Friday, April 13, 2018

Resume Tips and Tricks

You may have read one of my previous blogs on how to build a great resume. I wanted to add a couple things to my previous post. Over the past year I've spoken to a ton of recruiters and hiring managers and there are a few key items that can really make your resume stand out.

Spelling and Grammar
While spelling and grammar mistakes may make your resume stand out, I've spoken to recruiters who will literally stop reading at the first error and throw a resume in the "not hiring" pile. When a hiring manager has 100 resumes to sift thru small mistakes will take you out of the running instantaneously. I highly recommend using the plug-in on top of whatever native spell-check your word processing application has.

Touches of Color
While infographics and photos are a great addition to most resumes, they aren't necessary for every job. Some positions might even frown on an overly flashy resume. That being said a touch of color has never been frowned upon in my experience. Consider choosing your favorite color and using it in your heading, and subheadings.

Depending on what you're applying for you'll want to consider either a quick bio, summation of project experience or objective. Are you a sales person who has a proven track record of increasing profit for your employer? Do you smash sales goals? Are you a creative professional who's worked on a well-known project? Has your artwork been featured anywhere? Unless this is your first ever job application I suggest steering clear of academic accomplishments unless they directly correlate with your career goals. Do you have relevant volunteer experience? Try to come up with something unique to you. We all know you want a job so you can eat. Everybody does. What makes you a great employee/colleague/professional? Sum that up in an introduction.

Here's an example of my resume for general circulation. As I'm not actively seeking a new position it's just a summation of my current experience.

Be sure to create multiple copies of your resume. I have one for Business Development/ PreSales, one for Marketing, one for Telecom, one for Political Positions, a generic one, and a variety of "dream job" drafts. Be prepared to send someone a copy of your resume at a moment's notice, but also don't be afraid to craft a new resume for a specific position.