For most people, writing a resume is a daunting task.
Job seekers wonder how to improve their resume. Mary, a director in a large company, asked for help writing her resume because she was in danger of losing her job. She said, “I’m sure my resume doesn’t represent me very well. I want it to be impressive, but I don’t know how to create it. I hear people say they send out dozens of resumes without getting a response, which worries me a lot. How do I need to stand out to get an employer’s attention?”
For most people, writing a resume is a daunting task. There is a lot at stake. Yet, you may not be aware of the current resume trends you should consider. Here are the ten resume trends you should know to highlight your uniqueness and skills and stand out to an employer.
Self-marketing. Self-analysis is essential before you start writing. Think of your resume as an advertisement to persuade an employer to buy a product, and that product is you. Outline what you do best. Note your greatest strengths. What relevant qualifications and experience should you highlight? Identify your best achievements.
RESULTS. Employers hire you based on your past accomplishments and believe you can repeat them if they hire you. Every job description should focus on listing measurable results and outcomes. Be specific. Employers value concrete accomplishments. Emphasize whether you brought money to the company, saved money, started something, created an innovation, or developed a new tool, process, system, or program. Incorporate numbers and percentages into your bulleted descriptions. Place your most impressive accomplishments and best experiences at the top of the description.
Prioritize. Focus on what matters most to employers. Identify the key elements they are looking for and tailor your resume to their needs. To identify the most important points to highlight, look at several relevant job postings. Focus on the three to five most important skills and duties advertised in the job posting. Incorporate this information into your resume to show that you have what a potential employer values.
Mark. Showcase your success. Under your work history, use bullet points to frame each statement. It’s most effective to frame these using the formula “actions = results.” Write down what you did and the impact it had. For example, “I developed and executed a new email fundraising campaign. The results increased donations by 21%.” Or include the dollar amount if it’s impressive.
Keywords. Read the job description, paying close attention to the skills and qualifications required, and tailor your relevant skills accordingly. Identify the more important tasks, such as project management or process improvement, and sprinkle these sparingly throughout the resume, especially in the job descriptions and summary section. Also include any relevant industry terms. Don’t try to “stuff” the entire resume with keywords, as the ATS may reject your resume and a recruiter may ignore it because they see it as too general or insufficient.
Action verbs. Start each sentence of your job descriptions with an action verb. Use words that highlight the skills or accomplishments, such as “led,” “driven,” “analyzed,” “designed,” “originated,” “implemented,” “established,” etc. Avoid repetition and don’t use the same action verb to start a statement within a specific job description. Write the sentence in the past tense, even for your current position.
ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems). ATS is human resources software that acts as an online database or digital filing cabinet when you submit a job application. It is not very sophisticated and requires search engine optimization. Avoid creative resume styles. Simple formatting is key to getting through the system’s filters. Avoid columns, tables, text boxes, headers and footers, graphics, colored ink, or PDFs (unless specifically requested).
qualifications. Employers are hiring someone who has the skills needed to be successful in the job. They want someone who is neither underqualified nor overqualified. Review the job carefully before you click apply. Evaluate your skills, education, and experience to make sure the job is a good fit for your background. Don’t apply for a job if you don’t have 80% of the required qualifications.
Soft skills. These qualities show how you fit into the role and the company culture. Complement your hard skills with appropriate qualities. The most important soft skills that employers value, in addition to excellent oral and written communication skills, are team spirit, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, leadership, adaptability, problem-solving skills, critical thinking and creativity.
Competencies. Employers don’t find it useful if you list a lot of skills in one section, such as project management, team leadership, results orientation, etc., because you don’t show exactly where you’ve used those skills. Avoid this section. Instead, it’s much more effective to include these skills in your work history and qualifications summary. This way, you show how you have those skills and apply them on the job.
