Make Your Resume Shine: 10 Perfect Resume Tips

You’re only as good in the recruiter’s eyes as your resume is. That’s why the tiny flaws such as insufficient or irrelevant information, errors, poor formatting and weak self-presentation often lead great candidates to being rejected. Want to break this vicious circle and finally make the resume work for you? Use the below tips prepared for you by the experienced resume writers of Resumeperk.com. Look here for resume for the first job tips.

10 perfect resume tips

Different employers have varying expectations from candidates’ resumes. Some want an impeccably designed, fancy application with a lot of bragging while the others value strong experience and skillset. Yet, there is a set of 10 resume rules which never get old and can transform any resume from poor to great. Resume writers of our team use these rules when they help writing CV for clients at all career levels – and the result is always impressive. Wait no more – here are those 10 tried-and-true practices you should apply right now to help your resume outstand:

1. Include career summary instead of an objective
   Resume objectives are so out of date that they don’t add your resume any points. On the contrary, a good summary serves as an advertisement, luring the reader in to read the entire document. You want to develop a summary that will highlight your job-related skills, meaningful accomplishments and is enriched with keywords. Keep it to 3-5 sentences and make every word count – no buzzwords or obvious skills! Do not forget about 100 descriptive words for your resume.
2. Be easy to reach
   Following your name should be the section of contacts consisting of your address, professional e-mail (the one that contains your first and last name), personal cell number and a link to LinkedIn profile. Make sure every piece of information looks professional and is spelled correctly – you won’t believe it how many candidates lost their chance for an interview due to a misspelled phone number or an empty LinkedIn page.
3. Opt for the combination resume format
   Combination resume format is so popular for a reason: it highlights both career progression and your core competencies. This type of resume consists of executive summary, skills, professional experience, education and other sections if necessary. Summary works as an elevator pitch, giving the HR manager a glimpse of who you are, the experience section emphasizes career trajectory and the other sections add up to the stellar impression your resume (hopefully) makes.
4. Keep it to 1-2 pages
   The more isn’t better when it comes to writing a resume. Employers expect to receive a 1-2-page resume, not your professional biography since you’ve graduated from the high school. The key to a concise resume is relevance – leave in only the most important and recent information. In a resume, every line counts so cut off on everything that doesn’t add value.
5. Tailor it for the job posting, always
   Nobody likes reading the generic resumes – let alone the fact that they won’t make it through the applicant tracking systems. To impress and motivate the recruiter to keep reading, your resume needs to be highly focused on the job posting and written with the employer’s goals on mind. Yes, tailoring takes time – but in job-hunting, quality always beats the quantity.
6. Add figures and results
   A resume that consists of your routine job duties looks lifeless. Not only it portrays you as a ‘doer’, not an ‘achiever’, but also downplays your real professionalism and capabilities. So, support every statement with figures if possible. If it isn’t, use the PAR formula (problem-action-result) to come across as a highly-motivated, result-driven individual.
7. Keywords are the key
   Keywords in resume show the relevance of your application for the ATS and help you pass the initial screening. Use the job listing, industry websites and career resources as a source of keywords. Note that keywords placed at the top of the document are ranked higher by the ATS.
8. Put your achievements in focus
   Accomplishments are of a great interest for a prospective employer as, according to behavioral approach, an accomplished candidate is likely to outperform if hired. Add your loudest accomplishments to the summary, create a separate section for them, or highlight in the job description – make sure they are visible at a sight.
9. Design and format professionally
   Take care of your resume’s looks to make it work for you. The resume design needs to be attractive enough to draw and guide the reader’s attention – but don’t forget that it’s a professional document. Be careful with resume builders – most of those fancy resumes are ATS-unfriendly and recruiters don’t take them seriously.
10. Take care of the online presence
    Potential employers will browse your social media, that’s a fact. So, make sure that what they find online satisfies them – no inappropriate postings, comments and pictures. Although seemingly minor, your postings show the HR managers your cultural fit and no detail can be ignored if you want a lucrative job.

That’s it! These 10 basic rules are all you need to know to craft a strong resume. If you need more detail on resume writing, see here: https://resumeperk.com/blog/30-changes-to-help-your-resume-get-noticed. Still struggle making a great resume? Contact our writing professionals, and they will compose an effective application as per the best resume writing practices.