How often do you update your resume? If you haven’t seen it in a while, the best time to spruce it up is now.
Regular updates to your resume keep your resume current with the job market and expectations. It also re-familiarizes you with your experience, so interview prep is much less work.
So before you send out your resume for a new role, use these tips to freshen it up and help it stand out to recruiters.
Switch Paragraphs to Bullet Points
The most successful resumes provide core details associated with job experience. However, the way you communicate those details is as important as the experience itself.
Bullet points are the best way to make your resume more scannable and help your experience stand out. Do your best to avoid including more than six bullet points per position. And don’t start every bullet point with the same word if you can help it. Mix up your verbs and use synonyms where possible to help the flow of the paragraph.
Move Your Education to the Bottom
Unless you are a new graduate looking for your first job, your educational experience belongs at the bottom of your resume. Very often, a degree is a box to check. It won’t set you apart from the crowd because recruiters prefer to focus on your job history and experience.
Add New Skills and Keywords
Are you passionate? Hard-working? A team player? Those are all great qualities, but they don’t need to be on your resume. They’ll stand out from a well-written description without you saying it explicitly.
Recruiters read resumes looking for keywords — often the keywords listed in the job post. When they spot those keywords within a few seconds of looking at your resume, you dramatically improve your chances of getting the job.
So get rid of those soft skills (and any skills irrelevant to the post).
Tip: Keywords are a great way to tailor your resume to each job advertisement without reinventing the wheel. Update them as necessary to match the job specs.
Run a Spell Check
Finally, run a spell-check. You never know what typos lurk in your resume, and some recruiters do find them very distracting. An error-free resume says you pay attention to the details and care about getting things right the first time! These are great messages to send to a future employer.
Send Out the Best Resume Possible, Every Time
Your resume is a first impression, and it not only needs to speak to your experience but be easy to read. Using bullet points, keywords, and correct spelling will move your resume to the top of the pile, even if nothing else changes.
Contact Our Team Today to Learn More
Are you ready to take another step toward your career goals in 2021? Get in touch with TekCom Resources, and we’ll pair you with a recruiter who can guide you toward the next phase of your career.
