Landing a job is not that easy, as it may seem on the very first sight, especially in today’s challenging world. Many applicants encounter difficulties in finding a job after months of searching. You should develop your own job hunt strategy to raise the chances of getting a job.
The main task of the recruiters is to evaluate candidates. You should make emphasis on all your strong skills to make them pay attention to your candidacy and invite you to the interview. And this is where a good looking resume will be in handy.
A resume is a document that summarizes your work experience, education, skills and achievements for a prospective employer, which assesses whether an applicant would be a suitable candidate for the position. And you have only six seconds to impress an employer.
Thuswise, a professional resume review is obligatory for a potential candidate to succeed in the job hunt and free resume evaluation systems may help with it.
Let’s consider the main factors that will help you to check yourself and make a professional looking resume before pushing “send” button.
1. Proofread Your Resume
Don’t underestimate the importance of resume spelling and grammar. The resume should highlight your excellent command of the language. If the recruiter sees you lack basic grammar knowledge, you can say goodbye to the chances of being called for an interview. Before submitting your application, re-read it to catch the potential errors. Don’t rely on Microsoft Word to find misspellings. Send it to your friend, relative or another person you trust to so they will take a glimpse and indicate any mistakes left. None of the recruiters needs good applicants with bad grammar.
2. Use the Right Form of Tenses
Resume writing includes correct usage of tenses. If the action, which you are describing in your resume, took part in the past, so use past tenses. But if you are speaking about the current moment, so use present tenses. Such mistakes are on the apple of the eye of the hiring manager.
Resume spelling is a very significant part of the narration about yourself. ATS system can identify candidates who have errors in their in their applications, so that is the next reason why you should obtain grammar accuracy. Devote some time to resume grammar check and it will reward you back.
Choosing the right resume fonts is another significant part of your application. Some people try to stand out an use their favorite Papyrus and Comic Sans or any other fantasy or monospace font. Never do it if you don’t want your resume to end at the bottom of a trash can. Recruiters blacklist these childish fonts. Better, use one of the serif or sans-serif fonts, such as Calibri, Cambria, Garamond or Georgia, which are considered to be the best according to career experts.
3. Be Aware of ATS systems
Applicant tracking system provides hiring tools for companies. When you apply for a job online, your resume doesn’t go directly to the recruiter, firstly it’s processed by an ATS software, which evaluates applicants and collects all the resumes in a database. And that makes keyword optimization of your resume a crucial factor when applying online.
Let’s pretend you are applying for a project manager position. If your resume includes the word “project”, it is great. The system will automatically give you a few points as you seem to be the right person for the position. But if your current job is listed as “sales manager”, you will be waiting for a call from the hiring manager for a very long time. Your resume should be optimized for the particular opening or position to be evaluated successfully.
Corporations, government, and recruiting agencies starting using software to scan and rate job applications. As soon as you have uploaded it, the ATS starts to determine your professional experience, qualifications and education match the job description. And with an ATS friendly resume, you boost your chances to pass ATS and be invited for an interview. If you are not sure if your resume complies the format, you can use ATS resume checker to review it before applying.
4. Keep Focused
Resume readability should be at the very high level. It should state what you have accomplished, what skills you have obtained. The presentation of your main message must be clear and precise. If you are applying for a position of a healthcare administrator, you should highlight such questions as “Why are you the perfect candidate for this position?”, “What makes you different from the other 50 applicants?” The hiring managers, while looking at your resume, should be clear about the narrative you are telling.
5. Avoid Unnecessary Language
A good looking resume is not the place to use highfalutin language. If your resume lack specific language, do not try to replace it with smart-sounding words. Using non-conversational words doesn’t make you look smart or sophisticated. It makes you look like a person who spends too much time in a thesaurus.
6. Use appropriate resume format
By sending resume as PDF you can be sure that the formatting will be preserved. If it was made in Word, it could display differently on the addressee computer than it does on yours. Do not use polished formatted text resumes. Recruiters pay attention to each detail, and such format will not add to your chances of being hired.
7. Professional Resume Naming
Please give up the idea of naming your resume “Resume.pdf” or “StevenResume.pdf”. You must be concise. There is no need in making something up. All you need is to include your full name and current month/year of applying.
For example, “EmilyClarkson-June2018.pdf.” In such way, you keep the information clear of who you are and date of the last revision of this resume for the hiring manager.
8. Make a Creative resume
A good resume looks differently from the hundreds of others, and it will help you stand out from the rest. Each day, hiring managers spend hours reading online job applications. Give yourself a competitive advantage of being creative and impressive, especially if you’re a person of art or apply for marketing position.
9. Update Your Resume
Most of the job seekers know that a resume is your career summary and only the most essential skills and achievements will make you the number one candidate. An updated resume make vivid all of the employment gaps and inspire you for self-improvement in your future career.
10. Include a Cover Letter
A cover letter is a document which you send with your resume to provide additional information about your skills and experience, it is the chance to make a case for your candidacy. It always should accompany your resume to raise your chances of being hired. Don’t underestimate its influence on the recruiter.
