Get Your Resume Noticed
Why Do You Need a Resume?
In today’s job market, a resume is an important tool for your job search. A resume is essentially an advertisement. It advertises you, your skills and qualifications, and it stresses the benefits you have to offer an employer. Before an employer or a recruitment agency like Innova HR Solutions will take valuable time to interview you, he or she wants to meet you – on paper. Since most hiring managers and recruiters initially spend only 6-10 seconds reviewing your resume, it needs to be easy to read and clearly outline your skills and work history. We’re quickly skimming to find keywords that match what we are looking for and will later give your resume more attention if something stands out.
Without a resume, it is difficult to compete in this market, and an inferior resume will quickly eliminate you before you even have a chance of demonstrating that you’re the right person for the job. On the contrary, a well written resume has the power to open doors. You want to stand out among other applicants and a great resume that markets your skills and strengths can help do that.
Resume Formatting Tips
The length of your resume should be no more than 2-3 pages
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Pick one font and use it throughout the entire document. Use a simple sans-serif font like Calibri or Arial. These fonts look good on a computer, which is the method that most managers and recruiters will be viewing your resume
Choose a resume format (i.e. chronological, functional, hybrid) that would best showcase your skills and abilities
Use bullet points instead of paragraphs
Try to avoid subjective clichés such as “excellent self-starter”, “good team player” and “great communicator”
Use headers to make essential information easy to find
Selling Yourself
Create a captivating job summary. Write a 2-3 sentence summary which will serve as an elevator pitch and inspire the recruiter or hiring manager to dive into the rest of your resume. Starting with a concise statement of what you’d like to get out of a position, as well as what attributes you can bring to the table, can really help you stand out.
Consider adding a skills section. Place the skills section closer to the top of the resume. It is recommended that you list 8 to 15 skills, depending on your experience. You might want to organize them in columns or break them into categories (i.e. Heavy Equipment, Electrical Systems, etc.).
Reinforce positive skills and qualities. This approach will ensure that they jump off the page. Example: If one of your strong points is that you are a skilled problem solver, enhance this point by giving an example of when you have demonstrated this ability.
Quantify your achievements. Make sure each position included in your resume highlights accomplishments that are quantifiable. If you boosted productivity after implementing a change in a process, quantify how much your idea boosted productivity.
Focus on your most relevant experience. While you may have years of experience in various roles, it’s important to only communicate what will help you achieve the role you are presently seeking. For example, there is no point including in your personal summary that you spent six years working in hospitality when you are seeking a new career in the construction management industry. Think of key attributes needed for the role you’re seeking and tailor your personal summary to respond to those needs.
Let your actions do the talking. Don’t sell yourself short when it comes to time with previous employers. Recruiters and prospective employers are interested in finding out exactly how you helped that organization. For example, if your previous employer kept a dashboard of safety statistics relating to your department that showed signs of improvement over time, leverage this in your resume. Show exactly how you contributed to improvement in safety and how your efforts helped your department succeed.
Do's
Do highlight your most relevant experience
Do include hard and soft skills
Do tailor each resume to fit the job
Do think of creative ways to frame your accomplishments
Do showcase career progress and advancement
Do consider applicant tracking systems
Do make it easy for employers to contact you
Do keep your resume updated at all times
Do keep a consistent, easily-readable format
Do proofread your work and have a trusted friend or advisor review your resume
Don'ts
Don’t steal the job description’s exact wording
Don’t include unrelated or off-putting hobbies
Don’t use negative phrases
Don’t include “References Upon Request”
Don’t try to squish all your information onto one page
Don’t use font sizes that are too small to read
Don’t make your resume too long
Don’t use first-person pronouns (i.e. I, my)
Don’t neglect keywords
Don’t forget to differentiate yourself