How to craft your resume for maximum impact

There are online agencies that make it their business to craft a resume most suited to the job you have in mind. They might or might not work, but what will surely be more precise is if you craft it yourself. The only condition is that you have to keep these essential elements in mind. Good luck.

Don’t be creative
Some people recommend an infographic as a resume. However, it’s not for everybody. Design and create out of the box resume only if you are applying for a creative field like designing. content writing and so on. Otherwise, follow the rest of the tips here and you should be good to go.

Experience first
Your qualification is just to get your foot in the door and it is more of an eligibility criteria but not the clincher in getting you the job you want. Which is why, list your experiences, achievements and milestones first. The rest of the bio can follow at the tail end. The reason is that the recruiters don’t have much time to hunt through your resume to find your hidden talents. You should give them what they want first. And yes, don’t forget to write your summary statement which has three sentences that talk about who you are, what you intend to do and the value you bring to the table. Before making your summary statement in your resume, however, it’s best to list your skill sets. If you can make your experience count by mentioning the deliverables you have worked on to the satisfaction of those who hired you, it’s even better.

Economy
Keep it short and sweet. No point in hard selling yourself. Your experience and qualification should do the deed. Therefore, keep your resume to one or two pages at the max. Anything more could work against you.

Customise
It pays to give more attention to the job you are seeking. Just attaching the same biodata to different companies with different needs might make two things clear to recruiters. That you are sending out a generic resume with no background research on the skills they want. It also portrays that you are lazy to the bones and do not take the company too seriously. Your cover letter should be different for every job you apply for unless the job types are similar. To make it even more precise, address it to the recruiter by their name.

Formatting and visuals
No matter what every other website advocates, know this. Make sure you give out your name, address and contact details right at the top. It’s the cardinal rule that should not be broken. Sometimes, inserting your picture into your resume might not really be a good idea. Use it only if asked for. Not that it’s bad really. Most Linkedin URLs you insert into your resume anyway have your picture. However, adding one into your bio might be overdoing it. So do it only if you think it’s important to clinch the job you are looking for, like modelling.

Social contacts
This goes without saying, but it’s never redundant to mention what is required for crafting resumes. Include your portfolio and LinkedIn IDs. If it works for you, give your Twitter and Flickr locations. What would make your LinkedIn stand out if you get your past and current employees to endorse the skills you are seeking the job for. Similarly, get domain experts who are familiar with your skills to write the most honest descriptions about you too. You never know what might click with the recruiters.

And finally…
Showcase your attention to detail by ensuring that your resume is free from grammar and spelling errors. List your milestones one below the other to make it easier for the recruiters to go through. Save your resume in a word document or a PDF. Good luck.

Originally published at Gocheck App.