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| Resume Tips: 5 Ways to Grab Employers' Attention |
With
today's level of competition for good jobs your resume has only one
chance to make a great first impression. To be considered for interviews
your resume must have that special something that grabs reader
attention and motivates them to call you. Here are five strategies for
transforming a blah document into a WOW resume that will get employers
calling you. 1. Keep your focus clear and to the point.
The
first thing potential employers need to know is what you do and the
position you are interested in ... With the lightning speed scanning approach that
recruiters take in viewing resumes, a wordy, vague objective statement
taking up three or more lines of text just doesn't get the job done. In
most cases they don't get read. Instead,
write a short, direct professional summary that clearly illustrates
your career focus. Include your profession, how
long you've done it and particular areas of expertise. Something like:
"Senior purchasing professions with 10 years'
procurement expertise in: strategic sourcing, contract negotiation,
financial analysis, strategic planning, leadership, contract law and
process improvement." Remember, your resume is not an historical
tell-all. To keep your focus clear make sure that everything following
in your resume relates to your focus. Leave off extraneous details. 2. Stuff
your resume with key words. The more key words you use the more
frequently your resume will show up in online searches like LinkedIn,
TheLadders and CareerBuilder, etc.. Employer resume data
bases also use key words to query for qualifying candidates. Without
appropriate key words your resume will be electronically ignored.
Without them, your resume is being shot off into a black void each
time you submit it. A good way to make sure your resume is full
of key words is to check it against job postings. Use as many of the key
words found in the responsibilities and qualifications sections of job
postings. As much as you can, match up your terminology with what you
find in job postings. 3. Keep your resume reader-friendly. Nothing
gets ignored like a resume full of lengthy blocks of text. No one has
time to read through that much information. Resume screeners need to be
able to absorb your information quickly. Leave out extraneous details ... Separate text blocks into smaller
easy-to-digest snippets of information. Use white space to separate
bullet points so that each stand out. Use a
readable type font: nothing smaller than 11 point. 4.
Include plenty of accomplishments. To stand out from the crowd, include accomplishments
throughout your resume. Write those that show how you solve
universal problems - saving time, cutting costs, improving
performance and increasing customer satisfaction. Your accomplishments
should stand out on your resume in bullets separate from your
responsibilities. Do not combine responsibilities and accomplishments. Instead, list responsibilities in a small block of text and accomplishments
in bullet form following. 5. Get your best information on page one. It's
true, if you can't grab their attention on page one they won't stick it
out to find out the wonderful things you've got on page two or three.
This presents a problem for those who experienced their most productive
work five or more years back. The solution? Use the hybrid resume
format that allows you to create a highlight of accomplishments section
at the top of page one of your resume. This area of your resume is
reserved for the best examples of your work. The accomplishments you
include should illustrate the key transferable skills needed for the
position you are interested in. Don't
delay in implementing these resume changes. Employers are waiting for
you with opportunities for a better career and a better life. Deborah
Walker
Certified Career Management Coach Visit www.AlphaAdvantage.com for
more career tips/sample resumes. |