I view the cover letter and resume as the “golden ticket” to enter the world of interviews. If those items don’t pique the interest of the hiring committee/recruiter/etc, that’s typically the end of the road for you with that position, unfortunately.
To make sure you get that call for an interview, here are some tips I’ve found extremely useful:
1) Template
If you weren’t able to utilize a career services expert during high school or college, or if you’re returning to the job hunt, this is your new starting point. The way a resume is laid out is actually quite important; recruiters and HR reps can tell right off the bat if you’re using an older resume or just threw all of your information onto the page. Typing “resume templates” into a search engine can yield great results; if that tends to overwhelm you, try enlisting the help of a family friend who has experience with resumes. You may also be able to ask friends who have recently been hired to send you the template(s) they used.
All companies and organizations want to see resumes that are fresh, clean, precise, and visually-appealing. Depending on the field you are looking to get in to, you may have color on your resume or may be asked to include a picture of yourself.
Don’t be afraid to ask for guidance or help. Family and friends want to see you succeed and are often very willing to look over your rough drafts and work with you on making sure everything is visually all set!
2. Cater to the Position
Let’s say you have found this awesome position that you KNOW you want to apply for. It’s perfect. So now what? Examine the posting for keywords that they use to describe the type of person they are looking for and where possible, use them in your resume. Don’t panic if you can’t use them all and don’t go overboard and use them several times – ideally, your resume should be made up of strong keywords that are both used in the posting and with some that are not (but still highlight your greatness J). Use the keywords to highlight your experience that pertains to what they are looking for. Some examples of keywords to look for and use could be manage, negotiate, facilitate, analyze, and successful (there are plenty of others though). Again, a search of something along the lines of “job keyword examples” can give you lists of other keywords to use.
Make sure to change the keywords to past-tense if the job is not something that you currently do.
3) Relevance
Traditionally, a resume is a single page and a hiring company will often only take six seconds to look it over. In those six seconds, you not only want a clean, visually appealing look, and the keywords that they are looking for, but you also want to make sure you showcase your relevant experience for that position. When possible, have your relevant experience closer to the top of your resume. Don’t panic if you can’t switch things around though – instead, use the keywords they are searching for with the experience that is relevant. That will allow your experience to stand out to them.
4) New Application? New Resume!
Every time you decide to apply for a new position, re-examine your resume and clean it up. Maybe you need to add some new information to it and therefore will have to take some other stuff off; or you need to make sure you’re putting enough emphasis on the experience that the new position is looking for. Very rarely should you send out the exact same resume to multiple jobs (sometimes you can, but we won’t go into that right now).
Looking over your resume again a few days later can be really helpful in catching any errors and allowing you to view it in a fresh light. Taking the time to ensure you are sending the best resume you can gives you the best outcome moving forward for that position.
If you’re looking for a new job, keep these tips in mind to help keep some of your stress down. Applying for a job can be scary whether you are brand new to the game or simply looking to move up within a company. Hopefully these tips help you land the job you’ve always wanted!
What other resume writing tips do you find useful? Do you use the tips talked about in the article?
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I think one of the major problems people make is not tailoring their resume to the job posting. It’s a lot of work to do that for every job you apply to but in the end its worth it.
MonaSez It does take a lot of effort, but it is so important to do!
Great tips! Customize resume before applying for a job is very important. Also my suggestion will be try to find a clean and precise temple for resume. Good idea will be come up with some thing by ourselves, so that you your one is different that others. I always prefer to go for simple. It always works best.
John Haver It is very important to customize, definitely! And I really agree with your simple and clean look for a resume – people are not willing to muck through your resume, they want to see it and be done!
Having a good resume will help you to get your ideal job. It’s better to double check your resume before applying to see if there’s any errors.
Clarisse @ Make Money Your Way I always find that double checking is so important…you need that fresh look at it before you send it, just to be on the safe side!
I’m not incredibly knowledgeable on this stuff, but the advice that always stuck with me is making sure you have a clear, concise message you want to convey and that it’s obvious what that message is from a quick glance.
Matt @ Mom and Dad Money Yes, definitely! If there is too much going on and your resume isn’t clean and to the point…people won’t spend any more time on you.
Don’t let them smell like cigarette smoke! My old boss used to smell resumes and throw them away if they smelled like smoke. She didn’t want to hire a smoker.
Holly at ClubThrifty Un-scented is definitely best!
I’m always amazed that people just copy and past cover letters and resumes without tailoring them to the position. I’ve even heard people forgetting to change the name or company name!
brokeandbeau That is my nightmare! Haha, but I really think it is so important to take at least five minutes to change things up, leave it for a bit, and come back with fresh eyes…it really helps make sure that everything is ready to go. Tailoring is so important and it doesn’t take that long once you get the hang of it!
Being on the job market, these are very nice tips. I often use a new resume tailored to the job I am applying for.
BorrowedCents Good luck with your job search! And a new tailored resume is a great thing :)
Great tips! I think it’s important to keep everything on one page (unless you’re older and have had a long career). Also, if you’re interviewing or handing in your resume in person, it’s nice to put it on resume paper.
SavvyWithSaving Thank you! Those tips are both great, people get so picky when it comes to hiring so making sure you have everything covered (resume paper!) will help you get your foot in the door and make you more confident when you go in for the interview.
I think catering to the position is essential! Web I first started my résumé it was so general and I didn’t focus on each job but its essential to getting I the next step!
Monicaonmoney It took me a while to figure it out too; if you want great results (ie, make it to interviews), you really need to take the time to work on each resume and utilize the job posting to do it!
I look through resumes for my job and it’s a pet peeve when someone has more than one page for an entry level position. Don’t list every job you’ve ever done. Tailor your objective specifically for the company.
Charles@gettingarichlife Definitely agree!
I usually will tweak my resume to cater to the position of the job but I have never been able to put together cover letters. I have always just thought of them as a waste of time. Any one I’ve ever seen just looked like a resume in paragraph form. I realize I might take some flak for that thinking, but I’ve been able to acquire jobs without them so far.
MicrosMissions Oh cover letters…awful little things. Kudos to you for being able to get around having to do them!
I always tailor my cover letter to the position I am applying for. I think the biggest thing is having a clear, concise resume. We have been hiring at my job, and I’ve seen a handful of the resumes that have been sent in. Some of them are big walls of text, and others just look plain. I wouldn’t be too enticed to read them! The other thing we’ve noticed is that some older people still have stuff from high school on their resume (people with 10+ years of working). Keep irrelevant information off your resume!
JourneytoSaving All very good tips! And so important to keep in mind. It might take a while to find a template that is clean and concise, but the time spent on it is so worth it!