You know you need a strong resume, but you don’t know where to begin or how to write yours. Are you ready to show off your leadership resume? If not, it’s time to get it in shape.
You just received a call for one of the financial analyst jobs you so wanted to be hired for. You are all excited and ready for an interview. However, you don’t have an updated resume all set. The situation makes you really tense since you can’t fit in all the details in your resume in such a short span of time.
Fear not, as here are the top 3 tips to help you out in such a situation. If you want to know how your resume can be noticed by recruiters for jobs that pay great money, have the best benefits, and offer a great working environment? Then keep reading.
1. Think of yourself as a personal brand:
This is not about writing a resume, it is about writing a compelling story that will give you a chance to shine in the job market. You’re not just applying for a job, you’re trying to stand out from the crowd and establish a memorable brand image. If you want to get hired, you’ll need to think of yourself as a brand. You’ll need to craft a narrative that will leave a lasting impression and stand out from the crowd.
Just like a product needs to be positioned properly before it is to be marketed, you need to position yourself correctly in the job market. If a product is positioned inappropriately, for instance, if people see it as something that it is not intended to be, then it means that there is something wrong with the positioning strategy.
Put relevant details in your resume.
Don’t forget to put an appropriate resume title, like Marketing Manager, Operations Manager, etc.
Be specific. If you say you have the ability to “succeed in a fast-paced environment,” it sounds like you’re just another generic resume. Instead, mention what you did and how that relates to the position you’re applying for. If you’ve been out of work for a while, ensure your resume is up to date.
Write a strong executive summary.
An executive summary is a short text that summarizes a longer piece of text, and is often required for job applications. So, if you’re applying for a job, what do you need to include in your executive summary to make it as effective as possible?
The goal of an Executive Summary is to provide a quick and easy overview of your career history, qualifications, and key accomplishments so potential employers will read your resume and decide whether or not to contact you.
The executive summary is a critical component of every resume. A good executive summary not only grabs an employer’s attention but also summarizes the key information about you as a candidate for the job.
Write down an executive summary with information about your background. The summary should explain, in a few words, what makes you suitable for this job. Allow room to add new ideas that might come to your mind later.
✋ Warning
Remember: You are the only salesman here to sell yourself. If the salesman himself is not sure about the product, how will the potential customer buy it? Think of the top recruiting companies as the consumer. Review your resume carefully to check for any spelling errors. If possible, get someone else to review it for you.
2. List your achievements properly:
Listing your achievements correctly on your resume is crucial for your resume to stand out in a pile and to make sure your accomplishments stand out in the minds of the hiring manager.
Brainstorm all your achievements in the past
Think of all the achievements and success stories you want to discuss in an interview. Then list them down one by one. Edit and re-edit to make sure that you maintain consistency in sentence structure.
When you’re writing a resume, you want to ensure that your accomplishments are consistent. You should also avoid listing things like “I’m a hard worker” or “I’m very organized.” That type of statement is generic and may not impress the employer.
However, there are times when you need to give some details about your achievements. When applying for a position requiring special skills, you need to state what you have done in those areas.
Be strategic about what to put inside your resume.
When you have a list of accomplishments, be sure to highlight your most important ones first. This will make it easier for the interviewer to ask follow up questions on your past experiences.
If your resume is nothing more than just a long list, you have already denied your chances of getting a good job. It is important to structure your resume correctly, but don’t overdo it. You should never put everything in a resume that you can think of. Only put the relevant facts with the proper formatting.
Make sure your list is not too long or too short. This helps you to focus on the main points you want to emphasize and gives you a clear idea of what you want to say.
It is best to keep each achievement story limited to a short paragraph of 3-5 lines.
List your achievements in bullet form.
For each job, list your achievements in bullet form. Always try to quantify your achievements. For instance, you may mention the growth of a particular business unit under your supervision in terms of the growth percentage. Similarly, you can mention the total number of staff you managed, the number of clients you handled, etc.
Make sure you mention your achievements for all the jobs or positions you have held in the past two decades, if applicable.
✋ Warning
Remember: Format your listings properly. One paragraph must not be too big, while the other too small.
3. Try to get feedback from your friends and family:
You may skip many important details in a hurry, so it is best to get a friend or a family member to read your resume to notify you if you have forgotten to mention an important point. They will also be able to let you know if there is something too vague that needs to be explained properly. Moreover, they will throw some light upon which sentence is not understandable.
Look for typos or grammatical errors, as they might be really costly.
Read and re-read. Edit and re-edit. Be a perfectionist!
✋ Warning
Remember: Don’t use overly complicated vocabulary in your resume. You might think it would impress the recruiter. However, it can be perceived negatively too. Since one always keeps his writing short, succinct, and simple in business communication parlance.
Conclusion
Make sure that the resume is easy to read and understand. You need to make it as easy for the reader to understand as possible. This includes using the right font size and typeface. You can even use a color scheme if the resume is more than one page long. Make sure that the text is easy to read. Use bullet points to make things clear. Bullet points are a great way of making your resume clear. You can use them to list out your skills and experience.
These are some of the tips that will definitely prove helpful in producing a successful resume in a snap. You can relax now!
