One of the best ways to improve your financial position has always been to get a better job. You can build on past experience and make the most of recently-acquired skills to obtain a job with a higher pay rate. If you’re searching for a job using the same resume you’ve had for a decade, then it’s time to make some changes. Here are some tips for improving your resume to make it more attractive and help you get the job.
Be Inspired by Twitter
Potential employers give your resume a quick glance and then make an instant decision about whether they will contact you for more information. With Twitter, you specialize in sharing information using only a few words. You want to do the same thing with your resume. Following your personal contact information, you should have a single line that summarizes your skills and experience. Eye-catching and informative, it should inspire employers to take a closer look at your resume.
Take a Closer Look at Keywords
Business lingo is constantly evolving and changing. Using keywords from a decade ago like team player and communication skills will leave your resume feeling dated and dull. Avoid clichés and choose keywords that are current in your field.
Show a Progression of Improvement
Your resume should not be an endless list of jobs working for different companies and doing basically the same thing. You should be able to show that you have enjoyed more responsibilities with each new job. Don’t focus on the same tired job description used by employers. Focus on the cool things you did at each new job like managing a crew or being trusted with the final rollout of a new product.
Focus on Accomplishments, not Job Details
Your potential employer has a good idea of what your job entailed based simply on your title. What they don’t know is what you accomplished while in that role. Talk about how you increased sales, cut waste or improved employee retention. Highlight the fact that you were always the top seller or were instrumental in developing hot new software. Businesses are all about results, and your resume should show that you excel at delivering results.
Draw from Your Kudos File for the Resume
The biggest challenge of knowing what to add to your resume can be remembering all of your great achievements. We aren’t always encouraged to blow our own horns and brag about our accomplishments, so they can fade into the background of our minds. Keep a Kudos file to simplify this process when updating your resume. Every time you get an excellent performance review, a complimentary email or a congratulations note, you should make a copy and put it in that file. Keep track of what you accomplish at work and keep it in your personal “look what I did” file. Doing this will make it incredibly easy to write up a results-oriented resume when the time comes.
Resumes are incredibly tricky to write. You have to share the basic information of your work history, but you also want to make sure you stand out from the crowd. An eye-catching line at the top will encourage employers to read further. Focusing more on your kudos and less on your professional job description will let them know you are the right person for the team. Update your resume frequently, and you will be ready to take advantage of great opportunities when they present themselves.
Jenna Tate is a freelance writer from Chicago. She is a guest writer for HirePulse where you can find more tips on getting hired.
