5 Resume Tips and Tricks To Get You Hired

If you are at the beginning stages of your job search, the first thing you’ll need to do is update your resume. Since it’s often the first impression a hiring manager will have of you, this unfortunately, is not a step you can skip. If you want to get your foot in the door, your resume needs to be polished and professional.

Revamping your entire resume might feel overwhelming, especially if you haven’t looked for a new job in several years. However, there are a few resume tips and tricks that can make all the difference.

Don’t know where to start? Here are 5 tips that can help you get hired.

Add keywords throughout your resume

To be considered for the jobs you are interested in, your resume needs to feel relevant. To accomplish this, you’ll need to do your research. Look at different job openings that align with the roles you’re interested in. First evaluate what responsibilities are involved and the types of skills that are required. Then, ask yourself if you see any commonalities in these jobs. If so, think of ways that you can try to incorporate relevant keywords into your resume.

Make your resume easier to read

Most hiring managers don’t have the time to read through every single part of your resume. In many cases, they may only read a couple bullet points before deciding whether to consider you for the role. As a result, you need to make it clear from the get-go that you are qualified. To make your resume easy to skim, keep your bullet points short and under two lines. You’ll also want to ensure the first few words of each bullet point sound engaging since many hiring managers will only read the beginning of each section to determine if you’re qualified.

Include the most relevant experience first

To make your resume stand out, you’ll need to have your best accomplishments and experiences at the top. This may require you to remove irrelevant experience or reorganize your resume. For example, if your education or volunteer experience is at the top of your resume, you may want to consider moving this to the bottom of the page.

Quantify your accomplishments

Hiring managers don’t only want to read about your job duties, they also want to know how successful you were in previous positions. As a result, try to quantify your accomplishments to show the employer how you can help their organization in the long-run. For example, adding that you increased sales by X% can be more impactful than only saying you made sales calls to generate revenue for your company.

Use action verbs throughout your resume

If you want to show off your accomplishments, you’ll need to utilize action verbs throughout your resume. For example, changing the passive phrase, “Onboarding training was produced by me to help new employees” to the active phrase, “I produced onboarding training materials to help new employees” makes your accomplishments stand out and can have bigger impact on your resume.

If you do change the wording to use an active voice, you’ll also want to utilize specific action verbs that draw the hiring manager’s attention. To help you get started, here is a list of the top action verbs you’ll want to consider incorporating throughout your resume.