Boost Your Career with These 3 Resume Tips

Essential Strategies to Stand Out in the Job Market

When it comes to landing your dream job, first impressions matter. A well-crafted summary at the top of your resume can set the tone and grab the attention of hiring managers. This is your chance to make an impact and highlight your most relevant skills and experiences. To improve your resume, consider starting with a compelling summary that showcases what you bring to the table.

Your summary should be a brief yet powerful statement that encapsulates your career highlights and objectives. Focus on your key accomplishments, expertise, and the value you offer to potential employers. For instance, you might mention your years of experience in a specific industry, any unique skills you possess, or notable achievements that demonstrate your ability to excel in the role you're applying for.

In addition to highlighting your strengths, it's crucial to tailor your summary to the job you're applying for. Use keywords from the job description that align with your experience. This not only shows that you are a great fit but also helps your resume get noticed in applicant tracking systems. Remember, your goal is to quickly communicate why you're the ideal candidate, so keep your summary concise and focused.

Lastly, don't underestimate the power of a personal touch. While it’s important to maintain professionalism, letting some of your personality shine through can make your summary more relatable. This could be through illustrating your passion for the industry or sharing your career aspirations. By crafting a compelling summary, you can significantly improve your resume and increase your chances of landing an interview.

1) Highlight Your Key Skills

When it comes to improving your resume, showcasing your key skills is essential. Potential employers want to see what you can bring to the table. Start by identifying your strongest skills that align with the job you are applying for. Think of both hard skills, like technical abilities, and soft skills, such as communication and teamwork. Make sure these skills stand out in your resume to capture the attention of recruiters.

One effective way to highlight your skills is to create a dedicated "Skills" section in your resume. List your key skills in bullet points, making them easy to read and understand. This helps improve resume readability and allows hiring managers to quickly get a sense of your capabilities. Tailor this section for each job application, emphasizing the skills most relevant to the position.

Don't forget to back up your skills with concrete examples. Instead of simply stating that you are a strong leader, mention a specific project where you successfully led a team to achieve results. By providing context, you not only improve your resume but also give employers a clearer picture of how you can contribute to their organization.

Lastly, consider including a few industry-specific keywords in your skills section. This can help to improve your resume’s visibility during applicant tracking system screenings. Use phrases that align with the job descriptions you are targeting, and let those keywords naturally fit into your skill descriptions. This small change can make a significant impact on your job search.

2) Showcase Relevant Experience

When it comes to job hunting, showcasing your relevant experience effectively can make a significant difference in how employers perceive your resume. To improve resume quality, focus on highlighting achievements and responsibilities that directly relate to the position you’re applying for. This targeted approach allows potential employers to see your qualifications in context, increasing the likelihood of securing an interview.

Begin by tailoring your work experience section to emphasize skills and accomplishments that align with the job description. Use action verbs and quantify your successes whenever possible. For instance, instead of saying you "managed a team," specify that you "led a team of five to achieve a 20% increase in project efficiency." Such details not only grab attention but also showcase your ability to deliver results.

Additionally, don’t forget to include internships, volunteer work, or freelance projects that are relevant to the roles you’re targeting. These experiences, while possibly less formal, can help demonstrate your versatility and commitment to your career growth. Highlighting diverse projects can further illustrate your skills and show employers that you bring a wealth of experience to the table.

Finally, consider using a functional resume format if you're transitioning careers or have gaps in your work history. This format allows you to group your experience by skill set rather than chronologically, making it easier to focus on transferable skills. By carefully crafting your experience section, you can improve resume content and stand out in a competitive job market.

3) Customize for Each Job Application

When applying for different jobs, it’s essential to customize your resume to fit each position. A one-size-fits-all approach rarely works in today’s competitive job market. Tailoring your resume not only shows that you’re genuinely interested in the role but also highlights the specific skills and experiences that align with the job description. This can significantly help to improve your resume and catch the attention of hiring managers.

