Tips to Making Your Resume Stand Above the Crowd

As you begin to apply for jobs, it is essential to make your resume stand out above the rest. Competition is fierce, with more people applying for positions and unfortunately, most hiring managers only take a quick look at resumes to determine if the person has the qualifications to fulfill the job requirements.

An elite executive resume writer can help highlight your skills professionally and hand-craft every detail of your job history to ensure that it communicates your unique value to hiring managers.

Keep in mind that they have a massive pile of documents to look through every day, and it may be overlooked if it doesn’t stand out clearly and concisely. In addition, companies are usually looking to fill positions quickly, and the more time they have to spend sifting through resumes, the more time they spend without their necessary team members. So keep reading for more information on how to make your resume shine.

Cater Your Resume to the Job 

When applying for different jobs, they may be looking for similar but ultimately different skill sets and experiences. Cater your document to what job you’re applying for. “Many people think that their resumes need to exist in one format. This isn’t the case. In fact, depending on your varied job experience you should have a resume outlining all of your skills. It’s easy to cater your resume for the job you’re applying for, and one thing you can do is only include jobs with relevant experience, the most relevant being at the very top. If they can see quickly and clearly that you have the skills to perform the job, you’re more likely to get a callback,” said Isaiah Henry, CEO of Seabreeze Management. 

When listing your previous job experiences, put the most relevant positions at the top of the page. This will save the hiring manager time and show that you are getting straight to the point with your resume. “Put yourself in the interviewer’s shoes. If you have stacks of resumes to look through, you’re going to want a short and concise resume. These are the ones that are going to stand out. Put your most relevant experience at the top, and leave out anything that doesn’t pertain to the job. Try to keep your resume to a page or two at the most. If you only have a few things bleeding onto a second page, see if there’s a way to consolidate the information and shorten it to a single page,” said Alan Ahdoot, Founder and Partner of Adamson Ahdoot Law.

Don’t Discount Anything 

Many job applicants might be trying to break into an industry with adjacent experience and may need to think of community service experience or volunteer experience that fits the skills necessary for the job. “Dig deep for relevant experience. If you’re trying to break into an industry, you’ll represent any pertinent skills in ways that might not be as straightforward as someone who has years of experience. Many entry-level applicants have much more experience than they know from taking part in collaborative or extracurricular activities throughout their lives. Don’t discount anything you think might be relevant!” said Jared Hines, Head of Operations at Acre Gold. 

This is when it comes in handy to have experience as a volunteer or from doing an internship in the past. “Many young people shy away from volunteering and internship opportunities simply because they aren’t paid. But they can do amazing things for your resume when applying for jobs in the future,” said Lauren Singer of Package Free Shop.

Cover Letters vs. Resumes 

Remember, you don’t need to tell your life story in your resume. This document is for outlining your experience as an employee. “Understand that cover letters and resumes are completely different documents. The cover letter is where you should be describing your career goals and your resume should be where your job experience and roles can be easily reviewed. Anything too wordy on your resume is likely going to get skipped over regardless, so make sure you are concise with where you put all your information,” said Reece Kresser, Co-Founder of Zizi. 

Resumes that exist in shorter, concise formats are often more successful at grabbing the attention of a hiring manager. “Save your personal statements for your cover letter. This is where you can describe unique stories, strengths or experiences that make you uniquely qualified for the job. When applicants put this in their resume, it can come across as unprofessional and redundant since that information will be asked for in the cover letter,” said David Lortscher of Curology.

Know What Skills Are Desired and Use Keywords 

Get an idea of what the hiring managers will be looking for prior to applying by doing research into the company and combing the job description for relevant information. “As best you can, have an idea of what the hiring manager is looking for when you apply. Usually, most of this information is available in the job posting. If they’re looking for someone who is self-motivated, make sure you highlight an experience that reflects your ability to problem solve on their own. If they’re looking for someone to follow a particular procedure, provide examples of success in this field on your resume,” said Jaymee Messler, CEO of The Gaming Society. 

You can also try this helpful trick for propping up your resume and catering it further provided by Justin Soleimani, Co-Founder of Tumble. “A helpful trick for bolstering your resume is to pay attention to keywords used in the job description. Peppering those throughout your resume will definitely make it stand out, and show that you as an applicant understand the lingo of the business. This can be hugely helpful in making your resume stand out from a pile of others. Scan the job description and see what you can include in your resume to cater it to the job and company you’re applying with.” 

Proofread Your Resume

Of course, make sure that you double-check you’re writing before it goes out to any companies or hiring managers. It can make the difference between you getting a callback and needing to apply to a handful of other jobs. “Have a trusted friend, relative or colleague proofread your resume. You’d be surprised at the number of small mistakes you can miss when you’re busy trying to prove your experience to a job. Having another set of eyes can be really helpful in determining if your document is looking up to snuff and professionals to start handing out to potential hiring managers. Proofread and proofread again before sending your resume out!” said Kevin Callahan, Co-Founder & CEO of Flatline Van Co.

So, whether you’re a recent graduate or have been in the workforce for a while, keeping your resume clean and concise is always important. Stick to one page if you can and make sure your most relevant experience is at the top. Hiring managers want to be able to clearly and easily see what your relevant jobs are rather than having to sift through a long and hard-to-read document to search for the relevant jobs. Take out anything that isn’t relevant to save the hiring manager and interviewers time and show your professionalism. Keeping your resume clean also shows respect for the time the company has to spend sifting through documents. Save your unique experiences for your cover letter where you can go into more detail about them, rambling resumes are never going to stand out from the crowd. And as always, if you need any help with your resume or job search in general, don’t forget to get in touch with a close friend or relative to proofread your resume and help you catch any typos and grammatical errors. Good luck and keep things clean and concise! 

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