“Just send over your Resume and we’ll have a look” is a common phrase that you should get used to hearing when applying for jobs. Then it turns out that you never hear back from the person you shared your resume with.
Self-doubt starts setting in. Maybe “I wasn’t good enough, to begin with” or “maybe there’s something wrong with me”. Relax champ and keep your head high. The only reason (most likely) that you were ghosted, or no employer showed interest is due to your lackluster resume.
Your professional worth is based on how good your resume is both in formatting and what’s written in it. The good news for you is that there are ways to make your resume attractive to top recruiters.
You just have to follow the simple steps mentioned in this guide to become a top applicant for your dream job.
April 12, 2024 by Journi ZoeiCrafting An Impressive Resume: An In-depth Guide
Job-hunting didn’t used to be this bad. It was mostly you are taking your resume over at the office and the person in charge of hiring would decide right there and then. They would decide if you were a perfect fit for their organization. Hands would be shaken, and that person would end up working for that company till their retirement.
At least that’s how it used to work during your granddad’s days. The old meta is outdated these days. Platforms like LinkedIn have made it so easier for anyone to apply from the comfort of their homes.
That’s why at any moment in time you can get 1000+ applicants for top vacancies in a matter of hours. Recruiters have found a time-saving to deal with these volumes of applications. By using application tracking systems.
That’s who we have to beat and create an impressive standout resume for. We’ll also create great resumes for human hiring management in the process but it’s ATS that you have to clear as your first major hurdle.
- Choose the “Application Tracking System” Template
Far and away, this is the number one reason why your resumes aren’t good enough to warrant an interview. A proper ATS template focuses on only the important stuff. There is no room for fluff in it as seen below:
Note: This image is for this article’s purpose. Resumes should follow a single-page pattern
It continues with education, skills, awards, and certifications on the next page. Just keep in mind that if you’re a professional then your experience comes first in your resume otherwise, replace experience with the education heading.
- Use “Reverse Chronological Order”
As the name implies, you start with your most recent activities first such as your most recent work experience. It goes well with the ATS template in fact, it’s widely regarded as the best practice.
Many employers prefer this format because it lets them quickly see your most current and relevant experience. It’s easy to follow for employers which is always a bonus, ATS or not. Placing your most recent job at the top of your resume is particularly important if your current role is directly relevant to the job you’re applying for.
Image Courtesy: Enhancv
- Write a Captivating Professional Summary
This is going to be the second but usually the first real thing any recruiter is going to pay attention to. It’s here where your resume will be accepted or rejected based on your formatting and what you’ve actually written.
Whether it’s an automated process with ATS or a human recruiter going through your entire resume, it’s obvious that you need to create an impact. The template we shared with you above states that your professional summary must contain:
Summing up even 9 months of professional experience in just 2-3 sentences or bullet points is easier said than done. Plus, they have to relate to the position you’re applying for. You can try it for yourself.
Sum up the most important achievements and strengths in your current role. This gets exponentially tough if you have years of experience. Come back when you’ve failed at summarizing the best aspects of your job, we’ve got a perfect solution for you.
The solution is easily accessible, free to use, and reliable in the form of an AI text summarizer. An AI summarizer is needed as abstractive summarization is the way to go for creating the best original professional summaries as evidenced below
- Showcase Gaugeable Results And Relevant Skills
By gaugeable results, we mean results during your time of work using numbers to better explain your achievements. Your talent can be measured and appreciated by recruiters if you present your contributions as they’ve impacted revenue or other KPIs.
What sounds more impressive to you? “I’ve completed daily target goals and brought in record revenue for the company at the end of each month” or “I met the daily target of 10 sales quota and brought in 5% extra revenue at the end of each month for the company”
I think option b is a clear winner. Achievements that talk actual numbers and how much value your skills are providing your employers. Speaking of skills, make sure to include relevant skills to the current role you’re applying for.
Skills like content writing and social media management will be highly irrelevant to a software engineer’s vacancy. Your resume will be rejected on the spot due to the lack of relevant keywords you’ve provided. On the topic of relevant keywords…
- Implement Relevant Keywords
Oh yes, a feature of ATS is how it tracks resumes for relevant keywords to the job description. If you’re applying for a DevOps engineer role and your resume doesn’t include a single mention of DevOps then your resume will be rejected or ignored.
Resume keywords are phrases included in resumes that directly relate to specific job positions. Employers and recruiters scan through batches of resumes with a simple search function or using ATS software (majorly).
The ATS ranks applicants based on how well your resume keywords match exactly what’s in the job description. The higher you rank, the more chances you have of getting contacted for a job interview.
The strategic way of placing keywords is 2-3 times at least in the resume so they get tagged by ATS and you have a chance. Use keywords in each section. Try inserting them in a natural context instead of forcing them as you would in content optimization for SEO.
Concluding Remarks
Make sure to use action verbs in your resume for more impact. Proofread for any typos, grammar errors, and formatting problems. Organize your resume into bullet points. Use fonts like Arial with font size 11.
Add links to your LinkedIn or personal website/portfolio if they’re optimized for viewing. Use PDF to preserve formatting for the love of God and lastly, tailor your resume for each job. Small adjustments here and there according to each diverse job role. That’s all you need for creating a standout top-tier resume.
About the author
Journi Zoie
Content Writer
Journi Zoie is a dedicated Content Writer specializing in Education, Digital Marketing, and Technology. With over 3 years of writing experience, she enjoys creating content that’s easy to understand and provides helpful information.
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