You’ve been submitting your resume to countless hiring managers and online job portals and still haven’t heard anything back. You have all the skills requirements and an excellent track record of internships and jobs. Why aren’t you getting any bites? It may not be your skills, but how you are presenting them that is hurting your chance of getting an interview. Here are a few ways to make your resume look more professional and stand out to hiring managers.
Format your resume carefully.
Studies have shown that most recruiters spend an average of 4-7 seconds on each resume when they are initially screening candidates for a position. It’s crucial for your resume to be clean and aesthetically pleasing. The reader wants to see clear organization and be able to identify your experience, skills, and education. Break up information into bullet points and use clear section headings. Make sure your contact information is at the top of the page and easy to locate should the recruiter want to contact you with questions or set up an interview. If they have to go hunting for this information, they’ll simply move on to the next candidate.
Be concise.
Your resume should not be a lengthy essay about your life story. Instead of using long-winded phrases, use action verbs to be more direct. Call out important points by using bullet points. Short sentences or sentence fragments will make your skills easier to identify than elaborated prose. Limit your resume to two pages at most. All of the details can be discussed during the interview.
Avoid the laundry list.
Many job seekers make the mistake of making their resume into a laundry list of “stuff” they’ve done. Picture your resume as a marketing document. It should directly address the employer’s needs (from the job description) by including your specific skills and accomplishments. You want the reader to be able to make a clear connection between what they need in a candidate and how you can solve their challenges based on what you’ve accomplished in your previous work experience.
Ditch the crazy fonts.
As tempting as it is to want to add more of a design aspect to your resume in order to make it stand out; don’t use funky fonts. Hard to read fonts are a quick way to get your resume thrown into the “no” pile. Stick to something simple like Helvetica or Times New Roman. It’s important to use fonts that everyone has or your well-formatted resume may be really wonky and out of alignment when the HR manager opens it. Having a clearly constructed resume will set you apart more than using fancy fonts.
A professional looking resume will set you apart from other candidates and allow recruiters to easily identify the skills experience you have that make you the perfect fit for their job.
Now it’s time to put your newly polished resume to the test by applying to one of the many available Georgia employment opportunities from BOS Staffing. Looking for a job shouldn’t be frustrating. Contact one our talented Georgia recruiters today, and we’ll guide you through every step of the hiring process. We won’t rest until we have found the perfect career opportunity for you.
