Resume Tips from HR
By Emily Peterson
Deciding to leave a job or start a new career can be nerve-wracking. When you’re faced with the competition of the digital/tech industry, your resume may be one of the thousands that a recruiter is sifting through, so how do you create the “perfect” resume to ensure you capture the recruiter’s attention and land an interview? The truth is, you can’t. That is because the “perfect” resume doesn’t exist. What you can do is showcase who you are and what you’ve done well in your resume to get screened in and capture the recruiter’s attention.
Follow these tips to help your resume get through the screening process and to show your new potential employer who you are and that you’re an excellent fit for the job.
- Align Your Resume to the Job That You’re Applying For
Read the job description thoroughly and highlight any key skills the company is looking for. Then take those key skills and showcase the ones that you have in your resume — using the same words. Sometimes the easiest way to do this is to have a “Key Skills” section that lists bullet points of relevant terms.
2. Keep it Simple
You do not need to write an essay about your experience. Clear and concise is best. With that said, don’t stick to the old one-page rule if it doesn’t capture your experience well enough.
3. Speak to Your Achievements
When you list each role, don’t just describe your day-to-day tasks but speak to your accomplishments in the role. For example, I exceeded sales goals by 18% and received Employee of the Month four times throughout my tenure.
4. Give Some Information on the Companies That You Worked For
If this is a digital resume, you can hyperlink the company title to LinkedIn or at least add your LinkedIn profile to the resume. Otherwise, you can add a small description describing the company. For example: “An IT services and consulting start-up”.
5. Explain Gaps in Employment
Employment gaps (more than one month) are common and can be for various reasons. Still, so a recruiter doesn’t make any assumptions, you can either add a small note on your resume or explain it in a cover letter. You don’t need to share a lot of detail, as it could be as simple as “travelling”, “freelancing”, or “upskilling”.
6. Triple-Check Spelling and Grammar
This may seem like a given, but you’d be surprised at the number of resumes applying for a job that requires attention to detail or writing skills, and there are common errors throughout it. Sometimes having a second set of eyes review your resume before sending in an application can be very helpful!
7. Ensure Your Contact Information is Accurate
Again, triple-checking contact information is essential so it’s easy for a recruiter to reach you.
8. Show Some Personality
If you’re not design savvy, using some colour or adding personal information about yourself (i.e., hobbies, interesting facts, etc.) are great ways to make your application memorable.
9. BE HONEST!
Being dishonest about your experience (and interests) will not benefit anyone. You need to be sure that you’re joining an organization and a role that suits you as much as you suit them, or you’ll be right back to square one of searching for a new job.
Resume writing is a balancing act. Writing a great resume means telling your unique career story, and showing your personality and achievements, while naturally integrating the keywords recruiters will be looking for to narrow down applicants to the most qualified candidates. If your resume isn’t landing you many interviews, use this list of resume tips to refresh your resume and start positioning yourself as the best fit for the job that you want.
We’re always looking for new people and fresh talent to join our fast-growing team. Check out our careers page for current and future opportunities.
If you haven’t seen something specific to your skills, don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know why you’d love to work at VERB. Send your resume to careers@verbinteractive.com and introduce yourself!
Emily Peterson is the Human Resources Manager at VERB Interactive — a leader in digital marketing, specializing in solutions for the travel and hospitality industry. Find out more at www.verbinteractive.com.
