Resumes are the first key tool for every candidate to market oneself. As a recruiter or even from a hiring manager’s stand point, we don’t have the luxury of time or resources to interview everyone, so we are find ways to weed out candidates as quickly as possible.
In fact, sometimes a quick glance at each resume is enough to decide whether to toss it in the "yes" or "no" pile. So, it's imperative that candidates make the few seconds’ count.
Here are some tips on making CV/Resume stand out:
Make it personal:
Include personalized cover letters outlining qualifications for the specific job you’re applying to as way of introduction. Make it grammatically correct, accurate and precise with enough details that will not overwhelm the reader. Try to eliminate unnecessary words. Branding will make all the difference. It’s great to provide information like the address, mobile number, e-mail address and education, but it’s something that all candidates have on their resume. Your mission is to separate yourself from the rest of the people applying to that position. Try to realize what makes you unique, what you consistently do well that is of value to the employer and what the bottom-line impact is in the organization. Once you have this down, turn it into a branding statement of three to four sentences, max.
We will judge it by the cover
Make it easy for “us,” and “we” will make it easy for you. Conversion mistakes and formatting issues sometimes are a pain for someone reviewing resumes and may be a reason for someone to not to review resumes at all. Ensure the resume as simple as possible, aesthetically pleasing and easy to follow. Try to make a difference by trying to diverse from the usual Times New Roman or Arial fonts that everybody uses and use a different font – legible and not too fancy as this will catch attention of a worn-out recruiter/employer that has probably browsed through hundreds of resumes with the same fonts. Know your keywords and audience
Keyword-rich resume will help a candidate to be easily seen. Some recruiters and company resume databases search for resumes using keywords. It is similar to typing a search criteria/keywords in Google to find the search result you need. It’s important to try to identify the right terminology, keywords or buzzwords in the industry you’re applying for and embed it in the resume so it would be included once recruiter/employer do keyword searches. Job description provided in the postings will be a good source of this keywords.
Impress us: Provide further information outside the resume by adding some links to social and professional networking sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, or websites on personal blogs and portfolios. If you’ve been featured on somebody else’s website, add those links to on the resume, too. Be sure that they contain information that will impress the reader
