Resumes act as a key component in your job application journey — whether it’s your first job or your fifteenth. Here are some tips to make the most of your personal sale pitch for your next job.
Document Your Achievements
It’s sometimes hard to remember your story on the fly when you’re writing your resume or making updates. Be your own hype person and save those details in a folder to visit later.
Use Numbers & Facts
Be specific when writing your achievements: use dates, facts, numbers. These are handy statistics to save when you document your achievements.
Understand Applicant Tracking Systems
Job technology is always evolving. Advice that worked with the systems a few years ago may not net the same results today. Ask a recruiter or job coach for ways to optimize your resume for the ATS that the company uses.
Don’ts
Do not use abbreviations. Remember the ATS we talked about? Robots are not sure how to handle these. Avoid abbreviations and make sure to spell the word out fully.
Do Do Do
Do use standard fonts. Nothing too crazy here. Again, this aims to please the ATS and to ensure readability for your human hiring manager.
Words Matter
Resume space is limited so the words you choose matter! Use words like: “Led,” “Managed”, “Planned.” These words show actions you took. Dig into that achievement list.
Avoid Corporate Buzzwords
“Go-getter”, “Synergy”, and “Hard worker” all sound like great things, but they don’t actually say much about you and your actions. Avoid these and opt for better verbs to describe your achievements.
Have a Party
I bet you have some amazing friends and coworkers with various experiences. Ask them to help you write or review your resume together. Make it a party and invite a few people to get the most of the date.
Read for Tone First
When first writing your resume, focus on tone. Make sure you are getting your message across the way you want. Then read for typos and grammar issues.
Find the Recruiter
Make contact with a human who can help guide you finetune your resume and cover letter for the role. You can usually find the recruiter on LinkedIn, just ask who the recruiter for that role is and message them for advice!
