Resume Tips for Any Stage of Your Career
We all struggle to create the perfect resume. Often we are faced with vague job descriptions that don’t seem to speak to our skills. Even years into your career, revisiting your resume for your next job move can be daunting. What’s important to remember about resumes is keep it simple. A simple, clean format that highlights your uniqueness as a candidate will set you up for success.
Tips from recruiters at Pittsburgh’s Basilone Executive Search, and research into 2019’s top resume trends have outlined these 8 tips to assist in the creation of your perfect resume. Read below to see how you can get a call back for the interview that you’ve been hoping for!
7 Tips for Improving Your Resume
Identify a clear Path and Purpose - Why am I applying for this job? What are my upcoming career goals? How will this job help me achieve those goals? Remembering these questions will help focus your experience and skills to speak directly to the position you’re applying for. This is especially important if this is your 2nd or 3rd job. Prepare to explain your RFL - reason for leaving. According to Larry Basilone, CEO and Head Recruiter at Basilone Executive Search, explaining your RFL and showing how this new job will help achieve your career goals will impress anyone who’s interviewing you.
Specific Metrics of Success - This is key in turning a vague list of job duties and skills into “increased/directed/implemented” actions. Include numerical data, too. This numerical data will show exactly what you did at your last job, and will show what you can do for your future employer. These details will also stand out when a resume is skimmed. Larry Basilone explains that being prepared to explain the why/how/when of each metric in your interview will also be impressive. As you write your resume, prepare how you’re going to talk about each item too!
F-Pattern - The F-Pattern is the ideal format for a resume consisting of headers and bullets designed for skimming. This is a standard format for a resume, but the important part is to remove information from the header/footer of the page. This format is essential for passing through any automated resume system. It is essential to have regulated margins (1-1.5in) so that important information will be scanned and read through the system. Bold and simple headings also help avoid misunderstandings when your resume is scanned. Keywords found within the job description placed within a summary of professional qualifications will also help your resume make it to someone’s desk.
Keep Multiple Versions on Hand - It’s okay to have multiple versions of your resume saved. Think of these as templates used to store and save information. This way you won’t totally erase old information. It can also help you organize your experience into categories to produce the most informative resume tailored to each job description.
Links to Social Media - Provide links to your LinkedIn profile, your blog, or your professional Twitter. Sharing these links will show your personality to the employer. This is crucial for social media/marketing jobs! You want to give a clue into any media/content that you’ve generated personally and professionally. Of course, only link what is relevant to the job, or what can help you in your application - heed warnings about what you put on the internet; you don’t want your dream job to go away because of something on your Facebook from 5 years ago!
Review, Review, Review! - Have a few people proof-read your resume. Have someone take a look who works in your industry who’s a friend or colleague. Get the perspective of someone who works in a different line of work. Feedback and a fresh set of eyes will help verify your information is relevant and clearly articulates your goals and skills.
Multiple job titles within one company need to be categorized accordingly - According to Mr. Basilone, a common error that he sees is people separating each job at a company by date. This makes it look like you’ve job hopped, which can be a negative to many recruiters. You need to organize your resume by highlighting the total time you’ve been at the company, then going into details about each job. Do not segment your resume by each job title.
See the example below:
ABC COMPANY 2000-present
Job 1 (2018-present)
-Detail
Job 2 (2010-2018)
-Detail
This format keeps things clear and easy to understand for those reading your resume. They can clearly see that you’ve grown and evolved within the company, which will add to your credibility and reliability as a prospective employee.
Writing a resume can be tricky. The important thing to remember is to stand out and keep it simple. Your passion and uniqueness will speak to the right employer! Along with these 7 tips, check out the links at the bottom for more expert advice on creating the perfect resume. Happy Applying!
https://enhancv.com/blog/top-20-resume-tips-and-advice-for-2019-with-expert-insights/
https://www.greatresumesfast.com/blog/12-resume-writing-tips-for-2019-2/
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/04/how-to-create-a-perfect-resume-in-2019.html