A great resume requires effort and understanding of specific jobs or industries to give you the edge over other candidates in the market. Be concise and ensure that the information is easy to read to give a good impression. The difference between getting an interview or losing out on a position may lie in the details of what is put on your resume and what information was left out. The extra effort can be especially useful if you want to make a career transition into a different industry or switch career paths entirely. By tailoring your resume to a position of interest, you can more accurately pinpoint your experience and skills relevant to that position.
Here are three essential tips that can help you tailor and upgrade your resume to better your chances of getting that interview and get you one step closer to landing your dream job:
1) Review the job description
The first step is to read through the job description and identify the key details of the position. This can give you an insight as to what the employers are looking for specifically and what they may ask during an interview. Such things can include:
- What software or programming languages are used
- Specific industry and project experience required
- Professional licensing and development that are assets
Anything that you see on the job description that you have experience with be sure to include and highlight those relevant skills and experience so that it takes the guess work out of the equation for your potential employer, and they can see right away that you have what they’re looking for.
2) Quantitative data
Next, you want to include any quantifiable results and data on your resume as a direct representative of your performance and accomplishments from your experience. It’s one thing to say that you can do something, but when you’re able to back it up with concrete data and numbers to prove it, this gives potential employers more confidence in knowing you’ve done it before. There are many things that can be quantified on your resume including:
- Past performance reviews
- Past achievements
- Number of direct reports (for leadership opportunities)
- KPI’s
- Sales numbers
- Cost and / or size of the projects
If you don’t have any of the above information written down, you’re not the only one. Most people forget the importance of having clear examples and leave out this critical information on their resume. As you’re going through each of your experiences, think back how each position’s success was measured, look over your performance reviews to gather the information, and recall any major achievements that you had in each role.
3) Recruiters
Just like anything in life, you don’t have to don’t have to do things alone. When searching for a new position, some people opt to work with a Technical Recruiter like Expand Reach, who specializes in specific fields and are experts in matching talent with businesses and career opportunities. Aside from presenting opportunities and opening doors to potential employers, Recruiter can be a very beneficial resource early in the process in helping you put together a solid resume that will catch the potential employer’s eye.
A reputable recruiter will have well-established relationships with their clients, knowing what key requirements their clients are looking for and from having recruited a variety of different (and similar) roles throughout their career. They can give recommendations on your resume on what information should be included, how to arrange the information, and what needs to be highlighted to jump up off the page when someone is reading it. In most cases, recruiters will know exactly what the employer needs to see on the resume to want to interview a candidate and this will give greater clarity to the employer’s expectations.
Most people will have a general “Go-To” resume that they use to apply to most positions. However, it is highly recommended that you follow the tips above to tailor your resume for those specific opportunities that you are really excited about. By spending a little time on your resume in those instances, you give yourself that extra edge and the best chance of your resume being reviewed and leading to interviews. And through reviewing and tailoring your resume, you may even realize that there are certain responsibilities and achievements that you’ve left off your resume but could be highly sought after by potential employers.
Contact us today to speak with one of our Recruitment Specialists and let us help you find new opportunities for the next step in your career!
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