The new year brings new opportunity. One part of life that influences almost every other, your career, may rank high on your list of areas that would benefit from a greater opportunity. That opportunity depends heavily on creating the perfect resume. In order to make sure that you have the perfect resume, it is vital to follow these seven quick tips.
First, to craft the perfect resume, never exceed four hundred words on a given page. This is a common mistake, but overloading a page with every nuanced facet of your career sabotages your chances of landing an interview by overwhelming hiring managers. It also illustrates that you cannot discern what matters from what doesn’t.
Second, a perfect resume will never exceed two pages, and will never contain half-filled pages. No matter the extent of your accomplishments, whether the heights of your career ascend to the heights of the Himalayas, or have only begun to arch upward, you should only include the highest points, and that will never require more than two pages. Furthermore, keep in mind that the resume reflects that the individual writing it is a critical thinker, who can parse information down to fit into either one or two complete pages, without running over into dangling and half-filled pages. The perfect resume requires focus.
Third, a perfect resume should contain a summary. Provide a comprehensive, engaging, and concise glimpse into your professional career and growth. The resume should intrigue hiring managers and catalyze an interview.
Fourth, a perfect resume does not relentlessly drone on about responsibilities. Responsibilities are an important part of your job, but when outlined without being situated in a broader narrative, they provide an unengaging desert of banality. The perfect resume is never banal.
Fifth, the perfect resume focuses on actions that have results. Contextualizing each responsibility with ways that you have tangibly exceeded expectations or secured robust growth will carve evocative topography to accentuate your responsibilities. Emphasize your impact on your environment.
Sixth, the perfect resume should break down your areas of expertise. Hiring managers are looking to glean your professional brand from your resume, and providing a ten-thousand-foot view on your fundamental skills shows that you anticipate how difficult that process can be and that you have chosen to make it easier for them; furthermore, it helps to navigate applicant tracking systems (ATS). The perfect resume makes it easy to recognize your qualifications.
Seventh, create a draft for online applications where all words relevant to the position, and no other words, are bold. This will help you navigate ATS and increase the likelihood that your resume will pop up in online databases.
A new year brings hope, but hope must be made tangible. Nothing can revitalize your daily life more than an inspiring new job. Now is the ideal time to start writing.