With unemployment at an all-time high Human Resource Managers are flooded with hundreds of applications in response to a single advertisement for employment. With this many applications to process, hiring managers will quickly discard resumes based on appearance, punctuation or lack thereof, or simple formatting mistakes. If you are indeed qualified for the position then take the time to ensure that you make it to the interview by properly presenting your qualifications on paper. Even if you think that your resume is perfectly up to par you can still give your resume a boost by applying these 5 easy fixes.
Throw out the Cookie Cutter
Sending out a one size fits all resume is likely to miss out on interview opportunities. The number one way to improve your resume right now is to tailor the details to the job that you are applying for. This single improvement used to highlight your qualifications for the advertised position will set you ahead of the pack.
Eliminate the Clutter
Your resume should be written and formatted in such a way as to showcase your talents in the simplest way possible. There are several things that add clutter to a resume including unnecessary punctuation, symbols, lengthy paragraphs, fancy fonts, and irrelevant information.
Order Sections to Your Advantage
Sometimes it is necessary to break from the convention. The order of your Education, Experience and Other Qualifications should always be adjusted to showcase your stronger points first. For instance if your experience best qualifies you for the position then by all means insert and play up your experience first and list the education further down.
Streamline Your Past Experience
This ties in with the first point of the cookie cutter resume and eliminating the clutter. There is no real need to list your entire work history on your resume (especially if you have an extensive work history).
Spell Check
Use the old fashion way to spell check your final document. Depending on your computer to pick up all errors in spelling and grammar is a huge mistake since it will most likely not catch all of them. Your prospective employer will catch them though and when they do you can say goodbye to your chances of getting the job.
Invest the few minutes necessary to spell check by hand and ask a friend to double check as an added insurance.
Get these 5 areas right and soon be on your way to your interview and the job of your dreams!
