23 Jul Whether you call it your CV or resume, one thing’s for sure, you want it to stand out from the competition.!
This undoubtedly applies to your Linkedin profile also because these are the tools you will use to get noticed by a potential employer.
This will be your first opportunity to showcase your skills and experience and it is also what decides whether or not you get called in for an interview.
Depending on the role, employers can often receive dozens of resumes for each job they’re hiring and what you don’t want is for your resume to end up at the button of their list. Making your resume stand out in a competitive market will catch the eye of the hiring manager and make sure your resume gets you invited to interview.
Here I would like to share some tips to make your resume stand out from the competition’s.
Try to strike a balance of being yourself but also professional.
Your resume should not look like your Facebook account. Choose your personal details wisely and it’s recommended you limit this to your name, phone number, email address and a (professional) LinkedIn profile. I personally wouldn’t advise giving your street number and address but rather the suburb, city, state etc.
Keep employment history relevant.
By that I don’t mean delete chunks of your work history, rather don’t make the mistake of giving a reverse chronological list of every job they’ve ever had. This particularly applies to senior people who have a more lengthy career under their belt. Making your resume highly relevant will catch the eye of the reviewer.
Less is more.
They say the average time a recruiter and hiring manager takes to glance over your resume in their initial read through is four to seven seconds. If that is the case then keeping your content clean and easy to scan is crucial. Long paragraphs and pages of detail make it difficult for a recruiter or hiring manager to find the information they’re really looking for. Format your resume in a logical order, and use headers and bullet points to help key information stand out.
Highlight relevant skills and experience.
It can not be stressed enough how important it is to highlight your skills and experience in order of importance to the job you’re applying for. The key to doing this properly is to read the job description and go through the selection criteria. Do this more than once if necessary. It may seem obvious but it’s something I come across regularly.