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How to make your resume/CV stand out?

#resume #job-application #resume-writing

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James Constantine’s Answer

Hello Madisyn,

How to Make Your Resume/CV Stand Out

Creating a standout resume or CV is crucial in today’s competitive job market. Here are some tips to help you make your resume stand out:

1. Tailor Your Resume to the Job Description: Customize your resume for each job application by highlighting the skills and experiences that are most relevant to the specific position you are applying for. This shows the employer that you have taken the time to understand their needs and that you are a good fit for the role.

2. Use a Clean and Professional Format: Make sure your resume is well-organized, easy to read, and visually appealing. Use a clean and professional font, appropriate spacing, and bullet points to highlight key information. Avoid using overly elaborate designs or fonts that may distract from the content.

3. Highlight Your Achievements: Instead of just listing your job duties, focus on showcasing your accomplishments and contributions in each role. Quantify your achievements with numbers or percentages whenever possible to provide concrete evidence of your success.

4. Include Keywords: Many companies use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to scan resumes for specific keywords related to the job opening. To increase your chances of getting noticed, incorporate relevant keywords from the job description into your resume.

5. Keep It Concise: While it’s important to provide detailed information about your skills and experiences, it’s also crucial to keep your resume concise and focused. Aim for a one-page resume if you have less than ten years of experience, and a maximum of two pages for more experienced professionals.

6. Proofread Carefully: Spelling and grammatical errors can make a negative impression on potential employers. Before submitting your resume, proofread it carefully or ask someone else to review it for you to ensure there are no mistakes.

7. Include a Strong Summary or Objective: A well-crafted summary or objective at the beginning of your resume can grab the employer’s attention and provide a quick overview of your qualifications and career goals.

By following these tips, you can create a resume that stands out from the competition and increases your chances of landing an interview.

Top 3 Authoritative Sources Used:

Harvard Business Review: Provides insights on career development strategies, including tips on resume writing and job application techniques.
The Muse: Offers expert advice on various aspects of job searching, including resume writing tips and best practices.
Indeed Career Guide: Provides comprehensive resources on job search strategies, including guidance on creating effective resumes that stand out to employers.

GOD BLESS!
James.
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ABHISHEK’s Answer

Be encouraging , speak from experiences and cite sources

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Yolonda’s Answer

Here is a video that shows how to make your resume stand out: https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=JuVYWUo2meE
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Mark’s Answer

I like to receive resumes that have the following: A snapshot of their softer skills, work history and experiences, and maybe a bullet or two about what they like outside of work to add a more personal flavor to the resume. These resumes tend to stand out more than the traditional, just work history and experiences.
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Swaroop’s Answer

Hi Madisyn,

A good resume has all the good/best stuff about what you've accomplished. What will make your resume stand out is what information you put in it about you. Your experience, internships, projects, skills, strengths that are needed for the job you're applying. Bonus points if you're creative and your resume is unique.

All the best!

Here are a few sample resumes that stood out for me:

http://www.rleonardi.com/interactive-resume/

https://norareca.wordpress.com/2016/12/27/infographic-resume/

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Katie’s Answer

Hi Madisyn - Be sure to focus on your results and accomplishments in different positions, rather than just on your responsibilities. Highlight your contributions!
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Milton’s Answer

Some great answers here and all can be used to leverage your resume and stand out. One thing I would suggest would be to make sure your resume has relevant job skills based off what the hiring manager is looking for. I have seen many times where potential employees would send in resumes without highlighting any relevant job experience. If there is a lack of that job related skill set then I would include how your background or education would help the company if they would hire you.
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Stephen’s Answer

Hi Madisyn!

There's a lot of great answers here already, but I thought I'd add my input.
I would suggest making sure that the resume/CV that you are submitting for a particular role reflects the role you are applying for.
For example, if the role calls for proficiency in Excel, highlight the times that you've use Excel in previous roles, and list your expertise with it.
Recruiters really want to see how your CV/resume will plug into the role that you are applying for, and making that job as easy as possible for them will definitely help you get noticed!

Hope that helps Madisyn!
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Olivia’s Answer

Also make sure you consider ways that your skills are transferrable. If you're applying for a job that you might not have done before, how can you make skills you learned on other jobs applicable to the job you're applying for? It's always good to create and tailor cover letters with your resume to help tell your story. Good luck!

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Alexis’s Answer

There's absolutely no harm in leveraging a resource like ChatGPT to help align your resume with the job description. Remember, it's crucial to personalize it, ensuring it reflects your unique voice and doesn't just mimic the standard template.
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Katie’s Answer

Hi Madisyn - When creating your resume, be sure to focus on your key accomplishments, rather than just stating your job responsibilities in a position. Think about your successes, and be sure to highlight them. How did you help to improve a process? How did you contribute to the team? Give those questions some thought, and be sure it comes across in your resume.

