When it comes to scoring that dream job, a well-tailored resume is your best friend. In fact, 80% of HR professionals say they’re more likely to shortlist a candidate who has customized their resume for the position. But when I write a resume for a job application, where do I even start?
The answer lies in three critical writing guidelines. In this post, I’ll share these tips and how you can implement them in your job application. Plus, I’ll include links to free resources that will make your resume shine!
1. Tailor Your Résumé to the Job Description
It might seem obvious, but tailoring your resume to the job description makes a huge difference. It shows employers you’ve taken the time to understand their company and the specific role, rather than sending the same generic resume to multiple employers. Here’s how to do it.
Identify Key Skills and Keywords
The first step to tailoring your resume is to identify the key skills and keywords in the job description. These will often be located in a section titled ‘Requirements’ or ‘Qualifications’. Make a note of these words and phrases.
For example, if the job description mentions ‘proficient in Microsoft Excel’, make sure to use this exact phrase in your resume if you have that skill. If it talks about ‘strong communication skills’, consider providing examples of how you’ve demonstrated this in previous roles.
Customize Your Professional Summary
Once you’ve identified the relevant keywords, the next step is to customize your professional summary at the top of your resume. This is typically a 2-3 sentence overview of your experience and skills, and it’s your first chance to grab the recruiter’s attention.
For example, instead of saying “Marketing professional with 5 years of experience”, you could say “Marketing professional with 5 years of experience in social media management and SEO, looking to leverage skills for XYZ Company”.
Adjust Your Employment History
Next, adjust your employment history to highlight experiences that are most relevant to the job you’re applying for. This doesn’t mean lying or exaggerating your past roles, but rather emphasizing aspects of your previous jobs that align with the new role.
If you were a sales assistant, and the new job is as a customer service representative, you might want to mention how you handled customer inquiries, resolved complaints, and worked on upselling products.
2. Structure Your Résumé for Clarity and Impact
A poorly structured resume can make even the most qualified candidates seem less impressive. Here’s how to structure your resume in a way that is clear and impactful.
Recommended Résumé Structure
Most experts recommend a simple structure for resumes:
- Contact Information (Name, Phone Number, Email, LinkedIn Profile)
- Professional Summary
- Skills
- Employment History (in reverse chronological order)
- Education
- Certifications (if applicable)
- Volunteer Experience (if applicable)
This structure allows recruiters to easily find the information they want, without having to search through paragraphs of text.
Use Bullet Points for Achievements and Responsibilities
When listing your experiences under employment history, use bullet points rather than paragraphs. This makes it easier for recruiters to quickly skim through and pick out the relevant information.
For each role, start with a brief description of the job using a sentence or two, then list your achievements and responsibilities using bullet points. When describing your achievements, try to quantify them whenever possible. For example, instead of saying “increased sales”, say “increased sales by 20% over 6 months”.
Keep It to One Page
Finally, aim to keep your resume to one page (or two pages if you have extensive experience). Recruiters spend an average of just 6 seconds reviewing each resume, so the shorter your resume, the better chance you have of getting noticed.
If you have trouble cutting it down, try to eliminate redundancies, avoid using ‘I’ and ‘my’, and remove any irrelevant work experience from over 10 years ago.
3. Highlight Achievements and Skills
Instead of merely listing job responsibilities, I recommend highlighting your key achievements and skills. This not only showcases what you’ve done but also provides evidence of your abilities.
Showcase Accomplishments Effectively
When it comes to describing your achievements, think of the STAR method:
- Situation – A brief overview of the context.
- Task – What was your responsibility?
- Action – What did you do?
- Result – What was the outcome?
For example, “At XYZ Company, I was responsible for managing social media accounts (Task). I noticed engagement was low (Situation), so I created a weekly content calendar (Action). This increased engagement by 30% over the quarter (Result).”
Quantify Your Achievements
Where possible, try to quantify your achievements. Instead of saying “managed a team”, say “managed a team of 5”. Instead of “increased sales”, say “increased sales by 30% in 6 months”. Numbers catch the eye and provide a clearer picture of your capabilities.
Use Action Verbs
Lastly, use strong action verbs to describe your work. Words like “achieved”, “designed”, “implemented”, and “led” give a stronger impression than “responsible for” or “worked on”.
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Closing Words
A well-written, tailored resume is crucial in helping you get your foot in the door for that dream job. By following these three writing tips—tailoring your resume to the job description, structuring it for clarity and impact, and highlighting your achievements and skills—you’ll significantly improve your chances of impressing hiring managers.
To summarize, here’s a quick recap of the three key writing tips:
- Tailor your resume to highlight the skills and experiences that match the job description.
- Use a clear structure and bullet points to organize your information, making it easy to read.
- Focus on your achievements rather than just listing responsibilities, and quantify your successes wherever possible.
I encourage you to take these tips and apply them to your resume. And don’t forget to check out the free resources linked in this post—they’ll help you take your resume to the next level. Good luck!
