When you apply for a job, you are counting on the fact that you should have the relevant skills, experience and overall, that your personality is exactly what the company is looking for. Once you get that interview it can be so easy to shine and show your potential future employers that you are right for this role. However, getting that interview is often a lot harder than people realise.
Making sure that you stand out is a tough thing, particularly when there are so many other people who might have applied for the same job. If you haven’t already figured it out, then your resume is the way to get your foot stuck in the door. But for this to happen, you need to make sure that you stand out on that bit of paper. Here are several things that you can use to help you stand out in the crowd and impress everyone who sees it.
Tailor Your Resume to the Job you are Applying for
You might find it easy to just write a resume and then send it off to everyone, but the truth is, this isn’t going to do you any favours. A generic resume isn’t going to catch the eye of the recruiter who receives it. You want to aim to make their job as easy as you can. Stand out, show off your skills and tell them the experience that they are after. Don’t just hope that your resume will be good enough as is, you need to tailor it to the job that you are applying for.
Even though this might be time consuming, it is very worthwhile to make sure that you add a few tweaks to your resume before sending it off. If you haven’t already sorted your resume, or have yet to write it, then why not make use of this helpful website to get you started? Sometimes the hardest thing that you can do, is to write down everything that you need. Once you have the base of your resume, then you can tailor it to the job that you are applying for.
Back Up Your Skills
In order to be successful during this process you need to make sure that you back up your skills. You should have a section already on your resume where you list your skills. This section should focus on the skills that would impress the employer that you are trying to land a job with. You don’t just want to do a boring list and not give any other content to the skills you have, you need to make sure that you take it one step further, and explain why these skills will be of benefit.
In order to do this though, you need to back up your skills with proof. For example, one way to do this, is instead of saying that you helped the last company increase their sales by implanting a new marketing technique, you need to state how much the sales were increased by. By giving the recruiter this fact, will be a sure way to impress them. Always remember to use metrics to back up your skills, and you’ll have a higher chance of being offered that interview that you want.
Add a Cover Letter
So, although this isn’t physically part of your resume, it kind of is. When applying for jobs, you need to make sure that you go that extra mile and add a cover letter as well. Most people will just send a resume in, without a cover letter. However, if you send a cover letter in then your resume is sure to stand out, as this will impress the recruiter. So, it would be a very good idea for you to also add this to your job application.
You can use the cover letter to supplement your resume and briefly expand on your skills. In a way, this is something that you can expand on your skills and make sure that the recruiter can understand why you are the right person for the job. Although it takes time, this is not something that should be forgotten about. If this is something you need help with, many companies that offer a resume service will also offer assistance with cover letters, so it might be a good idea to get in touch. If you don’t spend the time perfecting your resume (and cover letter), then why should recruiters use their time learning about you? A recruiter will spend about 15 seconds on your resume when they first get it, so it’s really important that you manage to catch their eye!