Thank you comment icon I 100% agree with Katie. Highlighting your actual personal accomplishments/contributions is a great way to get noticed rather than focusing on routine cv components like responsibilities. It shows your resourcefulness and ability to think outside the box for solutions. I have seen so many cvs that say "solution oriented" but when there is no evidence to support this claim, the statement falls on deaf ears. Having a well laid out cv is also helpful. There are great templates you can purchase for about $10 on etsy: https://www.etsy.com/ca/market/resume_template But remember, less is more when it comes to cv design. Please keep that in mind! Sofia Flores
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Lara’s Answer

We all have unique knowledge, skills, and job abilities that we can bring to the workplace. Resumes and cover letters, are often the first impression a potential employer has of you and are one of the most crucial steps taken during a job search. In today’s job market, HR Professionals have to look through dozens of applications in order to find the right job-person and organization-person match that they are looking for.

The problem that is present on many resumes today is that they are generic and outdated, which It’s crucial to target your resume specifically for each job submission and ensure that you are highlighting the key qualifications that the hiring manager will be searching for. Additionally, many organizations use the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to initially scan resumes before they view them personally.

Therefore, it is important for job seekers to get past this technology. Otherwise, chances are your resume will never get seen by a recruiter or hiring manager. It’s critical to target your resume specifically for each job and to know interview strategies to demonstrate the key qualifications that the hiring manager will be searching for in the recruitment process.

A professional resume should be:

- Clear, concise, and keyword optimized
- It should have an education, work experience, and skills section. You can also include a professional summary or a volunteering section, if you'd like to highlight your volunteering experience.
- Strategically formatted to ensure direct alignment with your key selling points and the job requirements/ targeted positions
- 1 page total (unless you have 15+ years of work experience)

I hope this will help!!

All the best,
Lara
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Mili’s Answer

Hey Madisyn!

I found that a resume that stands out not only has good content, but also great design. Even if you have great experience, but have a lackluster layout or design, I find that they can get lost in the folds. Having an eyecatching but also content heavy 1-pager (rule of thumb, 5 years of experience for 1 page) are the best resume's I've come across. Check out online resume layouts, or even look up some good designs off of Pinterest and design your own that reflects who you are.

If Elon Musk can have a 1 page resume, so can you :)

https://novoresume.com/career-blog/elon-musk-one-page-resume

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Blake’s Answer

Keep it to one page, put it on card stock, keep it looking professional.
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John’s Answer

Highlight the experience and skills you have that are relevant to the role you are allying for. Make them call out to the recruiter "Yes, this is the candidate I need". Use the job description to figure out what's relevant, and go into specifics as to what you have accomplished in these areas.

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Charlotte’s Answer

Madisyn,
The advice everyone else gave about being concise, highlighting your contributions or accomplishments, is very important.

I would also encourage you to have at least two other people review your resume for any typing or grammatical errors.

I find it easiest to read a resume that groups the information in an easy and concise way. For example, having your work and volunteering experience under one heading, your certifications or education grouped under one heading, and your skills/software/tools/systems you know how to use grouped together under one heading.

I'd recommend creating a formal email account (if you don't already have one) that is a professional alias to use for job applications. Example: MadisynM2003@gmail looks better than kittycatluvr@gmail

Good luck!
Charlotte
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Fiona’s Answer

Resumes should be short and concise, max 2-3 pages. Include something that makes you stand out - do you have any skills, e.g. language skills or other skills or achievements or interests that would make you different?
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Richard’s Answer

Make the layout and design of your resume different from the typical templates found one the first page of google! This can be used to just draw the eye but then the information needs to be concise and relevant to the role you are going for.

They should be 1-2(max) page. Any more than that and the employer will stop reading (I do). Always highlight your key achievements.

They should also reflect you! Be yourself, inject some of your personality into it
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Sofia’s Answer

Highlighting your personal accomplishments and contributions are great ways to make your cv standout. I see a lot of people stating that they are "solution oriented thinkers" but when they provide no evidence to support this claim, it falls on deaf ears.

Having a nice layout for a cv also really helps. You can purchase very well designed cvs on etsy for about $10 https://www.etsy.com/ca/market/resume_template

Do not forget however that less is more and stick to a simple clean design.

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Simeon’s Answer

Keep it under two pages in length and make sure it is clean and easy to read. Have other people proof read yours and look at other people's resumes as well to see how it's organized. You might even be able to ask someone if you could reuse their template for your resume. Make sure your contact information is clearly legible near the beginning of the resume as well. You usually want your best experience to be big and bold near the beginning. Don't exaggerate anything on your resume as you'll get shot down pretty quickly if it becomes apparent.
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Alexandra’s Answer

You can personalize it depending on the industry you are applying, like using visuals, keep it simple, max 1 page. Make sure you add also your LinkedIn profile link.

Here are some examples, you can build your CV on-line:

https://www.visualcv.com/

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