The global job market is getting competitive day by day and therefore it is now harder than ever to get noticed in a job search. An applicant posts his candidacy through numerous job boards or company websites with a hope to make a place on the hiring manager’s selection desk.
However, the hope can be left shattered if the former doesn’t know the basic features a resume should have; after all there is a difference between a good resume and ‘truly a stellar one’.
Here’s few trending and surefire ways of ensuring that resume catches the attention of recruiter:
1. Battle the ATS
The first known ‘antagonist’ that a candidate must take note of is the ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems), which is actually one of the foremost steps of screening a candidacy and gauge it’s suitability. The software scans through a document and looks out for certain keywords that are either trending or tailor made by the recruiter to measure the suitability. Apart from this, the ATS also sees few data that a recruiter finds important; such as:
• Contact Information
• Email Address
There is no point having a resume full of experience and education related information but no contact listing.
2. Being Simple
The ATS is known to go haywire if the document has artistic fonts or designs and an applicant will hate to hear the rejection at this level. Therefore, one has to make sure that the resume stays simple; unless he is on for some creative job posts.
3. Keep an Eye on Technicalities
It’s not just about writing a good resume but also about taking care of the technical aspects of it. The applicant should try saving and sending across documents in selected formats like pdf or acrobat format. The resume should reach with a face that is accepted at all configuration levels. A job seeker shouldn’t make a faux pass or bring in a moment of turn-off for the selection manager.
4. Watch the ‘Verbs’
The University of Yale has cleanly listed few resume action verbs that are currently trending in the job market. Using the same words like “Responsible for”, “Taking care of” are actually boring to the recruiters and an applicant will never want the candidature to meet the dead end majorly because of such reasons.
5. Avoid a Lengthy ‘Saga’
An applicant with good experience can stumble upon a little mistake that can cost him big. The resume should be simple and short, both at the same time. The experience should not be listed in an elaborative way making it look like a list; rather the effort should be towards enlisting the highlighted ones and relevant to the job profile. Rest one can always speak up in an interview that follows.
6. A Buzz to Follow Up
A job applicant can give a buzz to the recruiter asking for feedback and this task can also give a lot of limelight to the candidature, if done right. A professional instance can be:
“I am aware about the stature of your company and therefore consider myself lucky to come across a vacancy matching my experience. The fantastic sales vacancy that is there in your company matches with my candidacy and I hope that it passes through all criteria……”
Such conversations are professional yet meaty.
The Verdict
Finding a vacancy and sending a resume is not the end of story but a starting phase of it. The document meets a lot of yardsticks that are high and tough at the same time. Therefore, it is important that a job seeker creates a winning resume in a way that it catches the eye of the recruiter, effectively.
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Jobiety Editorial Team
Our editorial team researches and tests every piece of career advice we publish. We draw on real hiring data, interviews with recruiters, and hands-on experience to give you guidance that works.
