Shine The Spotlight On Your Resume And Get It Read!
You know you have a lot to offer a company, but how are you going to convince the potential employer if your resume is just one in a stack of hundreds
. The job market has not been this difficult to maneuver in decades, and competition for positions is expected to be tough for years to come. The resume plays a larger than life role as a result because it has the difficult task of attracting the spotlight on you when others are trying to crowd you out into the dark.
Following are some tips on how to get your resume read even when you are searching in a crowded field.
It's All About Staying Focused!
The first bit of advice is to keep your resume focused. Employers are pressed for time when faced with a stack of resumes. Your resume needs to show commitment to a specific target and that target is the position being sought. You don't have to tell a potential employer about your summer job in 1975 at the city pool candy counter. It has no relevance to the position you are hoping to fill.
The past jobs or work experience you highlight on your resume should be related to the position you are seeking. Rambling treatises will only get your resume tossed.
Sell Yourself With a Careful Choice of Words
Boring resumes are often seen to reflect boring plodding personalities. A potential employer assumes a resume is an extension of yourself, and a company doesn't want to hire plodding people. They want to see resume vitality through the use of humor or action words. Your resume will get attention when an employer gets the impression from reading that you are enthusiastic and that enthusiasm led to previous life and career accomplishments.
Online Resumes Should Include Position Keywords
Online resume submissions, or resumes that will be scanned, should include the right keywords. Keywords are words that are directly related to the position you are seeking. For example, keywords for a Project Manager position would be "project management". You can find the keywords by looking at job advertisements and position descriptions posted by various companies. You will discover the same words show up for similar positions. Use those words in your resume and it will make it through electronic scanning into a reader's hands.
What Makes You So Different From the Rest?
Can the person reading the resume learn why you are so different from the rest of the applicants? Does your resume just list job duties in prior positions? Or does it explain how your handling of those job duties made you a successful organizational member? If you have just graduated college, does your resume simply state what courses you took and what clubs you joined? Or does it reflect the fact you were responsible for class or club projects that prove your ability to organize and lead?
Writing simple laundry lists on resumes are ineffective. Potential employers want to read the resumes of people who have something to offer the company. If your resume doesn't provide that information, then there is no incentive to read it.
Use Excellent Grammar, Don't Misspell and Pay Attention to Details
You may be thinking that it should not be necessary to remind people to use good grammar and to spell check their resumes. Yet every day resumes are posted online or submitted to potential employers with glaring errors. You need to pay attention to the details and make sure words are spelled correctly and formatting is consistent. Poor grammar is a sure resume killer. An employer is not going to wade through a resume that is hard to read. If you don't care enough to use correct dates, spell words the right way, or insure there are no duplicate paragraphs, the employer is given the impression you would do sloppy work for the company.
When an employer begins to read, you want it to seem as if a big spotlight just came on and is pointed right at your resume. Pay attention to the details, use the right words, and above all, keep it focused.
by: EeLynn Lee
Should You Blog Your Resume Why Didn't I Get A Response To My Resume? Simple And Straightforward Cover Letter For Your Resume Essential Facts Related With Resume Cover Letter And Its Objective Proven Steps For The Resume For Executive Positions Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ) Resume only method The Most Powerful Resume Help You Need Resume Ideas For Accounting Infusing Your Accounting Rsum With Quantifiable Results Three Guaranteed Suggestions To Prepare Resume Cover Letter Resume For CNA - #1 Secret to CreatingYour CNA Resume Resume Posting Tips And Tricks Resume Preparation Tips Resume Blast Options For You!