How To Create A Resume That Gets Results!
All too often we fail to put any work into our resumes, making it little more than a vanilla list of past experiences. But this just isn't enough anymore!
Resumes need to be tailored to the specific job and company you're applying to, but they also need to capture your personal brand in a way that makes you stand out among other applicants.
In this post we're going to tackle the first part of this equation and go over some top tips for creating a resume that's instantly ready for your next job.
Series Navigation How To Avoid A Blank Page On Your Resume
How To Make A Resume That Gets Results, Part 2: Writing The Perfect Summary
How To Create A LinkedIn Profile That Gets Results, Part 3: Top Tips For Success [ARTICLE END]
The process for creating a resume that gets results is actually very simple. The trick is to really know what you want and to be flexible enough to change direction when needed.
Here are the steps we recommend taking in order to create a killer resume:
1. Know what kind of job you want
One of the biggest mistakes job seekers make is focusing too much on a specific company, or on a specific industry. The truth is that it doesn't matter where you work, just as long as it's somewhere that's a good fit for you.
2. Narrow down your choices to 3-5 companies
This step involves researching companies in order to pick out your top picks. You can use Google or LinkedIn to do this quickly, but there are also specialty sites like Glassdoor that pull together information on salaries and reviews to give you an up-to-date picture of a company.
3. Write your resume with those companies in mind
The information contained on your resume should be directly related to the job you're applying for at a particular company. If a company in finance is looking for an accounting manager, they don't need to hear about how awesome your time was spent on managing social media at Starbucks. Keep it relevant!
4. Put together a tailored cover letter for each company
A cover letter can be tricky, but if you're really being strategic about your job search you want to make sure that each one is directly related to the position and company it's going out with. Depending on the situation, this might mean that you want to dress up or even dumb down your language based on the needs of the application.
5. Send your resume/cover letter out to a small time of companies
Once you've narrowed down your choices, pick out a few companies (3-4 is generally good) and send it out. Don't expect to hear back right away, but keep sending them your resume and cover letter until you get a response! Make sure that you're sending personalised versions to each company (i.e. an email rather than a mass email), as well as making sure that the people on the other end can actually find your contact information on LinkedIn or Google.
6. Follow up when you don't hear back
Especially after the first month of a job search, it's important that you stay in contact with the companies that you've applied to. Send your resume and cover letter out again, as well as any other job postings or openings you find on company websites. Companies often have multiple people screening resumes and they need something extra to make yours stand out.
7. Repeat
After sending out your resume, it will most likely get buried in a pile of other resumes that all look very similar to each other. If possible (and legal), follow up once more just to let them know that you're serious about applying for the position and to see if there are any updates on their end.
If you're having a hard time with your job search, you may want to consider a career coach. This is someone who can help guide you through the process of creating killer resumes and cover letters, as well as helping you through the actual steps of applying for jobs.
If it's been months or even years since you've had any contact with recruiters or managers in the industry that you want to work in, it's especially important that you hire an expert who can help get your name out there again.
Job searching can seem like a daunting task, but the good news is that once you get the hang of it, it's actually quite simple! Remember these tips and your resume will start getting results right away!
How to Create a Resume That Gets Results! [ARTICLE DATE: August 2, 2012]
All too often we fail to put any work into our resumes, making it little more than a vanilla list of past experiences. But this just isn't enough anymore!
Resumes need to be tailored to the specific job and company you're applying to, but they also need to capture your personal brand in a way that makes you stand out among other applicants.
In this post we're going to tackle the first part of this equation and go over some top tips for creating a resume that's instantly ready for your next job.
Series Navigation How To Avoid A Blank Page On Your Resume
How To Make A Resume That Gets Results, Part 2: Writing The Perfect Summary
How To Create A LinkedIn Profile That Gets Results, Part 3: Top Tips For Success [ARTICLE START]
The process for creating a resume that gets results is actually very simple. The trick is to really know what you want and to be flexible enough to change direction when needed.
Here are the steps we recommend taking in order to create a killer resume: 1. Know what kind of job you want One of the biggest mistakes job seekers make is focusing too much on a specific company, or on a specific industry. The truth is that it doesn't matter where you work, just as long as it's somewhere that's a good fit for you.
2. Narrow down your choices to 3-5 companies This step involves researching companies in order to pick out your top picks. You can use Google or LinkedIn to do this quickly, but there are also specialty sites like Glassdoor that pull together information on salaries and reviews to give you an up-to-date picture of a company. 3. Write your resume with those companies in mind The information contained on your resume should be directly related to the job you're applying for at a particular company. If a company in finance is looking for an accounting manager, they don't need to hear about how awesome your time was spent on managing social media at Starbucks. Keep it relevant!
4. Put together a tailored cover letter for each company
A cover letter can be tricky, but if you're really being strategic about your job search you want to make sure that each one is directly related to the position and company it's going out with. Depending on the situation, this might mean that you want to dress up or even dumb down your language based on the needs of the application. 5.
Conclusion
If you're having a hard time with your job search, you may want to consider a career coach. This is someone who can help guide you through the process of creating killer resumes and cover letters, as well as helping you through the actual steps of applying for jobs. If it's been months or even years since you've had any contact with recruiters or managers in the industry that you want to work in, it's especially important that you hire an expert who can help get your name out there again.