Building an all-star resume is much like going on a first date. You put your best assets on display for the person in front of you. Your outfit is perfect, you make the other person laugh, and the date is memorable for both parties. A resume is same way — it needs to look spotless while leaving an impression with the employer.
Dress to impress a hiring manager by getting rid of the fluff in your resume. Instead, fill the document with the meat of your experience, education, qualifications, skills and accomplishments. Once you fill in all the details, polish the document until it is ready to meet your next employer.
Show off your skills and accomplishments in concrete ways that coincide with the position. An all-star resume takes cues from the job description and uses keywords to match. Tailor the document to the employer's needs while putting your best foot forward. Look at the most important qualifications, and then tout how you match the description as realistically as possible.
Use the experience section of your resume to show the employer your career path. The journey should have a beginning and progress as you gain skills through your years of experience. By the time the past employers catch up to the present day on the top of the list, you should have enough years under your belt to match what the employer wants. During each incremental step, your story becomes filled with professional experiences that turn you into the ideal candidate. Much like on a first date, when you regale the other person with entertaining stories, your resume tells your professional story in a series of steps leading up to a logical conclusion.
Lies on resumes are not good. No one expects your resume to fulfill an employer's wildest expectations by mastering each of the qualifications on a job description. Do not exaggerate what you can and cannot do for the company. Someone may find out your lies eventually, and then what do you do?
Include links to social media accounts, your LinkedIn profile and your personal brand's website so an employer can find more information. Make sure the information on these profiles is accurate. Eliminate any untoward posts or detrimental verbiage from your social media presence. This type of information supplements your resume, but it also edifies your career by showing you are an active participant in your industry.
Eliminate any typos from your copy. Read your document aloud and see if you trip over any words. Have someone else look at the resume to see if needs any extra work. Update your contact information so the HR manager knows how to get in touch with you for the interview. Accuracy is vitally important, so every word in your resume counts.
Your resume should perform at the highest level. You don't need to be perfect, but you do need to create a document that has a wow factor every time an HR manager sees it.
Photo courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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