Think You Have a Strong Resume? Think Again

Although tailoring a resume to an employer, proofreading the document thoroughly and listing your most relevant skills are important steps to creating the perfect job application, you should be ready to put for a little more effort. Before you bask in the glow of your work of art, you need to check three more aspects that comprise a strong resume — without them, other candidates may have an edge over you.

1. More Information

Your document contains the meat of your professional experiences, but it should lead to more information. A strong resume includes avenues that allow hiring managers to find out more about you. This means supplying links to your LinkedIn page, a professional website with a portfolio of your work and at least one relevant social media account.

Use hyperlinks within the resume to send recruiters directly to your relevant websites. Make it as easy as possible for people to find positive information about your personal brand. Your LinkedIn profile should be as complete as possible with your contact information easily accessible, and a vanity URL might better identify the webpage.

Maintain a consistent message across your social media profiles and your professional website. Write blogs, comment on relevant news from your industry and make connections with people you find to be valuable additions to your network.

2. Your Voice

Enlisting the help of other people to create a strong resume is usually a good thing because another set of eyes can give you an objective opinion of your work. If you feel you need an extra brain to examine your document, you can also hire an expert who can turn a so-so CV into a strong resume.

Before you submit the piece to an employer, read it aloud several times, and double-check the facts of your experience, skills, qualifications and education. Make sure the words sound like something you would say. Sometimes your helpers may go too far and start inventing things that don't belong. Perhaps someone gets a date wrong on your work history or embellishes a few of your job duties. You don't want to misrepresent yourself, and you need to know what to say when an interviewer asks about line items found within the resume.

3. Mobile Formatting

A strong resume is formatted for mobile devices, as more and more recruiters are turning to mobile as a way to find the best hires. Use simple formatting for your document, with bullet points, easily readable fonts and white space in between text. Leave off any infographics, images, colored text and scrawling fonts. Examine your resume on your own mobile phone to see how it looks. Does it appear easy enough for you to read without any straining or enlarging the text on the screen?

A strong resume has no surprises, and a hiring manager should have no problem reading, understanding and navigating your perfect document. A user-friendly resume leads to an easier way for someone to follow up with you to schedule an interview.

Photo courtesy of Lauren's 365 at Flickr.com