Hands down your résumé is the most important tool you will use in your job search. It’s likely to be the first contact a prospective employer has with you and provided it is well written and presented, personalised and relevant it will be what gets you to interview too.
So, what are the four ingredients your resume MUST have?
1. Keywords
With an increase in applicants for each job opening, employers are desperate to save time through the recruitment process. This has led to the rise of Applicant Tracking Systems, software applications and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that cut down hiring time by identifying the best candidates based on the keywords they have used in their résumés.
This is why including keywords in your résumé that you’ll find job ads is becoming increasingly important. Your ability to reach a human through the recruitment process is now dependent on how well you can optimise your résumé for ATS algorithms.
2. Clear headings and formatting
Gone are the days were most employers only get a handful of applicants for a job opening – they get hundreds. As a result, your résumé is more likely to be scanned than read, so it needs to be formatted with this in mind.
Clear headings, neat formatting and concise text will help prospective employers find the information they need quickly and evaluate you more thoroughly. A long wordy résumé that is hard to scan – regardless of how well written it is – will not serve you well.
3. Relevant skills and experience
One of the biggest misconceptions in job seeking is that your résumé should stay static and only your cover letter change. But the truth is, both should be personalised for each job you’re applying for.
You’re bound to have skills, experiences and even education or training that is irrelevant to the job so instead of including it, take it out and utilise the space to elaborate on what will make the most difference to the employer and position you are targeting.
Or, replace the detail in your master résumé about a responsibility or an accomplishment with an example that is more relevant to the role you are applying for. Employers are looking for the most qualified candidates – help them decide that it’s you.
4. The specifics on how you’ve made a difference
It’s one thing to say you’re good at sales it’s quite another to say that you increased sales by 300% within the first quarter of you being at your last job by doing XYZ. This tangible evidence assures employers that you not only have the skills you are claiming but also know how to use them to create results.
This proof may not come in the form of statistics, though. It could be an example of how you managed conflict, a story on how you provided a “wow” experience for a customer or saved your last company from a massive crisis or cyber-attack – depending on what is relevant to your job. Specifics about how you made a difference in the past will show prospective employers what difference you could make to them.
By including these four key ingredients in your résumé you’ll make a great first impression on your potential employer and significantly increase your chances of making it to an interview. Need some help? Reach out to us on 1300 27 83 45.
