As an HR professional, I've reviewed hundreds, if not thousands of resumes. The reality is, you have seconds to grab the attention of a hiring manager or recruiter. If a position I'm working to fill has gotten a huge response I'm taking maybe 15-30 seconds to review each resume during my first pass-through. That means you only have 15-30 seconds to convince me that you should move on to the next stage in the hiring process. Here are just a few tips to help you stand out.
Make it obvious for that recruiter or hiring manager
This can be achieved through a summary or objective statement, a section highlighting your skills, etc. The point is to quickly connect the dots for that person so they know what you do and what value you could offer to them.
2. Ensure your resume is typo-free.
Review your resume line by line and get a friend to review it as well. The more eyes the better!
3. Don't subscribe to the myth that your resume can only be one page
This only applies to recent college graduates with limited professional work history. It's expected that a professional with an extensive work history will need more than one page. However, it's important to structure your resume in a way that the most useful info is on the first page (Tip #1).
4. Highlight your accomplishments
Ultimately hiring managers and recruiters want to see how effective you are. Statements that highlight how successful you were at completing a project or improvements you've made that increased efficiency, etc. demonstrate your ability to get things done.
5. Always submit your resume in .pdf format
This ensures that you don't encounter any formatting issues, and if you did miss a typo, it won't be highlighted in the document. The file name should be saved as "First & Last Name Resume Year"
Need a template to help get you started? Download a free editable resume template below!