A captivating resume should be a work of art, something that you can appreciate and love. After all, your resume has one job, impress a hiring manager enough to get that interview! If you don’t think that your resume is inspiring, than a recruiter probably won’t either. So, how do you fall in love with your resume?
Think of your resume as an advertisement about you, your skills, achievements and qualifications. You want to be able to give a recruiter a great first impression when your resume is reviewed. Research shows that the average resume is scanned in 30 seconds or less; you have such a short amount of time to gain the reader’s attention. In addition, you need to be sure that your resume is accurate, insightful and has a great story to tell; one the hiring manager will want to continue to read.
What to check in your resume
- Make sure that your information is accurate. You don’t want errors or half-truths to be uncovered during the interview process.
- Verify you have included quantifiable accomplishments, not just job descriptions. Hiring authorities want to know what positive impact you have made on the organizations where you have worked. It is only by analyzing past performance that one can assume what your future performance will be.
- Use skills called out in the job announcement you are responding to. Integrate information from the job announcement into the resume (e.g., specific skills and/or qualifications).
- Resolve any problems that you see in your work history. Those “red flags” can stop an interview before it happens.
At this point ask yourself:
“Does my resume make me feel good about myself?”
“Do I like what I see on my resume?”
“Would I hire someone from this resume?”
If you can answer “yes” to these questions than you have a resume that you can love. Remember, if you love your resume than the recruiters will love you.
