How To Sell Yourself in a Resume Examples + Tips
Make a resume that grabs the hiring manager's attention in seconds
Recruiters today get hundreds of resumes. On average, they spend only 7 seconds to decide whether to keep reading your resume or toss it.
With this competition, you need a resume that sells you to employers. It should highlight your relevant skills, achievements, and value to decision-makers fast. Simply writing that you can do this or that will not work - you need a marketing document that catches the eye of potential employers.
Keep reading this article to find out:
- 7 proven strategies to help your CV stand out
- Examples of experience and personal statements that sell you to employers
- Mistakes to avoid to write a powerful resume.
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How to sell yourself on a resume effectively?
According to the statistic, 40% of hiring managers spend under 1 minute reviewing each resume. Therefore, you need to spark their interest fast, presenting your achievements, strengths, and unique value. Here's how to do this.
Write a strong Personal Information section
Your name and contact info is the first thing a recruiter sees, so make it count. Use a large font for your name so that it instantly pops up. Add your city and zip code, phone number, and email address.
To enhance this section, add a link to your LinkedIn page (if you don't use LinkedIn actively, use these tips to build a strong LinkedIn profile) or online portfolio. You may also insert a link to your personal website (even if there isn't much website traffic yet). These additions will give a recruiter the bigger picture of your skills and strengths.
Customize your resume for a job description
Companies only consider resumes that are related to the jobs posted. Moreover, you will need to adjust the documents anyway for the ATS purposes. Make sure to change the job title based on the vacancy you are applying for. Resume summary might require customization as well, as you will need to explain how your skills will benefit this particular company.
Create a powerful resume summary statement
Your Summary section is the first thing the recruiter sees, so make it count. Use it as an elevator pitch, presenting the most significant past achievements, credentials, and strengths. Write it with a job listing in mind, including skills and achievements relevant to the role.
Make it 3-4 sentences - it is enough to show how many years of experience you have, what you excel at, and why you'll be an asset for their team.
Example of a strong personal statement
- Dynamic Digital Marketing Manager with 8+ years of experience in creating and executing innovative marketing initiatives that led to a 60% boost in online sales. Expert in social media strategy, email marketing, and PPC, achieving an average ROI of 170% in multiple projects. Adept at leveraging market research and customer insights to drive campaign effectiveness and brand loyalty.
Identify and highlight your strengths
Selling themselves is difficult for many great candidates. If you cannot think what you're great of and how these strengths are relevant to the job description, do a little homework first. Make a list of skills and achievements with the previous employers that you're most proud of. It is imperative to write if each experience directly or indirectly meets the requirements of the vacancy. Then, select the most relevant ones and make sure the resume highlights them well.
Provide concrete evidence and numbers
Today, listing job duties is not enough to write a powerful resume. Recruiters will look for numbers and achievements in your resume. Numbers and specifics give the hiring manager a clear picture of your competencies and sell your skills. Plus, it shows that you are a result-oriented professional and care about the impact you make for a company.
What's more, bold achievements show your tendency to overperform. The recruiter will assume that you'll perform just as well or better when hired.
Don't know what to include as an accomplishment? Here are some ideas:
- Winning a professional contest or a nomination
- Exceeding expectations (such as increasing sales by 35%)
- Improving processes, training people, or enhancing the business bottom line
- Participation in exhibitions, conferences and master classes
- Pet projects and volunteering projects
- Getting an award or another form of recognition.
Examples of resume accomplishments
Bad: Achieved excellent sales growth in 3 years as a salesperson.
Good: Increased sales by 20% in a year over 3 years comparing to 7% on average in the industry.
Bad: Set up the analytical software for the marketing department.
Good: Developed interactive dashboards for the marketing department, resulting in cutting costs by 32% and improved efficiency.
If you are not sure which achievements to include, hire a resume writer. They will present your achievements under the right angle and help correct the shortcomings and mistakes that can damage your job search.
Capitalize on your top skills
41% of hiring managers look at the Skills section on your resume first. Thus, putting this section right after the summary will enhance your job applications and catch the employer's attention.
To make this section count, include technical (such as software and industry specific skills) and soft skills (communication skills, team player skills, collaboration, and more). Focus more on transferable skills if you're changing industries or profession.
With relevant skills at the top, a hiring manager is more likely to see you as a suitable candidate who is perfectly qualified for their open position.
