The most effective resume tips for a stellar resume - 15 Best Resume Tips You’ll Need
Resume writing isn’t something new or extraordinary for both students and experienced professionals. Everyone knows that the resume should present one’s work history and education, special skills, and notable accomplishments. Also, you’re probably heard the advice that the resume should be tailored for a specific job. Yet, knowing the basic rules only won’t secure you a long-awaited interview.
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15 EFFECTIVE RESUME WRITING TIPS
40% of hiring managers spend less than a minute reviewing your resume. That demonstrates the importance of first impressions. Here’s how to make a stellar one:
- Remove the meaningless objective
If your objective still sounds like ‘To obtain an office manager position with a reputable international company where I can apply my organizational skills’, delete it. Breathe new life into your objective by building it around the needs of an employer – or replace with a succinct summary. - Use bullets, not paragraphs
Writing bullet points instead of sentences is a piece of overused resume advice. But if your old resume still has blocks of text, create a list instead. Bulleted lists are convenient to read, they give the document a sense of structure, and prevent your resume from looking like you’re stuck in the past century. - Rewrite a job title, if necessary
Job titles aren’t set in stone, so it’s okay to modify a job title if you believe it will make your resume more relevant for the position. For instance, you can change Territory Manager to Territory Account Manager if this is creating a better impression. Make sure that the title you’re using also reflects your responsibilities even before a recruiter reads them. - Do the name-dropping to get noticed
One of the rarely used but super effective resume building tips is name-dropping. If you worked with or were affiliated with the top companies or experts in your field, it will grab the recruiters’ attention in seconds. Don’t be shy to write ‘Negotiated contract terms with Google and Amazon’, but don’t lie since all resume information is easy to check! - Keyword-optimize the resume
If you don’t optimize the resume using modern practices of keywording, a human hiring manager might not see it. ATS toss all resumes that don’t fit the criteria listed in a job posting. The best resume writers give their suggestions: read the job posting carefully and use the same language it uses, provided that you have required skills and qualifications. - but don’t go overboard with keywords
Trying to pass the ATS, many job-seekers use so many keywords that the resume content sounds meaningless. This is called ‘keyword stuffing’ and can only turn off the employers. Maybe, you’ll pass the software check this way, but once a hiring managers sees such a resume, they can spot keyword stuffing immediately. - Include professional social media links
One of the best tips for a good resume is to use links. It’s a good idea to link to your professional social media (such as LinkedIn), online portfolio or a corporate website. Such links can provide extra insights about your professional skills and personality to an employer. - Avoid generic job descriptions
Do your job descriptions sound dull and boring like “Responded calls from clients, managed accounts payable, purchased office inventory”? You won’t make a great, winning impression by wording your resume like this! Instead, write specific details (such as “Answered 60+ calls a day in a tech support environment with 92% resolution rate”) or use the advice below. - Use result-oriented language
Focusing on outcomes rather than tasks is a highly effective resume writing way. Use a PAR (problem-action-result) technique when describing your responsibilities. For example, “Authored the ‘HR Hiring Guide’ that helped reduce the turnover by 20% in 2019”. This statement shows how the problem was solved and offers a specific result. - Follow the employer’s guidelines
This is a simple but often overlooked one. Read the job posting top to bottom to find the application guidelines. The employer might ask you to apply via email instead of job board, to fill out the form on their website, or to use a specific keyword in a resume to prove you’ve read the requirements carefully. - Cut the unnecessary details
Prioritizing resume information is one of the best resume tips you should follow. Feel free to remove the jobs you had prior to 2000 or part-time college jobs if you’re an experienced professional. Remove things that aren’t relevant to the job you’re planning to obtain. - Put the accomplishments into spotlight
Whether you’re writing an entry-level or executive CV, adding some accomplishments will make it appealing for companies. Employers want achievers in their teams, not just someone who does the job tasks as assigned. Use figures, give specific facts about how you’ve helped your past employers. Resumes with achievements have higher chance for an interview! - Take care of formatting as well
Good design and formatting play a vital role in how the resume content is perceived. So, when experts give tips for making a resume, they highlight the importance of formatting. Poorly formatted and structured text turn off the reader and they may not notice your strong skills. On the flip side, an attractive document subtly draws the reader’s attention to what you’re good at. - Use the informative file name
As you’ve finished resume making and preparation, change the file’s name for employer’s convenience. Don’t just give it a random name! Include a job title, your name, and a word ‘CV/resume’. Thus, if the hiring person wants to take a second look at your resume, they’ll easily find it on their computer or database. - Edit before sending
Recruiters don’t like typos and poor grammar, and near half of them reject resumes with mistakes. This is a solid reason to edit the text, correcting the grammar, punctuation, writing style and more. There is plenty of online tools that can correct your resume, for example, Grammarly.com and Languagetool.org. Yet, it’s best to find a professional editor and entrust this task to them.
MORE RESUME ADVICE THAT WILL HELP YOU LAND THE INTERVIEW
Using the best resume tips listed above you can create a good professional resume. Yet, it’s also important that you use the resume in the right way as you’re applying for jobs. Our career experts suggest that you take the following steps:
- Apply for a job posting early. The early bird gets the worm – and this is true for resumes, too. Submit the resume in the first 1-2 days after the job was advertised. The hiring managers admit getting lots of resumes, so they typically choose candidates for the interview among those who applied early.
- Tailor the resume content. This is one of the top resume writing tips you should remember to get better results in your job search. Customize it every time, considering the needs of this particular company. Highlight that you have the exact type of experience they’re asking for. Customized applications generate more responses.
- Reach out to hiring managers directly. Get round the job board and contact the hiring manager or department head directly. Find out who does the hiring in the company and connect with them on LinkedIn. Send your resume to that person directly. In this case, you’ll get more attention of that person than if you had applied along with everyone else.
DO ALL THESE RESUME BUILDING TIPS SOUND TOO MUCH?
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