Ok, so you have applied to many jobs and still aren't getting many call backs. Are you looking over your resume wondering what you are missing? If so, maybe your resume is just boring. With the job market getting tougher, you need to find ways to make your resume really stand out. There are a few things that you can do to highlight your amazing abilities and keep your resume from being the same as all of the other applicants.
Here are 10 ways to bolster your resume and grab their attention-
Show your results in dollars- When you are listing your previous job duties, be sure to use dollars to measure a skill. And example would be “implemented a new program that saved over $25,000 a year.” You can do this with almost any job if you think about how you made a difference to the company your worked for rather than trying to explain what your job duties were.
Highlight skills used- Every time you want to list a job responsibility, be sure to highlight a technical skill and a people skill that you used to accomplish the task. For example a barista might say that he “Worked with specialized equipment to custom design products for clients”
Demonstrate the quality of your work- Whenever possible, tell the reader how amazing you are. Try listing a job responsibility that tells them that you produce high quality results. An example would be “consistently ranked in the top 5% of our sales team”.
Use killer phrases effectively- Killer phrases are ones that employers use often, and by using them yourself they are more likely to resonate with the reader. For example, “completed the project on time and under budget” or “uses technology to problem solve” or “did less with more”. Be careful with these because it is possible to overuse them. If you aren't that familiar with the field you are applying for, do a little research to find out what are some of the key phrases that bosses say to employees in your desired field. In a call center, for example, it may be offered value added services on every contact. Make sure that you only use a few of these.
Demonstrate your leadership skills- Employers love to hire people with leadership skills, even in positions that don't involve management. Think about times when you have had to use leadership skills to resolve a conflict, assist a customer or complete a project and be sure to list what skills you used.
Include web links- Whenever possible, you should provide a link where the employer can view your work online. If you contribute to an industry specific blog, or have design work available, be sure to include the link.
Show organizational skills- show them an example of a time when you took something confusing and simplified it to make it easy. An example would be “consolidated several client databases into one simple directory”.
Problem identification-include a time when you were able to identify a problem before it became severe and fixed it. Employers want to see that you are a problem solver, so show them. Almost anyone in any position has been able to identify problems, so don't think that this doesn't apply.
Use quotes- select one or two previous jobs that you are the most proud of. Then, use a quote from a manager to describe yourself in the position. For example, when explaining duties, say that you were “highlighted in a management report as one of the “key players” in landing a contract.
Goal setting- Show them that you know how to set goals and work toward them by listing a time that you had to do just that. It doesn't matter how simple of a task it was, because employers want to see that you know how to reach a goal.
I know that for some, bragging about yourself can seem silly or downright egotistical, but you have to keep in mind that your resume is your commercial. If you can't brag during your commercial, when can you? The main thing is this, always be honest. No matter how humble your previous positions may seem to you, there were always skills that you developed and used that potential employers want to hear about. They don't tend to care so much about where you used to work but more so about what sort of employee you are. They want to hire someone who will be a good addition to their team. So, once you know who you are marketing yourself to, and what it is they want to see, it is much easier to take the information and put it in a way that proves to them that you are the sort of person they are looking for.
By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.
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