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Resume Tips

rw-admin | 02/26/2015

When job seeking, a resume is a candidate’s first opportunity to make an impression. And first impressions count, no matter if you have job options or not. In order to be considered for a position, a resume has to convince a hiring authority at first sight. Your resume can indeed be your one and only chance to capture a potential employer’s attention, or for your resume to be put in the pile of resumes they don’t want to pursue. As recruiting experts, we know that the average hiring manager only spends a few seconds screening a resume. Therefore, delivering an outstanding first impression is key!

Below you will find our latest article, which presents first-hand resume tips from one of our recruiters. These insights will help you stand out from the crowd and catch the hiring manager’s attention. Again, you have just a few seconds to make a good first impression and it’s almost impossible ever to change it. So it’s worth giving your best at your resume writing.

Resume Tips

by The Q Works Group

Remove the objective section from your resume. 

You wouldn’t be applying for a job if your goal wasn’t to work for the company. This is a waste of space on your resume.

Customize your resume for each position. 

Make edits to your resume to address specific position requirements or experience levels of each position. This doesn’t mean you have to create a new resume each time but your resume should speak to the position you are applying for.

Check, recheck and have someone else check for errors. 

Word processing software has grown by leaps and bounds over the last decade but it still cannot read your mind. Make sure that your resume is in one tense, the grammar has been checked especially on words with multiple spellings and that there are no spelling errors in your work. You do not want a hiring manager to think that you lack attention to detail or are too lazy to reread your work.

Highlight key achievements. 

Hiring managers do not have much time to look at your resume so make it easy for them to see why you are different than other candidates. Highlighting key achievements by bullet pointing them at the top of your resume or at the beginning of each position section will bring attention to those areas. This does not mean that everything you have accomplished deserves a bullet point, try to pick out 3-5 instances. Achievements that matter are how you made a company money, how you saved a company money, things you did that had a positive outcome and problems you resolved.

A cover letter is your first impression. 

Make your cover letter count and if you are emailing your resume, your email body is your cover letter. This is not a time to state an objective or say resume attached. This is a time for you to talk about why you are interested in working for a company, what makes you different from other potential candidates and who you are.

Include and update your contact information. 

How is a hiring manager supposed to reach out to you if the phone number you provide doesn’t reach you or the email address on your resume is no longer working? As stated before there is not much time allotted to the overall hiring process and you may get turned down if you cannot be reached.

Social Media is your second resume. 

Most hiring managers will research you prior to an interview just like you should research a company. All forms of social media will be used to augment your resume and help the hiring manager get a better picture of who you are. Make sure that your LinkedIn profile is up to date and that your Facebook profile will not embarrass you or turn off the hiring manager.