As a former hiring manager I tend to have a critical eye on resumes that pass through my line of sight. Because I'm so involved in this industry I see tons of resumes on a daily basis.
Related:How To Show A Company Why You Want The Job
Although job seekers tend to make many different kinds of them, there are the resume mistakes I see most often that tend to tarnish that five-second review you get from hiring managers.
Disorganized Or Unattractive Resume Format
You can preach all day about the keywords and content of a resume, but I stand by this as the most important principle in resume writing—you MUST have an attractive resume format if you want to be seriously considered. Messy, disorganized, unpolished resume formats say exactly that about the type of candidate you are—not to mention they are difficult to read.
If you're making it hard for the hiring manager to find the information he or she needs to consider you for employment, you just lost your shot at the job. Someone else will have taken the time to construct a strategically laid out resume that is polished, easy-to-read, and attractive to the eye.
Don't believe me? Think about print advertising. If it's hard to read or looks messy you're not going to waste your time reading the ad. But, if it's eye-catching and professional looking you just might invest the time.
Call Out The Critical
Yes—keywords are extremely important. But that being said, just haphazardly throwing them into the resume is pretty much pointless. Sure, you may get past the computer scan, but when that entry-level HR rep or hiring manager prints out the resume or pulls it up on the screen to review it—if he or she can't immediately see your qualifications you can forget about him or her investing anymore time reading it. He or she will probably just skip to the next person.
Create a bulleted section that is NOT too text-dense but is eye-catching and calls out the most important keywords relevant to the job. Put this in the top one-third of the resume to catch the employer's attention. Again, it's all about making the information they're looking for easy to find.
Watch Your Text Density
Let me tell you a little secret we professional resume writers use: Try to keep your paragraphs to a maximum of 3-5 sentences long—especially your opening career summary and personal branding section. You'll lose the reader's attention before you ever catch it! If it looks too text dense, she's not going to waste (or invest) the time in reading it.
Most hiring managers will just quickly scan your resume—just like you scan articles like this one or stories on the web. Hiring managers scan your resume briefly to see if it's worth a more in-depth read. If it's too text-dense and you're not calling out important keywords or accomplishments, they'll skip right over all the high-impact text you've put your blood, sweat, and tears into.
So let's recap the critical points here:
Create an attractively formatted resume. Hint: using color can definitely be a plus—if you use the right color.
Call out the important stuff. Bold, underline, and create targeted sections with white space that draws the eye.
Keep it between 3-5 sentences—no longer. Remember, you're writing to catch their attention during the initial scan but also to provide compelling content for the hiring manager who will invest more time once you've caught his or her eye.
Of course, there are many other factors to consider when writing your resume, but these three areas are critical to that initial first impression and quick scan the hiring manager will give your resume. The pertinent information the hiring manager is looking for needs to be easy to find and eye-catching while professionally packaged in an attractive format.
Incorporate these tips into your resume and you'll be more likely to make it past the initial scan and have the hiring manager invest more time in reading the content and calling you for the interview.
This post was originally published on an earlier date.
Jessica Holbrook Hernandez, CEO of Great Resumes Fast is an expert resume writer, career and personal branding strategist, author, and presenter. Want to work with the best resume writer? If you would like us to personally work on your resume, cover letter, or LinkedIn profile—and dramatically improve their response rates—then check out our professional and executive resume writing services at GreatResumesFast.com or contact us for more information if you have any questions.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by a CAREEREALISM-approved expert.
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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