With companies receiving hundreds of resumes, the task of recruiters becomes ever so difficult. This makes it all the more important that your resume stands out from among them. This way you will be able to grab the attention of the recruiter.
How to Make Your Resume Stand Out
Qualifications apart, the two most important things that makes a resume stand apart are format and word choice. You can use a resume builder to format your resume. The keywords that you choose in the resume substantiates your skills and knowledge.
This is because, nowadays, all the resumes are processed through an applicant tracking system (ATS) that picks up familiar keywords pertaining to industry-specific core skills. If these core skills are mentioned in your resume, it gets picked up by ATS, if not, it gets rejected.
The general tendency to beef up the resume with irrelevant jargon should be curbed. Your resume needs to be specific to the job you are applying for. If you are wondering where to get the keywords that ATS will pick up, you only have to scan the job advertisement for the listed job requirements.
You must understand that a resume is no longer a listing of jobs and duties, it has to be made promotional. And merely highlighting the keywords may not suffice, since the recent shift is to demonstrate your mentioned attributes.
It is even more important for those looking for a job switch or who have been out of work for a longer time and are starting afresh. They have to prove that their skills and experience are still relevant. For such people, it is advisable to include transferable skills learned from past experience in their resumes.
Transferable skills include any sports, hobbies, classes and projects you have undertaken or any volunteer positions you have acquired over the years. Mentioning this will certainly add to your overall value and experience to the company and will help the recruiter in understanding you better.
There is much sense in being concise and specific in your resume, especially where statistics are concerned. Provide statistics for everything that is quantifiable, such as client growth, budget savings, revenue data that you have achieved. Numbers displays your clarity of mind and works to impress the recruiter.
What to include in your resume
Include everything that highlights the following:
1) Show that you are a team player
Despite your mentioning it in your resume, a recruiter is always seeking ways to find out whether you are actually a team player and how well you work with others. This is amply indicated by your level of communication skills. If you were holding a position of customer service or have relationship-building experience, you must mention it in your resume. This projects you as a team player, who is capable of teamwork with co-workers and superiors.
To show that you are a team player, highlight attributes, such as cooperates and works well with others, performs well in a collaborative environment, provides and asks for feedback, consults others before arriving at solutions, always keen to resolve differences, has negotiating skills, and the like.
2) Show your planning abilities and organization skills
Your planning abilities and organization skills may become a passport to the job you have applied for. More so, if your job involves research projects or campaigns. You can highlight these attributes by mentioning your previous involvement in projects that showcased such skills and abilities.
Mention in your resume attributes as researches background information, develops strategies, possesses clarity of thought to critically solve problems, develops strategies, manages projects effectively, meets deadlines, and suchlike qualities.
3) Show your leadership potential and management abilities
Leadership attributes and management skills are valued in companies, but expressing them on paper is a challenge. Here you can take the unconventional approach and describe in words your leadership potential and management abilities and how you have guided your team toward success. Highlight the quantum of projects you have previously undertaken and the size of teams you have led.
Show these attributes on your resume as endeavors to teach, train and instruct subordinates, consults seniors before implementing ideas, sees projects to completion, remains a force behind achieving goals, and the like.
4) Show your social media acumen
Exposure to social media assumes importance for companies, since it shows your ability to drive new sales, interact better with customer and projects you as a competent internal brand ambassador. If you have experience in driving sales through the social media, mention concrete numbers, including web traffic, overall engagement and audience reach.
Your resume may say, manages social media campaigns, sparks brand-specific social conversation, thinks out content strategies, enhances brand image by remaining active on the social media, and the like.
Conclusion
You must mention all the attributes and qualities that you possess in your resume. However, a resume summary assumes greater importance than the actual resume. So, be meticulous in mentioning all relevant things, clearly and concisely in it to tempt the recruiter to continue to resume proper.
