You know that you are qualified; does your resume back you up?
Here is what you can do to make sure your resume shows the hiring manager or recruiter what they need to know: that you are the perfect candidate.
- Study the company’s website and its job posting or advertisement to understand—at a minimum—what the company does and where you would fit into its structure. That information should translate into keywords and skills you embed in your resume.
- Include in your resume the key skills that you have and that companies are looking for in someone with your background. Those skills should appear as part of your accomplishments but also as part of a skills list.
- Make sure your skills are targeted: yes, you can play the oboe but that is not generally a skill required by either a carpenter or Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
- Remember that soft skills may be just as important as hard skills. Soft skills include the ability to work in or lead a team, communicate with stakeholders and board members, develop talent, manage change, develop a customer-centric vision, encourage diversity, spark innovation, and so on.
- In your summary, stress the ways that you can help a company solve its problems, whether through increased sales, better customer relations, improved software, re-organization—or wherever your skills and experience will make the most impact.
- Accomplishments are vital for making your qualifications clear. They show that you not only have skills but know how to use them to the company’s benefit.
- Give education, both post-secondary and continuing education, the emphasis it deserves in your field. Achievements like a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a black belt in Six Sigma, or training in negotiation, coaching, or leadership are valuable additions to your qualifications.
- Make sure you mention any awards you received from your customers, peers, bosses, or the industry at large.
When your resume is written around your specific qualifications, you stand out from the other candidates. Your competitors may also be qualified in their own way, but they cannot possibly share your unique combination of skills, accomplishments, education, and awards. Let Robin’s Resumes® help ensure that employers and recruiters see you as the new hire they have been searching for.