Not many people think about their resumes and hiring materials when they think about spring cleaning. It can be a great time of year to review the details on your resume and clean out old, irrelevant information. Here are a few things you can do to spruce up your resume and stand out.
Trim the Page Count Down
Employers don’t want to spend more than 10 minutes reviewing someone’s hiring materials. If your resume is extra-long, it may put them off from looking at it all together. Your resume should be no longer than two pages. If you need to trim your resume down, use bullet points and shorter sentences to explain your skills and experience. You can also cut down the amount of information on the page, highlighting the most important details.
Use Tasks and Skills to Highlight Work Accomplishments
Speaking of highlighting the key details, you should use your tasks and skills to showcase career accomplishments. For instance, many employers seek candidates who have good problem-solving skills. However, listing problem-solving amongst your skills isn’t the best way to tell employers you are skilled at it. Instead, describe ways you have used problem-solving in previous positions.
Don’t Write an Objective Statement
The objective lines on your resume are outdated. In place of this one-liner, add a quick career summary or tagline under your name that gives the employer a snapshot of who you are. This small bit of information will make your application more memorable.
Delete Any Outdated Information
In addition to removing your objective line, you should delete other outdated information too. Nothing on your resume should go back past 10 to 15 years. For more seasoned professionals, narrowing down what to include can be difficult. Typically, it is safe to exclude anything from your early career or any school-age accomplishments you have listed.
Make Sure the Experience is Relevant
That brings us to relevancy. Every piece of your career likely feels important to you, but some pieces of information will be more relevant to the position you are applying to than others. You should also only include experience that pertains to your long-term career goals. If it isn’t directly relevant to your career at large, the experience included needs to apply to the job specifically.
Pick a Different Template to Work With
Sometimes a new template can make a huge difference. You want the look and feel of your resume to give the impression that you are professional and organized. At the same time, you want to highlight want makes you unique. Choose a template that allows you to organize your career information in an attractive way.
Work With a Recruiter to Clean Up Your Resume
Working with a professional recruiter can help you prepare your hiring materials for potential employers. Your recruiter will sit down with you, learn about your experience and goals, and find a job that suits your needs. Contact the Staffing Resource Group to see how our team of recruiters can help you find your dream job.
