Let's face it -- the job hunt can be exhausting. Gone are the days when employers rely on just "experience," to choose the perfect person for the job. Now, your personality, skills, education, and ability to deliver results are assessed so they can make their choice.
The worst part is, these factors are usually considered before you're even offered an interview.
That's why your resume is key.
While we believe in the adage "what's meant for you will be"...we also know that positioning yourself in the best light is necessary to assist in the job-hunting process. So, we decided to compile our top 6 tips to help you create a winning resume.
1) Update your current resume
Your skills and experience change all the time. As a result, your resume should constantly be updated to reflect any relevant changes in your professional career.
The key word here?... relevant.
Due to the nature of recruiting, employers and those who work for HR are only interested in candidates with experience that most closely relate to the position advertised. While reviewing your resume, you should tailor your experiences to match those of the job you're applying for and omit anything that isn't relevant.
This also includes education. If you have certificates or are in the process of obtaining a certificate, leave out any training that doesn't pertain to the job you're applying for.
2) Highlight your results
A few years ago, you could definitely land a job just by sharing your work and/or educational experiences.
While this method can still work for some companies, most hiring committees are looking for your PERSONAL impact. Anyone can have job duties but only you can increase workplace efficiency by 30% or grow profits by 60K each year.
Employers love to see results, and your individual results (in any position you've held) is what will prompt them to call you for that interview. If you haven't tracked your impact, we recommend thinking about every job you've held and really determine how you moved the business forward.
This thought process will be helpful for any future job of yours so you can continue to move up the ladder!
3) Keep it brief
We're all tempted to describe everything we've done at work but limiting your individual job "descriptions" to 4-5 bullet points is more impactful than listing 20 things for every position you've ever held.
Your resume is only a preview of what you can do. Highlight only the best things you've accomplished and keep it moving. Similar to a movie trailer...save the real show for the interview.
Champagne Tip: We suggest taking notes on the info you excluded in your resume. This helps guide exactly what you want to bring up during the interview process. It also gives you more control over the conversation.
4) Group your skill sets
Personal and professional skills tend to be one area where we can all get carried away. Only list your best most pertinent skill sets and lump them if necessary.
For example, you don't want to list Microsoft Office, Excel and PowerPoint on separate lines within your resume. You can simply say proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite ( Office, Excel, PowerPoint).
Champagne Tip: List personal skills that can't be taught. These skills highlight who you are as a human and as a worker. At the end of the day, these will make you look like a far better candidate than someone who doesn't have the same innate qualities.
5) Proofread
A lot of the time, we forget to check our resumes for grammatical and formatting errors. If one of your soft skills is "attention to detail" you definitely don't want to skip this step. A resume with good formatting and zero errors will make you look more professional and will function as proof to some of your listed skills.
Along the lines of formatting, you don't want an overly fancy resume...especially when applying for more traditional positions. Prospective employers are okay with simple documents (so long as your accomplishments speak for themselves).
6) Mirror your resume on LinkedIn
Believe it or not, employers and recruiters will Google you and look at your LinkedIn account. You want to be sure you have some activity on that account and edit your professional experiences to match that of your resume. While you can have a little more "fun" with LinkedIn, you still want to provide prospective employers with accomplishments and results! This update comes in handy if you ever apply for a job via LinkedIn as well!
We already know that you're a great candidate for your dream position, so we hope these tips will give you the boost you need to land that interview.
Wishing you all the best
xoxo
- The Champagne Sisters
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