Start by carefully reading the job description and identifying the key skills and qualifications the employer is seeking. Look for specific words and phrases that they use—these can often be included in your resume to help match your experience with their needs. For example, if the job emphasizes "project management," be sure to highlight relevant projects you've managed in your previous roles. This simple adjustment can make a big difference in improving your appeal to potential employers.

Don’t just focus on the skills; your work experience should also be tailored. Prioritize the job experiences that are most relevant to the job you’re applying for. If you have multiple roles, consider creating bullet points that directly showcase accomplishments or responsibilities that mirror those listed in the job posting. This will help to improve your resume by making it more relevant and targeted.

Lastly, don’t forget to adjust your summary or objective statement at the top of your resume. This section is your chance to grab the employer's attention right away, so make sure it reflects your enthusiasm for the specific position and highlights how you can add value to their team. A customized summary can serve as a powerful introduction and greatly improve your resume’s effectiveness.

6 top tips to succeed in your next job search

by Jenny Darmody

Whether you’re just starting out on your journey or a seasoned tech professional, the job search can be a daunting prospect.

Is all the advice you got the last time you looked around still true? Are there new ways to find your dream role? How much of a freshen up does your CV need? To help you elevate your job search, we spoke to Amanda Whicher, director for technology at Hays UK and Ireland.

1) Focus on skills, not job titles

One of the most important things to bear in mind, according to Whicher, is that due to the constantly changing tech landscape, the job title you currently have might not still exist in the same guise by the time you start your job search.

“I think it’s really important that you understand what type of [tasks] that you really enjoy doing, but you’re also really good at and when you’re searching for a role, that you’re searching by the term rather than the job titles,” she said.

“If you’re really specific in the job title because of the organisation you’ve potentially worked in for the last 10 years, you might not have anything come up because actually that job title isn’t necessarily a standardised job title.”

2) Be thoughtful about your applications

It has become incredibly easy to apply for jobs nowadays. With many platforms, a simple click of a button labelled ‘apply’ could send your standardised cover letter and CV off to several recruiters at once.

However, this in itself has become a pitfall for many jobseekers according to Whicher. “If you’re really generic in your application, then that’s going to be received as generalist and so therefore, you might not get a response,” she said.

“I think being more thoughtful in the roles that you’re applying for is really important. And I would always connect on LinkedIn or reach out to the individual, whether it’s a recruitment agency or the hiring manager to make them aware that you’ve applied.

“You want to differentiate yourself in the market that we’re in at the moment that while we’ve got skills scarcity across technology, it doesn’t mean we don’t have applications for jobs, it just means that the applications that we get in a lot of cases aren’t fit for purpose for the role.”

3) Leverage your network

While it may be easier to apply for jobs and there are thousands of roles available on job sites, LinkedIn and recruitment sites, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to weed out your dream role there.

So, what’s the best way to lay the groundwork when it comes to getting your next job? Whicher advised going to the source. “Not everyone advertises externally,” she said. “So I think definitely look at some of the target organisations you potentially want to work for because they might not be visible in other places.”

She also spoke about the importance of growing and using your network. This may be more of a long-game approach, but it will allow you to be there for opportunities that may not be as easily found. “The best time to apply for a role is before a [company] has even advertised the role,” she said. “I think also reaching out to your network to understand, ‘do you know of any organisations that are going to be recruiting in the next six months for my type of skills?’”

Read all 6 tips and the complete

 article

Always ask these 4 questions when you’re interviewing for a job, says ex-Google recruiter

Gili Malinsky

When you’re interviewing for a job, “asking great questions is such an underrated way to differentiate yourself from everyone else,” says Nolan Church, former Google recruiter and current CEO of salary data company FairComp. Good questions can help make the case for why you’re a rockstar at work.

But asking great questions can serve other purposes, too. Specifically, Church would recommend asking ones that do two things: help you suss out your level of interest in the role and set you up for success on day one if you get an offer and decide you do want the job.

Here are four questions Church recommends asking.

1) ‘What is the company’s north star for the next 12 months?’

A company’s north star sums up its goals and mission.

The question gives you a sense of whether or not the people interviewing you “actually have clarity on what matters,” he says. Do they know what they want or are they just aimlessly working toward some nebulous idea of success? The latter would make it tough to know what to prioritize yourself.

