Professional Development Resumes & Cover Letters

3 Super Easy Steps to Make Your Resume Powerful

3-Super-Easy-Steps-to-Make-Your-Resume-Powerful
Written by Peter Jones

A resume isn’t just a list of everything you’ve done. It’s your first shot at convincing a company that you’re the perfect fit. Part of that is making clear that your particular skills and experience match precisely with their needs. They’re looking for specialists—you need to show them you have the skills. Resume trends change over time and recruiters tend to look for specific things.

Here are three ways to make sure your resume isn’t too general to get you the job. In addition, here are some of the best resume tips in 2016 that can help you land your next job interview.

1. Do your research

Don’t just blitz the thing to every company that’s hiring in your city. Find a company for whom you know you’d be a fit. Find one that’s the right size for you, in the right industry, and one that you are excited about. Make a short list of these dream companies and focus on them. What’s the culture at each one? Where would you fit in the best? Do you have a particular selling point that would dazzle one company more than the others based on their mission and scope?

2. Be specific

Once you’ve figured out exactly what your ideal company or position is looking for, show them your track record! Tell them precisely how and why you are perfect for that specific job in your personal branding statement. You can incorporate this “look no further” kind of language into descriptions of each position you have held.

3. Show, don’t tell

Consider using an infographic or image of some kind to drive home your point. A chart or a graph can illustrate a particular success claim dramatically, if used correctly. This is a new trend in resumes, but can be very effective when done correctly.

The bottom line is to make sure you know what the company wants, then make sure you show them just how perfectly you match their needs, item by item. It might require a bit of extra work in the resume-crafting stage, but you’ll be glad you did it.

4 Resume Tips To Prove You’re The Perfect Fit For The Position

About the author

Peter Jones