Five Ways to Greatly Improve Your Resume

Putting together a resume takes a good deal of thought and careful planning. It is a document that must satisfy some pretty significant demands – showcasing your knowledge and abilities and doing it quickly.

These days it is more complicated because you need to tailor the resume for electronic scanning systems as well as human readers. Here are a few tips to help your resume stand out.

  1. Focus on the job you want

Your resume is not a historical document. It is an advertisement. So, the accomplishments, credentials, and experience you include should all be geared toward the job you are applying for. You need to highlight just the skills and abilities that apply to the job. You don’t need to provide a laundry list of every job you have had and what you did in that job.

For jobs that are not relevant, or work experience in the more distant past, you can summarize this information.

  1. Use keywords

Companies and recruiters are looking for essential keywords on the resume to help them select the candidates they want. If you don’t have the right keywords, your resume will be passed over by the applicant tracking systems, even if you are qualified.

To determine the best keywords, review the company job descriptions.

  1. Display your most important achievements prominently

What have you accomplished that will make the hiring manager sit up and take notice? What accomplishment are you most proud of? Position this step at the top of the page so that it stands out.

  1. Write clearly and directly

Make sure to remove any filler words. Every word should be there for a reason. Think of your resume as a machine and words as parts to that machine. Every part of a machine is there for a purpose and is helping the machine to operate. The same with a resume.

Use facts and figures to help quantify what you have accomplished. Add background if you must to better explain the import of your achievements. Use bullet points and strong action verbs. Avoid jargon and vague language.

  1. Make it easy to skim

Make your paragraphs short, no more than three or four lines. Make sure there is enough white space so you don’t have big blocks of print. Use headings and subheadings.

If you are looking for employment, Arrow Staffing can help. We are one of the leading employment firms in the Inland Empire, with a network of employers and the know-how to match people with jobs. Give us a call today.

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