Use power verbs
Powerful, high-impact language catches the eye of a hiring manager as they look through your document. In many cases, it's not what we write, it's how we write about it. Here are two examples.
Bad: Led a software development team.
Good: Directed a team of 6 software developers on a fintech project to improve code efficiency by 40%.
Starting your bullet points with power verbs, such as Orchestrated, Implemented, Designed, Achieved, or Created highlights your initiative and contribution. Plus, it subtly draws the employer's attention, helping them envision you in their team.
For more verbs, use our master list of powerful resume words.
Use customized cover letters
45% of recruiters will reject a resume for not including a letter. Yet, avoid submitting generic or copied-and-pasted letters. Recruiters can spot generic letters from afar, so you'll need to make extra effort here. Explain what makes you a good candidate for the position and provide examples of your past successes. When describing what you're great at, focus on the needs of the business and how your knowledge is related to their current needs. It is very tedious but necessary, since only customized letters that sell your skills for a particular role can spark attention and help in your job search.
Keep the document concise
It is hard to sell yourself with a four-page resume. A busy hiring manager won't have time to read your resume from top to bottom. To better market your strengths, use a one- or two-page resume. Cut off the unimportant detail and secondary information to keep it focused, structured, and specific. Shorter, structured resumes are easier to scan through. Plus, you'll show that you value the recruiter's time.
If you struggle to create a short and sweet resume, try our free downloadable templates. We offer 30+ expertly designed templates for every professional. Download templates for your resume and cover letter, insert the text, and apply for jobs ensuring that your application looks great!
Add quotes and testimonials
The feedback of others is an important indicator of how your career is going. Include comments of 2-3 people with whom you worked. Ask them to mention specific skills, company projects and other activities that demonstrated your knowledge and competencies. These quotes will work as an example of social proof and boost credibility to you as a professional. Since little candidates do this, your application will undoubtedly stand out and draw the attention!
Back to the basics: 7 key rules of resume writing
You'll find it hard to sell yourself to employers if your resume has mistakes. Here are some important rules of resume writing to keep in mind:
- Write in third person. Skip any personal pronouns and write a resume as if you were describing someone else.
- Watch your tenses. Write your current jobs and projects in the present tense. Older jobs and activities go in the past tense.
- Keep job descriptions short. Include 5-6 bullets for each job to display your achievements and duties. Cut off any obvious or less important details.
- Include a short company description. For example, #2 self-care product retailer in New Jersey. It will help you quickly stand out from other applicants.
- Optimize with keywords. Insert key words and phrases from the job listing to make it through ATS.
- Proofread before sending. Typos and misspelled company names aren't the best way to impress potential employers.
- Don't lie! Any fact on your resume is easy to check. Even if you land an interview or a job, the company is likely to fire you if they find out that you lied.
Selling yourself to the hiring manager in this economy is challenging. Yet, with the above tips, you can make it happen! Now, a few quick tips on how to sell yourself on the job interview.
Finding the right words to sell yourself in a job interview
Once you've made it to the interview, it's important to promote yourself just as confidently as you did it on a resume:
Avoid common mistakes
Interview deal-breakers include being late, inappropriate appearance, too relaxed or too tense behavior, lack of initiative and interest, and showing up unprepared. Other mistakes include no questions from your side and silence after the interview. Expert tip: write a thank-you note after the interview to express appreciation for the opportunity to tell about yourself and emphasize that this position is important for you.
Prepare a story about yourself in advance
During the interview, you'll need to tell a story about yourself, and it's hard to sell and market yourself when you're unprepared. Rehearse a short story about your most important career milestones, achievements and goals in front of the mirror so that it sound confident. You need to sound persuasive and convincing, and speak through examples and real case studies.
Do your homework
Explore the employer's website. Check the company's place in the market, whether it is thriving or going through hard times, what problems are of the highest priority for it, and who their CEO is. Look for information about the department in which the vacancy is open, including management, work culture, and values.
Keep calm and dignified
Even if you need a new job urgently, keep confident and calm. Don't go to extremes trying to please them, and let them know that you are considering other opportunities as well. Maintain a confident body language. Sit straight without legs or arms crossed, keep your chin up and maintain the eye contact. Remember that most of information is transmitted non-verbally!
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