Put This on Your Resume to Get the Job

Posted June 28, 2017

You may have heard that resumes get looked at for an average of about 15 seconds. That isn't a lot of time to make a good impression.

So, you need to be bold when putting your resume together. Use strong words and phrases. Clearly define your accomplishments. Include critical keywords. Use layout to make your information pop.

By putting just a few elements in your resume, you can significantly increase your chances of landing the job.

Use confident language

Pay attention to the words you use, opting for words you think are dynamic and impactful. In particular, use strong action verbs to mention the things you’ve done throughout your education and in your career. Words like coached, managed, volunteered, influenced, addressed, negotiated, launched and won show the person reading your resume you weren’t just taking up space at your last job. You were getting stuff done.

Put numbers to achievements

Using dynamic language can catch the eye, and anybody with a thesaurus can do it. In order to truly grab the attention of your reader, you have to connect those action words to hard numbers.

Sum up your achievements by mentioning the amount of employees you trained, the results of your leadership on projects, the amount of hours you put in doing extra work or the amount of money you saved an employer.

Include keywords and phrases

Because most resumes are submitted online these days, and frequently go through applicant tracking solutions (ATS) that skim resumes just before sending them on to hiring personnel, it's essential to ensure the ATS will "like" your resume by showing it a lot of keywords.

Hiring managers save time by automating part of their process. By instructing an ATS to look for keywords related to an open position, they can weed out resumes that don't mention essential skills or certifications.

While you don't want your resume to turn into a word salad, try to include as many keywords as possible from your industry. Keywords and phrases are usually industry-standard computer programs, protocols, certifications and procedures.

Keep a clean look

Unless you're in an arts-centric profession, don't get too fancy with your resume layout. However, you shouldn't just pop all your information into a standard template and call it a day.

Pay attention to the overall look of your resume and make little tweaks where necessary. For instance, if it looks too "wordy" and jumbled, consider changing some paragraphs into bullet points. Or change bullet points into paragraphs if it looks too skimpy.

Also, make sure your most valuable skills and most impressive achievements are near the top of the page. If a reader is only going to look at your resume for 15 seconds, they should be able to find your biggest selling points as quickly as possible.

Work With a Full-Service Staffing Agency

At Ambassador Personnel, we help job seekers with everything from resume writing to interview prep. Please contact us today to work with a full-service staffing agency and find out how we can help you take the next step on your career path.