We work with clients on A LOT of resumes. It is the starting point of your job search and sometimes your first impression to a company. There are 5 simple things that everyone can do to enhance their resume.
- Simple formats are best – It is tempting to use fancy blocks of color, signature fonts, or a great headshot, but these may hurt you in an AI-driven hiring environment. Applicant Tracking Systems are not very good at reading around fancy formats to find the key information and buzzwords that they are programmed to look for. A simple format will allow both humans and ATS systems to quickly find the information that they care most about.
- The “5:5:2 rule” – This rule for resumes suggests limiting paragraphs to a maximum of 5 lines, bullet points to a maximum of 5 per list, and the resume itself to no more than 2 pages to ensure conciseness and readability.
- Highlight the Good, Minimize the Bad – Several short term job stints, extended time of unemployment, experience irrelevant to future job goals- If you have aspects that you feel might work unfavorably in your job search, then do things to minimize them. Unbold dates of employment, remove dates from education, remove jobs from early in your career that don’t work toward future goals. DO bold buzzwords found in desired jobs, move technical skills lists or education section to the top of the resume instead of the end, and reword job section to include buzzwords that transfer to desired future jobs.
- Aspects of the Job You Want – Help your resume speak to the job that you want by including buzzwords that are found in the job descriptions. Consider bolding the words to make them jump off the page. Highlight desired technical skills and certifications in a specific section of the resume to make them easy to find.
- No References – Save a list of references for a separate document to be given to the hiring team during the process. References on your resume might give the hiring team comparable candidates to reach out to instead of making you the focus.
If we can help you with an A+ resume that you can be proud to show off, check out our resume services.
