Would you like the good news or the bad news first? The bad news jobseekers is that your resume is never complete – you can always improve it. Yes we hear the groans. It’s sad but true. The good news is that you don’t have to rewrite it from scratch. Here we’re going to walk you through a few easy ways to improve, tweak and better your resume without redoing the entire thing. Remember the better your resume the stronger your chance of getting the job.
1. Is Your Resume Skimmable?
It is no secret that hiring managers only give a few seconds attention to each resume. It is irrelevant how well designed or beautiful your resume is if the hiring manager can’t find the key information they are looking for. Solution? Make your resume easy to read and more importantly SKIM. This means making sure the first five words of each bullet point contain the most impact using relevant keywords.
2. Tailor It to Every Job You Apply To
No two jobs are the same therefore no two applications should be the same. Regardless of how perfectly you think your resume reflects your skills and accomplishments, unless the hiring manager agrees that you and your skills are the ideal match for the job it is pointless. The real trick is to personalize each resume to a particular job. Take phrases/keywords from the job description and include them in your resume, explaining how you satisfy that requirement.
3. Is Your Resume Mobile Friendly?
Most job seekers underestimate how often their resume is read on a mobile. The fact of the matter is that regardless of how good your resume looks on a printed page, unless it is also mobile friendly you’re in a bit of trouble.
4. Turn it Into a Website
Creating a website has never been easier and if you really want to WOW the hiring manager, consider creating a website for your resume. This will help you stand a head and shoulders above the competition and show that you can think outside the box. Use some of the easy-to-use templates from websites such as squarespace or wordpress.