It also gives you a sense of how aligned the various people interviewing you are. “If everyone can’t tell me the same answer here,” he says, “red flag.” It means your priorities could differ depending on the stakeholder, and it will be very hard to satisfy people across the board.

If the company is clear on where it’s going and everyone agrees, the question helps you figure out if you’re “actually excited about solving the problems associated with that north star,” he says. If not, maybe the job isn’t for you.

3) ‘What’s the one thing you love most about the culture?’

Questions like, “what’s the company culture?” can be vague, says Church. These questions likely won’t give you a detailed sense of what the vibe is like on the inside.

But if you ask about the one thing people love most, “you will get a very specific answer,” he says. “And that specificity will lead to insights.” Most importantly, if you connect with what people say they love about the company, it could very well be a place you, too, would enjoy working.

Read questions 2,4, & the complete CNBC article

 

This popular resume advice is ‘a waste of time’, says former head of talent acquisition at Nike

Gili Malinsky

When you’re applying for a job, many career experts will tell you to tailor your resume to the job description. They recommend sifting through its requirements to see what’s most relevant for the role and tweaking your resume accordingly.

Longtime HR executive James Hudson, who’s led talent acquisition at companies like Nike and Levi Strauss & Co., disagrees with this approach. “It’s bad advice to customize your resume” for every role, he says. In fact, as far as a jobseeker is concerned, it’s “a waste of time.”

Here’s why he thinks so.

Descriptions are often ‘managed by the compensation team’

There can be a slight disconnect between what a job description asks for and what a hiring manager might be looking for in any given role. That gap stems from how an organization creates its job descriptions.

Internally and especially in large companies, “job descriptions are typically owned and managed by the compensation team because they’re directly linked to pay bands within the organization,” says Hudson. A pay band is an internal salary range for each role. That means the person writing the job description will not necessarily be the person doing the hiring, and therefore may not know exactly what a hiring manager or recruiter is looking for on the ground.

“The basic qualifications are always going to be exactly right,” says Hudson, such as degree and experience requirements, “but there’s so much more in a job description than the basic qualifications.”

You’ll have a chance to better suss those out during the interview process and if you speak to someone at the company before you apply. But the job description itself might not give a 100% sense of where the emphasis will be on day-to-day job duties.

Read the 2nd reason and the complete CNBC article

 

The No. 1 reason people ‘fail’ job interviews, says ex-Amazon recruiter: ‘It causes a lack of trust’

Morgan Smith@thewordsmithm

Some job interview faux pas are obvious. Showing up late or badmouthing your former employer are almost guaranteed to ruin a first impression. 

But there’s one sneaky interview mistake that can cost you the job: Forgetting to provide specific examples in your answers. 

Holly Lee, a former recruiting leader at Amazon, Meta and Google, says it’s “hands down, the number one reason” people tank a job interview. 

“People are either overconfident and think that their resumes speak for themselves, that they only need to provide a vague, short answer, or don’t take the proper time to reflect on how, exactly, their work is benefitting a company’s bottom line — the who, what, when, where and why of it all,” says Lee, who is now a leadership career coach based in Phoenix.

For example: An interviewer might ask you, “What is the biggest impact you’ve made in your career at this point?” 

“If you answer with a brief line like, ‘I saved my company $1 million on a project’ or ‘I made our onboarding process more efficient’ without providing specific context or details, it’s not clear how, exactly, you did that and who you helped,” Lee explains.

Neglecting to provide specific examples of your strengths, contributions and impact in previous roles can hurt your chance of getting an offer because it signals to a potential employer that you’re not thoughtful or trustworthy, says Lee. 

“There’s no such thing as a perfect candidate, but you have to demonstrate what you’ve done in order to build trust and positively influence the person who’s interviewing you,” she examples. “Giving vague, clipped answers causes a lack of trust, it shows me that someone is unprepared and doesn’t have a deliberate approach to their work.”

Tips for acing your next interview .... Read the full MSNBC article