You’ve submitted your resume to a number of promising job openings but after several weeks you haven’t received any responses back. Despite having all the right skills and qualifications, your resume may not be catching the eyes of hiring managers. Here are a few tips that can help get your resume noticed:
Put your most relevant skills and accomplishments at the top of your resume. Studies show that employers will look at a resume for a mere six seconds which means you need to make a great impression in a very short amount of time. By putting your most relevant skills and accomplishments at the top of your resume, you are connecting the dots for the potential employer by clearly showing how your past work experience is directly related to the job you are applying for. A resume shouldn’t be like a treasure map; rather, it should be like a promotional flyer that quickly (and easily) highlights the most important details about you.
TLDR. Too long, didn’t read. Your resume shouldn’t be a novel. It should be straight to the point with short sentences and/or bullet points that clearly show what you have accomplished and what skills you possess. If your resume is five pages long with size seven text then you definitely need to take out some text, a lot of text. Remove the extra fluff and eliminate jargon. Again, if employers are spending only six seconds on your resume, help them out by making it easy for them to instantly learn who you are and what you bring to the table. Don’t make them have to read a book, ain’t nobody got time for that!
Make it memorable. Use graphics, different font colors, or a different layout to help your resume stand out. Keep in mind though, whatever you choose to do to make your resume more creative, make sure it is still professional and fitting for the position you are applying for (so maybe save that neon yellow font color for something else). The design should augment your resume versus serving as a distraction.