keywords for the job are not mentioned in your resume.

For example, if you are a programmer, mention all the relevant keywords with respect to programming. It might be the programming languages like java, python, php, etc or the frameworks such as spring, anaconda or laravel. Do your research and mention the relevant keywords with respect to your work experience.

2. Follow the industry style

Every industry has a specific format of resume which includes the tone, written style and even visual representation. To write an amazing resume, you need to know which style suits the best for your industry. So, how to go about it?

Well, at first, you need to review examples of resumes in your industry. For example, a graphic designer would incorporate all the skills he/she had learned on their resume by visually representing their skills.

Front-end web developers might have a portfolio website where they would display all the front-end development techniques they had learned. They mention the name of their website on the resume for reference. These things, though not mandatory, helps you stand out among the lot while screening.

In all cases irrespective of the industry, your resume should be simple and easy to read as recruiters spend minimal time reading your resume during the resume screening process. Write only the key and relevant information.

3. Include numbers

If you have prior experience, include numbers in your experience section. By numbers, we mean the measurable value you have provided for your previous company. For example, if you were in an operations role, you could mention ‘Reduced the number of bottlenecks in the process and the total flow time by 10%’. If you are a fresh graduate, you can still include numbers explaining how you have contributed during your internship in terms of numbers.

Recruiters love to see numbers in the resumes they read and it attracts attention. Accomplishment-oriented resumes tend to get selected when compared to drab resumes with stuffed content on the work the candidates did.

4. Resumes are not pamphlets

Recruiters often loathe resumes that go more than three pages. If you have a lot of stories to tell, use your storytelling skills during the interview.

Many times, candidates who understand the value of keywords in the resume tend to write stories filled with keywords. These resumes go more than three pages and nobody has time to read a tad long resume. This also has the risk of inflating your experience and adding fluff to your content. Recruiters wouldn’t think twice before screening your resume out.

Even a half-page resume is still good if it has relevant information written. You need not fill the resume to make it look like you have accomplished a lot.

A good professional will stick to a one-page resume and would go up to a two-page resume at max. Even executives at the CxO level of large corporations have just one-page resumes. Unless you are an extremely experienced academic or engineer with a wealth of information, don’t write more have a resume that is more than two pages.

For example, Let’s say you have 15 years of work experience and only 8 years of relevant experience concerning the role you are applying for, explain only the work you have done during those 8 years in few points. This makes your resume short, crisp and easy to read.

5. Basics of resume writing- font, margins and active language

Do not use your favorite fonts on your resume, even worse if your favorite font is comic sans ms. It is important to use a font that looks elegant, professional and reader-friendly.

With Calibri replacing the standard Times New Roman, you can consider brisk and professional looking fonts such as Calibri, Helvetica, Arial or Cambria with a font size not more than 12.

Typically, one-inch margin is given for a resume. It can be increased but not more than two inches. You wouldn’t want all your content crammed into the center of the page. Also, use not more than 1.5 line spacing if you think your resume content doesn’t fill the page.

More importantly, the use of active language with powerful words in a resume is highly important. If you have to explain your work experience with a description, instead of

“During my time at XYZ Pvt Ltd, I ran multiple projects on different domains and helped each team member associated with each project.”

Use short, active and powerful words by explaining like this

“Led multi-domain projects and effectively coordinated team members”

Following all the above tips, you will be able to write an amazing resume which would help not only help you stand out and get selected during the screening process but also make a good impression during the interview when the interviewer reads through your resume.