7 Ways Your Resume Should be Modified in 2018

Truthfully, writing, editing, or even looking at a resume is probably not one of your top 5 favorite things to do. It’s probably not even in the top 50.

More than likely, if you’re happily employed and not actively job-seeking, updating your resume probably isn’t even on your radar. But if you are anything like the talent of today or the top talent in our marketplace, a happy job doesn’t mean you don’t mind knowing what else is out there. This is probably also why you decided to read this article, just to make sure your resume is up to snuff.

But what are the benefits of even actively writing a resume, even while you aren’t actively looking for a new gig? Learning how to write a ‘knock it out of the park’ resume can help you be more aware of other opportunities, improve your personal brand, and increase your chances of perfecting the art of finding the perfect job. Here are the keys to opening more doors.

Below are just a few of our industry-proven resume tips for landing your dream job this year and a link to access the rest of our resume guide!

  • Don’t you dare create a jumbled resume?

If your resume provokes the reader’s eyes to cross before they even get a chance to read it, then there is certainly room for improvement. When you download the resume guide, we completely break down the order of information, and suggestions for what to include and even where to include it!

Be careful with the ‘extras’ of fonts and styles – use them economically and only on the most important parts. Fun tip: print it out, so you can double-check if it looks just as good off the screen as it does on.

  • First impressions

It’s sort of like dating someone. You usually only want to only show them your good sides, before you show them your lesser favorable sides. While all parts of you are awesome, it’s all about the priming and what you want to present first.

Putting your most relevant and important experience at the top is the key to getting your foot in the door to an interview. While some will tell you that an objective or summary is important, we recommend it is best left out of the resume

  • Don’t be beaten by the ATS bots!

Our resume guide dives DEEP into the many ways an ATS can miss your awesome experience, based on some basic parsing technologies and keyword screening.

Our data shows that about 60% of resumes are never even seen because of an ATS system. Time.com’s data reports that upwards of “75% of candidates are taken out of consideration before a human ever sees their resume.”

Quick fixes to beat the bot include edits to your organization and how you would re-format it. Easy stuff! Check out our methods here.

  • Omit the insignificant…

While it’s great that you worked at Target in high school, it’s not relevant to anything you are doing now. Time to detach from that experience and focus on what really makes you great!

Examples of bad resumes are always the ones that go on for far too long. 10-pages is not necessary and while we know your experience is almost jumping off the page, it’s a best practice to be selective and ask yourself, would this experience be important to my current or another potential employer?

  • Companies do love data

We are in a data-driven world and people get hired because of numbers. If you are serious about validating your experience and letting people know you actually know the value of what you do…put a number on it.

Increasing ROI, revenue, efficiency, what have you, if it has a number (accurate one, of course), then you are golden. Oh, and don’t forget one of the most important numbers on your resume! The dates you were employed at each position. We say way too many resumes with a year-to-year timeline, meaning the employer has to guess when they started within a 12-month period.

Be specific and validate your experience.

  • Can you hear yourself when you read your resume?

Employers actually want to hear your voice, or rather your personality, when it comes to learning more about you from your resume. While it’s a first look into your technical experience, the way you write the content and style the document is how they judge you as a person, at least initially.

You want to sound like a real subject matter expert and stand out from all the other talent!

  • Make your 2D resume 3D

In our experience, traditional resumes just don’t appreciate technical skills the way they should be. This is why we offer our talent a FREE 3D resume builder to accurately reflect their skills, provide a real timeline of their career history, and approach their personal brand in a much more concerted approach.

To access the free 3D resume builder, follow the link here.

And for more tips, download the resume guide to audit your more traditional resume, because it’s always a good idea to have it as a backup

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