TOP THINGS TO NOTICE ABOUT YOUR RESUME AT FIRST GLANCE

The biggest mistake of any applicant is to believe every resume’s section plays equally significant role for being hired. Well, except for the additional information part like hobbies. Most recruiters today prefer reading electronic resume. Paper submissions get their office overloaded with too much documentation. The way you design your online resume also performs what kind of PC user you are.

Outlines for submitting a mid- to senior-level resume.

Mentioning your current position is a must. Otherwise, an employer might wonder whether you are the one striving for this job most of all. Recruiters want to know if the applicant was laid off or got fired for misbehavior. What were the reasons? Whose initiative was it? Many employers are looking for potentially loyal staff who will work at least two years for the company. You know, they don’t need instability.

Your potential employer is a company snob. Keep it in mind. Not that praise will get you a job, but it will increase the chances somehow. Also, they simply love seeing familiar names in the employment history. In case you worked for an unknown company or tiny private business, don’t expect no sweat. Highlight your previous company’s goals just to draw an overall picture of what you did before. No recruiter will spend time on searching information about some weird companies.

Your past responsibilities also play a great role.

One thing is to list your skills, but another is to mention whether you applied them in a real-life situation. How lucky your previous experience in using some tools was? List it all in employment history. Make necessary words from each position bold.

With the Internet’s progress, modern employers search for the desired resume by inputting keywords related to the particular job offer. Unless you don’t highlight “Java”, “CSS”, “HTML” and other crucial words in your resume as the keys, your chance of obtaining the job decreases heavily. Keywords save a plenty of time.

The gaps always strike employer’s eye. In order not to make him think you were having problems with drugs or law, just briefly explain the reason for being unemployed: “stay-at-home” mom or bad financial times because of unsuccessful private business might be a clue.

Web presence is crucial for nowadays life. Refer to at least one of your social pages (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, whatever). These contacts are even more important today than phone number, e-mail or postal address.

General logistics may sound like just another formality, but still your location and availability to work in particular place matter.

Even if a candidate applies for IT or engineering position, his overall literacy, especially grammar and spelling, plays an enormous role. Make sure to double-check your resume before submitting it elsewhere.

You may wonder, but it takes less than one minute to look through these fundamental issues. In-depth reading is not suitable for professional HRs. The resume may be read once more thoroughly just before the interview. Cover letters are often ignored. But, it is better to attach them as well.

Meanwhile, there are some sections that stay out of recruiter’s sight. It doesn’t mean they necessarily have to be deleted, but don’t focus on them too much. They are:

• Education. Real life experience is always preferred. The only exception might be business positions: BBA and MBA are then demanded. Tech companies are also among those who care about educational background (consider search engines or social networks, for instance).
• Fancy formatting. You’re not at school any more – forget about that stuff! Pinterest is a great tool, but it’s not the point for obtaining a job. Recruiters won’t notice how awesome your creative resume is unless its content is deficient. However, original approaches work perfectly for such positions as a designer, fashion expert, hairdresser, etc.
• Too much personal details. Don’t overload your resume with that rubbish – leave it all to “soap operas”. Noone is interested in the reasons of your divorcement.

Recommendations

Involve more personality into the resume. Don’t confuse it with the point above. While applying for a job, this word means your feelings, preferences, and thoughts regarding a particular industry. Highlight your career goals. Focus more on your talents and skills which make you unique.

URLs are rather important, especially for positions like copywriters or content managers. Provide your potential employer with enough evidence to pick you out of the rest. Persuade him by giving some links to your previous materials and works. It will add up to your credibility. In this section, you might also recall your successfully completed projects from the past places of work or internship.

Make sure not to:

1. Use MS Word’s resume templates (*facepalm*)
2. Write resume in first person. Don’t put “I” everywhere you can. It has to carry a neutral voice.
3. Create ridiculous number of pages. Nobody will even look at the novel by James Green, who is looking for an accountant position. Maximum three pages resume would be okay.
4. Keep only to the traditional structure required back in 90’s. There is no more need to begin your paper only with Objectives field.
5. Send a resume to local CEOs. Believe it or not, they have much more things on a schedule.
6. Exaggerate titles and job duties. The liar is usually seen with the naked eye.