Career tips: how to create an impressive resume

Applying for a job should be taken seriously because your financial stability and quality of life depend on it. Landing a stable job can become your platform to earn a stable income every month, which can help you ward off financial stress and help you live life to the fullest. But, with the number of things to prepare for a job application, do you know where to start?

Creating an effective online resume can increase your chances of impressing your recruiter and landing a job. This document is vital when applying for a job because it can create an impression on the recruiter’s eyes and determine if your skills are apt to the talent they are looking for. You can think of your resume as your marketing tool; an impressive resume will make it very easy for you to convince a recruiter that you are the best person for the job.

To ensure that you can experience these things through an impressive online resume, take note of the following tips when creating one:

1. Link your resume to your online profiles

Conducting background checks is a common practice among recruiters. Before they decide to accept you in their organization, they will reach out to your previous employers (if applicable) or acquaintances to validate whether or not the information you stated in your resume is accurate.

To make this process easier for the recruiters, link your resume to some of your professional online profiles, such as your LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is a professional networking profile that allows you to showcase your professional experience and connections. Your LinkedIn profile can significantly create an impression, which is why you should know how to write a LinkedIn headline, connect with the right professionals, and use a corporate photo in your profile.

Aside from your LinkedIn profile, your online resume should also provide links to your previous employers or their websites to help the recruiter with their background checking. Linking all of these to your online resume can show how confident you are with your performance with your previous employers.

2. Make sure that the first ten seconds count

A recruiter will only need ten seconds to browse through your resume and determine if you’re a great fit for their organization. If you want to get to their good side within 10 seconds or less, make sure that your resume contains keywords that are seen in the recruiter’s job posting. This will make your resume stand out from other applicants because the recruiter will identify that you truly read their posting, and you understood what the job requires.

3. Do your homework

Earning a job can be very challenging because you have to offer something different from the other applicants to impress your recruiter. These tasks can be tough, especially if it is your first time to look for a job online. Fortunately, doing your homework before submitting your resume will make these tasks a little lighter.

Once you’ve chosen a position to apply for, spend time to research more about the organization. Identify the goals, vision, mission, and culture of this organization and incorporate all these details into your online resume.

For example, if you’re going to apply as a call center agent to an organization that prides itself in providing “fun” activities to their employees, indicate an experience that can be relatable to the position. You can mention in your online resume that you previously worked as a marketer who organized dynamic events for employees, or how you’ve made a stressful workplace feel lighter.

Adding information that aligns with the culture and profile of the organization you want to work with can increase your chances of getting the job because it shows how interested you are in working with them.

4. Focus on the future, not the past

One of the reasons why a resume is important in the job application process is because it helps the recruiter to see your professional experience. The recruiter will usually use this document to assess if your experience is enough for you to become an asset to their organization. However, merely listing down all of your previous responsibilities won’t do the trick. You should also inform the recruiter how you can help the organization in the present times.

Once you’ve already determined the position you’re applying for, as well as the scope of the responsibilities involved, highlight your experience or traits that can help you accomplish all of these responsibilities. You can also indicate your accomplishment statement to demonstrate how you can help the organization improve once the position is given to you.

5. Don’t allow mistakes

One of the biggest mistakes people commit when creating their online resume is to publish one just for the sake of it. They think that as long as they have a presence online, they can easily convince recruiters to hire them. This isn’t true because even when recruiters are accommodating applications online, they will pay attention to the details of your resume.

Make sure that you only publish the perfect online resume. This document shouldn’t contain any misspelled words or grammatically incorrect sentences. The links incorporated in your online resume should redirect to the right websites or online profiles, not a 404 error.

Publishing an online resume with a single misspelled word can be reason enough for a recruiter to decline your job application. Remember, how your online resume looks can speak a lot about your character as an applicant, and submitting one that is full of errors will make the recruiter think that you will also do the same when you start working with them.

It’s easy when you know how

You should never create or submit a resume just for the sake of it. As mentioned, the information provided in your resume can speak volumes about your character and your suitability in a particular organization. Regardless of how talented you are in the industry, if you’re not able to properly highlight it in your resume, don’t expect that you can get the job.

Use this article as your reference so you can easily create and submit an impressive resume to your preferred organization!