What should you put on your resume?
With the world relying more on digital communication, your online presence is now increasingly important. In many instances it may be the first impression you make on a hiring manager. Online presence isn’t just limited to your social media profiles, but also with your resume. How you write your resume, how you format, what you chose to highlight – all of these speak for your; or rather, in your place. Let’s make sure your best voice is being heard.
Tailor Your Resume to the Job You’re Seeking
This one goes deeper than just making sure that your resume has the right buzzwords and is geared towards a specific position. Look at the language of the job description. Look at the writing style, the diction used, and not used. This will tell you a lot about the subtle culture of the company as well as what this company values and what their “code is”. Each of us operate with our own code book. In order to properly communicate with one another we need to speak using the other person’s code. The same is true for diction.
Convey Measurable Accomplishments
It’s easy to just list your job duties. Experienced recruiters already have a good understanding of what one needs to do in each job. They don’t care about what the job duties are, they care about what you did while you were there. Instead of “sold chemicals to stores under the Ahold Delhaize banner within the North Carolina and Virginia territory” Try “increased territory revenue by 3% month over month, resulting in $14 million in sales”.
Be Deliberate in the Summary Section
You and everyone else applying for the job is a “highly motivated professional that thrives in a dynamic environment”. That does not make you unique, won’t make you stand out. In a sea of thousands of applicants, your resume will get lost in the shuffle. Here is where you pull from your measurable accomplishments. If you are a “proven sales manager responsible for increasing revenue by 4% month over month and acquiring $15 million in new business annually” this will make you stand out. Don’t fib but use what you’ve done and frame it in the best way possible. This resume will speak in your place so use your best voice!
