Working at an international recruiting firm, you can assume that we see a lot resumes. Some great! Some really bad…
Your resume is your first impression, and to land that dream job you’re going to need to put your best foot forward. Using these 9 resume tips you might just stand a fighting chance.
1. Don’t go font crazy
This might just be my inner designer screaming out, but (aside from the title/your name) keep it to two different font sizes. I understand that you really want to tell the hiring manager you can sell anything to anyone and you can type a thousand words a minute, but let’s let the words and stats speak for themselves.
2. Chronological order (or reverse rather…)
If you’re not a time traveler, your resume shouldn’t read like one. It’s hard enough to judge whether or not you’re right for the job when your jobs are in chronological order. Don’t make things harder on the person trying to hire you. Your resume should start with your most recent position at the top of the page.
3. Use numbers
Why? Because numbers equal results. Having hard statistics in your resume are both attention grabbing and a powerful indicator of past success. It’s important not to lie about numbers, but it’s also essential to put yourself in the best possible light. For example, if you closed four to five $100 deals a day, you could say you closed about $50,000 in sales per month, or $150K a quarter.
4. Don’t include everything you’ve ever done
Wanted: High paying Account Executive with prior experience as a dishwasher 20 years ago (said no ad ever). Just because you’ve had a job, doesn’t mean it needs to be on your resume. Focus on your most recent roles with emphasis on the jobs that most closely relate to the one you’re applying to.
5. Keep it to one page
Biographies are for the bookshelf, not the resume. If you can’t boil down your “relevant” experience to one page, you don’t know what’s relevant to the position. If your resume is more than one page, you’re probably shot gunning everything you have praying that something will stick.
6. SEO your resume
Key word density isn’t just for the webpage anymore. If you’ve read a resume of someone applying for a job as a wood worker, you’d probably expect to see the word, “wood” a lot. If you’re applying for a job in software sales, and you don’t see the words, “sales” and software” anywhere on your resume… you might want to rewrite a few sections.
7. K.I.S.S. – Keep It Simple, Stupid
Kill me with bullets! Short, brief statements about what you’ve done, or accomplished in your prior roles is the best way to describe your work experience. If I have to read an 8-sentence paragraph about how you were the best project manager, I’m probably not going to. Tell me how big your team was, what you were able to accomplish, and what awards you won (if any).
8. Education is more than just a piece of paper
Did you really spend $50K and four years on a piece of paper? Probably not. If you’re early in your professional career, it’s ok to talk about your college career. The big class projects or topics you learned about in school might help add relevancy when you’re lacking work experience. Just be ready to back it up.
9. Show off your Mad Skills
Brag your butt off! If you were number one in your department, say so. If you built your team from two to ten, say so. Don’t hold back. Even if your old company didn’t give out trophies, you can still put it on your resume.
You should walk away from this post knowing that your resume is your first impression and hiring managers may only read a few lines (in the top, middle, or bottom) of it. Make your resume the best snap shot of professional life possible.
If you think you have an amazing resume and are looking for a job in sales, marketing, customer success, or customer engineering click here to connect with a Betts Recruiter!
Article Author: Vincent Bruni