5 Things Your Resume MUST HAVE To Get More Job Interviews
When a hiring manager or recruiter advertises a job these days, in most cases they are inundated with applications, particularly when they advertise on job boards.
So your strategy as someone who is applying for jobs, is to make your resume stand out above the crowd for the jobs you apply for.
When your resume stands out and gets read by a person, you obviously have the best chance of being offered an interview.
Your aim is to get asked in for an interview obviously, but to get asked in, your resume needs to do its job.
So your first goal is to have your resume read by a person. Not skimmed over, but read properly.
To do that your resume firstly needs to get shortlisted by the applicant tracking software the company is using.
If your resume is successful at getting through the applicant tracking software or if the company you’ve applied to doesn’t use resume filtering software, then your aim is to have a person read your resume right through and be impressed enough where they ask you in for an interview.
It’s a competitive process, because you’re competing with the tens maybe hundreds of other applicants, who also applied for the same job as you.
So today I’ll show you how to give your resume the best chance of getting through the whole process so it ends up being read by someone who then invites you in for an interview.
Now, keep in mind that when a hiring manager or recruiter has a pile of resumes in front of them, they don’t read them. They skim through them.
In fact studies have shown that the most common way a recruiter or hiring manager skims through a resume is to skim over it with their eyes using a z pattern.
So in other words, they start at the top left corner of your resume, read to the right, then skim down to the bottom left, then read over to the bottom right.
So with this in mind let’s look at how you can give your resume the best chance of being read right through, then get asked in for an interview.
1. Have A Headline
The first tip is to have a headline at the top of your resume.
This is a simple 2 or 3 word summary about your skills.
For example, if you’re applying for a marketing role, you might use Marketing Specialist as your heading.
So when a hiring manager of recruiter starts to skim your resume they read your heading.
If your heading is in line with what the hiring manager or recruiter is looking for, then you’re just got their interest.
2. Have Plenty of White Space On Your Resume
The second tip is to have plenty of white space on your resume.
No one wants to read a resume that looks cluttered. It’s off putting.
So make sure your resume is easy to read by making sure there is plenty of white space around the text, particularly headings.
If you’re a creative and want to show off some of your work, then add that as an attachment.
Keep the information part of your resume that recruiters and hiring managers see first as uncluttered as possible.
And if that means your resume gets stretched to 2 or 3 pages long, then so be it.
Studies have also shown that if your resume is 2 or 3 pages long you actually have a better chance of being offered the job than if your resume is only one page.
So if you need to take your resume to 2–3 pages log, then do it.
3. Keys Skills Under Your Headline
The third tip is to put your key skills under your headline.
The best way to do this is to have 2 columns under your heading that show in bullet point form your key skill sets.
Your key skill sets are what you know how to do or have experience in.
The more your keys skill sets match what the ad says is required for the job, the higher your chance of being asked in for an interview.
There’s 2 reasons for this-
· If the employer is using applicant tracking software, then the software will recognize the matching words and will be more likely to select your resume as one to be shortlisted
· If a hiring manager or recruiter skims your resume, they recognize your skills match the skills required for the job, and want to read your resume fully.
So the more the wording used in the ad matches the wording in your skill set bullet points, the better.
4. Display Job Titles First For Each Job You’ve Had
The fourth tip is to display your job title first when you list the details of each job you’ve had.
The reason for this is that hiring managers and recruiters are most interested in the roles you’ve had, so when you list the job title first and then under that, the other details associated with the job, the hiring manager or recruiter who is skimming through your resume will see the jobs you’ve done.
This will hopefully get their interest and motivate them to read your resume fully and decide to get you in for an interview.
So on this point, remember it’s always more important to show what you did rather than where you worked.
5. Use Font Size Of 12 Or Higher
And tip number 5 is to make sure the text font size on your resume is 12 or higher.
When a hiring manager or recruiter has a pile of resume’s to go through, they could be looking at them on the computer or their phone, depending on where they are.
So make sure the text on your resume is large enough for anyone to read it. Usually a font size of 12 or more will do it.
So again, if this means you need to take your resume to 2–3 pages, then do it.
So there are the 5 must haves you resume needs to give you the best chance of being asked in for an interview.
When you’re looking for work, if the hiring manager or recruiter can see you’re a great candidate for a job they’ll want to talk to you.
A good way to do this is to use Connectzapp to find your next job.
The way it works is you enter the details of the job you’re after. You’re then given a lots of job matches that you can then swipe through, choose the ones you like to best, create a shortlist of those and then contact those employers or recruiters direct.
It’s easy and quick. And the best part is the hiring manager or recruiter can see you’re a good candidate for the job so they want to talk to you.
So give it a try.
Go to connectzapp.com or you can get the app on the App Store or Google Play.
And lastly…
Good luck with your job hunting!