The springtime is a perfect opportunity to give your life a much-needed cleaning and update, including your resume! When is the last time you sat down and gave your resume the proper update it deserves? Your resume is the single most important document employers look at when determining if you are a good fit for a position. We have compiled a couple tips to blossom your resume into a showcase of the best professional version of you.
Shower Away Outdated Information
A great place to start when giving your resume the long overdue Spring spruce up it deserves is cutting out the information that is no longer relevant or important. We know you cherished your first job working at the local ice cream shop when you were sixteen, but there is no need to include it on your professional resume. Resume writers recommend only including the relevant past positions within the last fifteen years of employment. If you have been out of college for several years, remove your GPA from your resume. Recruiters and hiring managers are more focused on you having a degree rather than the specific grades you obtained while getting it.
Hatch a New Design
A simple way to transform your retro resume is by updating the design. A good resume is well organized and easy to read. Typically, job recruiters will spend about six seconds scanning over your resume before deciding if you are qualified for a position or not. Make sure your resume is organized in a way that best shows your strengths. List your work history in reverse chronological order to make it easy for employers to see your career progression. Use clear section headings and make them stand out with a bold type to make your resume simpler to read. Updating your resume format is a sure-fire way to get noticed and get you the interview you’ve been striving for.
Nip Grammatical Errors in the Bud
Never rely solely on the spelling or grammatical check function built into your computer to proofread your resume. Often these services do not catch all errors and the grammatical mistakes made on your resume go unnoticed. Proofread your resume multiple times to check for spelling errors and grammatical errors.
Some common grammatical mistakes to scan for in your resume are run-on sentences, homophone mistakes, and incorrect capitalizations. You do not want to miss out on a job opportunity because your resume looks rushed and careless. If you know a friend in the staffing industry or who is involved in the hiring process at their company, have them scan your resume. A second set of eyes checking for errors never hurts.
Sprout the Numbers
Quantifying your resume helps recruiters better visualize the impact you have made in your previous positions. Take out phrases like “results-driven” and replace them with metrics, numbers, and quantifiable facts. If you are unsure of specific numbers include an estimation of a range on your resume. If you have done work to improve proficiency estimate the specified production time you reduced. There is always an opportunity to add numerical data to enhance your resume even when you have not done work wielding obvious numerical results.
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