Working on your resume always feels like a daunting task. It can feel uncomfortable to promote yourself in a manner that will come across as confident and not as arrogant. And what about the formatting? What gets resumes noticed and what gets them tossed in the trash?
As someone that has reviewed a fair number of resumes— I can tell you from experience what gets a resume noticed and what turns interviewers off.
Don’t Describe Job Duties
A typical resume is a list of your prior working experience. It lists the title of your job, your employers name, start and end dates, and a list of the duties that you were responsible for handling. This is where so many job seekers go wrong. Your future employer doesn’t really care about what you did on the day to day— they care about how you benefited the company.
Are you a police officer? Sure, you patrolled traffic daily. You chased down bad guys and kept the community safe. But did you? Is that REALLY what you brought to the company that employed you? No. You brought comfort and dignity to a high stress profession. You kept the community safe while upholding a strong moral code. You ensured that the police department’s public image was never tarnished by your reputation, but instead, was enhanced by you being there.
That is what employers want to know. How can you ENHANCE their company and do you have a track record to back that up? You aren’t selling what you think you’re selling here, dig deeper.
Pro Tip: Before you start job hunting, keep an accomplishment tracker spreadsheet. Record every single task you did while working that benefitted the company and describe how it did so.
2. Formatting
Resumes should be limited to one page— two if you have a boat load of experience in a related field. Short and sweet is the name of the game.
For the love of everything that is holy. If you are not a model or an actress searching for their next gig. Do not include a picture on your resume. Sure, it’s great in theory. You want them to have a face to a name. Sometimes, it might even work. Our goal here is to get you a job. What we don’t want to do is throw in some unconscious prejudice into the mix. Let employers form a picture of you in their mind using only your resume!
3. Use that Cover Letter!
When you are on the hunt for a job, you need to know what you are looking for. A high paying career isn’t going to pop out and beg you to apply. Research companies in your field of interest, follow these companies, and figure out what their core values are. A cover letter attached to a resume is the perfect opportunity to show a business that you have taken the time to understand who they are and what they need in an employee. This is your time to explain your resume and impress the reader. Show them that you are the only person that is right for the job.
