5 Resume Tips That Will Get You Hired

Whether it is the first time you are creating your professional resume, or you haven’t updated your resume in a while, it can be tricky to figure out where to start. What experiences and accomplishments should you include for the jobs you have an eye on? What resume rules and format should you be following? And seriously, one page or two?

Your resume is a key piece of your job application. Here are my top 5 tips to get it.

1. Be a visual storyteller

Your first impression on an employer starts with your resume. Your resume should be simple and elegant. Go minimalist and let the words speak for themselves. Use fonts that are clean and legible— doesn’t matter how aesthetically pleasing it is if a hiring manager’s going to have to squint to read it. Your resume should feel like a breath of fresh air, not a pain to read!

Common resume wisdom says to stick to a legible font that everyone uses, like Times New Roman or Arial and basic formatting: Your name at the top of the page, followed by your experience and skills. Companies don’t want glitz and glamour but the classic Microsoft Word document is just plain boring and won’t help your resume stand out from the pile of other resumes. You don’t have to be a graphic designer to create a visually appealing resume.

I recommend using Canva to start. Canva is free and has a variety of simplistic resume templates ready to be customized. Depending on where you are applying, your hiring manager might really appreciate something a little more styled.

2. Keep it short and sweet

The one- or two-page resume is a hotly debated topic, but the bottom line is this— you want the information here to be concise and making yourself stick to one page is a good way to force yourself to do this. If you truly have enough relevant and important experience, training, and credentials to showcase on more than one page of your resume, then go for it. But if you can tell the same story with less space? Do it.

You’ve likely heard about people using infographics and other creative resume formats these days. And with good reason! Thinking outside the bullet pointed PDF can be a great way to stand out from the stack, especially when you’re applying to a start-up or a position that values design or interactive skills. That said, many hiring managers still really appreciate the good ol’ 8.5x11” piece of paper.

3. Tailor your skills section

This section should be targeted at the position you’re applying for so include keywords from the job description here. Draw desirable skills from the job listing to get an idea of what might be relevant for your position. Keep a copy of the job specification close by and ensure that the specific skills required for the role are prominent on your resume. You can mirror the language used in the job posting without simply copying what they said, obviously— to show that you are in tune with what they’re looking for.

However, it is also important to think about transferable skills that can be appreciated across different roles. Transferable skills are exactly what they sound like: the skills that you use in every job, no matter the title or the field. There are two types of transferable skills; some are “hard” like coding or data analysis, and some are “soft” skills like communication and leadership. You’d be surprised how important these transferable skills are to help you land a new job.

From my experience, some important transferable skills that I think everyone should have and what most companies want include problem-solving, teamwork, communication, and adaptability. These transferable skills are highly desirable because if you already have them, your employers do not have to worry about training you on them. You can hit the ground running in. any career field and start making positive contributions right away.

4. Think like an employer

Employers and hiring managers spend an average of six seconds per resume (at least at first glance)! Take the time to scan your document with fresh eyes and to make sure everything on the page is relevant for the specific job for which you are applying. You want employers to clearly see the connection between your experiences and the open position.

5. Check and check and then check again 

Finally, triple-check your own work, and then have someone else or two look over your resume to ensure it is 100% clean. There is no room for sloppiness on your resume, especially if you had put “attention to detail” in your skills section. Use good English and watch out for typos as hiring managers often equate typos and errors with laziness and will often automatically dismiss your application if they spot a typo or grammatical error. It is important to also review the formatting very closely, including font, alignment and spacing. Employers said that receiving a resume that’s crafted and addressed to someone else (or worse, a competitor) can be a huge turnoff and will set a negative tone even if they choose to continue reading your application. Proofread as many times as possible, because a poorly constructed resume might just cost you that interview.

Other Common Sense Resume Reminders 

Remember to include a professional email address and phone number that you check regularly. This means, it’s time to ditch the “cutesy” email you made when you were 13 years old and create one that includes your full name. Show your employer that you want the job, you can do the job and that you’re sharp and motivated enough to excel in the job!

By: Karen Shen