How to Improve Your Resume to Impress Employers
- 1). Make your resume reader-friendly by using lists and bullet points. Don't write big blocks of text -- ever. Employers with a massive stack of resumes to sort through are going to "scan" through them rather than read every word. By condensing your skills and experience into brief lists, employers will be less likely to overlook the important things you have to offer.
- 2). Clean up your language. Whenever possible, omit unneeded articles such as "a," "an," and "the" -- which only add clutter -- to keep your resume brief and powerful. For instance, instead of saying "Managed all of the aspects of the editorial department at the Sunnyside Newspaper," shorten it to "Managed all aspects of Sunnyside Newspaper's editorial department." In doing so, you leave only the words that actually matter, helping your resume pack more of a punch.
- 3). Word choice is everything. When it comes to describing your past work experience and skills, the language you choose for your resume could mean the difference between impressing employers or leaving them yawning. Use a variety of active verbs such as "analyzed," "managed," "executed," "directed," and "implemented," instead of ho-hum versions of "to be." If you find yourself repeating the same word too many times, get a thesaurus and look up some synonyms. Many employers view skillful writing as a reflection of your competence, so make an effort to polish your resume's language.
- 4). Don't lie. There's a difference between making the truth look good and simply making things up. Don't claim to have experience in something you've never done, or to have held a job position you were never hired for. The truth has a way of eventually emerging, and could land you in trouble later on.
- 5). "Target" your resume. Don't include jobs or activities that have no relevance to the job you're applying for, unless the duties you accomplished are related to the new job at hand. You may have worked as a barista in college, but that won't help you land a job as a graphic designer -- unless you were also responsible for painting the display windows at your cafe. It's better to have a shorter resume that's fully relevant to the job you're applying for, than a longer resume filled with extraneous details.
- 6). Make a separate section for your accomplishments. Did you receive awards, promotions, certificates, recognition, or anything else that brings bragging rights? Don't let your most worthwhile achievements get lost among descriptions of your job duties. Create a new section -- with a heading that reads "Achievements" or something similar -- and list your biggest accomplishments all in one place.
- 7). Keep it simple. Fancy fonts, artistic borders, and unconventional colors might look pleasing to you, but they spell "unprofessional" to employers. Use a basic font such as Times, nix the graphics or artistic touches, and use black font on white paper. The content of your resume is what will impress employers -- not an over-the-top presentation.