Get Noticed by Employers: 12 Keys to an Effective Resume

What is the key to making an effective resume that will help you get noticed by employers?

To help job-seekers enhance their resumes, we asked career coaches and business owners this question for their best advice. From keeping your resume up to date to delivering it through multiple channels, there are several tips that may help you create an effective resume that gets noticed by employers.  
Here are 12 keys to an effective resume:

• Keep Your Resume Up to Date

• Highlight Social Media, Blog, Website URLs

• Personalize Your Template

• Add Target Keywords From Job Descriptions

• Create Contrast in Your Design

• Add Eye-catching Design Elements

• Keep It Simple

• Add Measurable Accomplishments

• Highlight Position-Specific Strengths

• Don’t Use a Template Or Sound Like One

• Be Short and Concise

• Deliver Your Resume Through All Channels

Keep Your Resume Up to Date

Don’t include anything that’s outdated. It’s best to exclude experience that’s older than 15 years. Doing so will also help you possibly avoid age discrimination when your resume is being reviewed by a hiring manager. You should also include relevant coursework. This can make you more attractive to an employer when they see how you are getting more training and are serious about continuing your education.

Shaun Price, MitoQ

Highlight Social Media, Blog, Website URLs

Almost every resume submitted by your competition will look the same as the others. So you have to find definitive elements that will set you apart from the rest. One element that will immediately catch the eye of your potential employer is your online presence. From social media handles to URLs of your blogs or websites, when you mention these links in your resume, you get the better of the inquisitive nature of people. The more time they spend on your resume and your links, the more they will remember your profile.

Jase Rodley, Jase Rodley

Personalize Your Template

To make your resume stand out as different from the sea of applications, format it in ways that make you look exemplary. If you advanced in a company quickly, ensure you draw attention to that transition and growth and play to your assets. Choose three previous job positions showcasing experience that best highlights the skills required for the job role you are applying for.

Stewart McGrenary, Freedom Mobiles

Add Target keywords From Job Descriptions

Job adverts that interest you are the best place to get inspiration when you start constructing a CV. When applying for multiple opportunities, it would be beneficial to research each job description for keywords that reflect what the business is looking for in an ideal candidate. Include those keywords in your resume where appropriate.
Pay particular attention to anything in the Requirements sections. If you’re applying for a job as a medical billing coder, for example, terms like “coding,” “claims filing,” and “compliance” may appear in the job description. If you have the talents that companies require, you can put these terms in your resume’s experience or skills sections.

Axel Hernborg, Tripplo.com

Create Contrast in Your Design

In design, contrast is used to generate impact, highlight the importance, and clear the whole projects’ space. While creating your CV, make sure to provide colors that complement well – font to the background, highlights to regular text, etc. By doing that, you make it easier to read for recruiters and increase your chances of being noticed.

Natalia Brzezinska, PhotoAiD

Add Eye-catching Design Elements

Resumes don’t have to be all about textual content. Make yours a little more pleasing to the eye and increase your chances of catching everyone’s attention. Spend some time choosing design elements that highlight essential information in your resume or simply spruce and freshen up those empty spaces with a dash of friendly and attractive colors. It pays to be different. And when you spend time and effort designing your resume, the move will speak volumes for your personality and help you stand apart from the crowd.

Krista Haws, Dripped Coffee

Keep It Simple

Keep it simple. Make sure your information is easy and accurate to find. Create effective bullet points that showcase your professional achievements and highlight the most applicable skills to the job you are applying for. The key is to show what you can bring to a company quickly and efficiently.

Sumeer Kaur, Lashkaraa

Add Measurable Accomplishments

When crafting a resume, incorporate relevant and quantifiable achievements from past work experiences. Employers are more interested in learning about the positive impact that the candidate has made in their previous work, hoping they can deliver similar results in their companies. Some examples include increasing revenue, decreasing company expenses, or solving a major issue at work.

Benjamin Farber, Bristol Associates, Inc.

Highlight Position-Specific Strengths

You already know which position you are applying for, so why not target it in the best way possible? Define the specific profile requirements that a perfect candidate for the position should possess and align your resume accordingly. Don’t shy away from highlighting related strengths, so they catch your potential employer’s attention. And play down possible weaknesses where necessary. Align every element in a way that leads to the HR manager shortlisting your resume and placing it on the top of the pile of most suitable candidates.

Azmaira Maker, Ph.D., Aspiring Families

Don’t Use a Template Or Sound Like One

If you are using a popular resume template, hundreds of other candidates probably are as well. You do not want to sound “artificial” or identical to others. While your resume should be tailored to the position for which you are applying, make sure to include keywords that speak to your personality and your ability to fit in and engage with people if hired. Employers are searching for people who are capable of performing the job but also work effectively in a team setting.

Hector Ruiz, BBQ Grill Academy

Be Short and Concise

It’s hard to pinpoint just one key to making an effective resume, so here is my overall key advice. Employers have so many resumes to go through, that the easiest way to make sure you’re biggest selling points are obvious, is by making your resume short and concise. Never go over a page on a resume, only include relevant experience that can translate to the position you’re applying for, and make sure to use numbers in your key points. No matter what the number represents, it’s always impressive. This can be shown through how many emails you sent daily, the number of people on your team, or the percentage in which you raised sales.

Gregg Dean, Layla Sleep

Deliver Your Resume Through All Channels

One way to get your resume noticed by potential employers is to deliver it through every channel possible. Obviously, we live in a digital world, so you’ll most likely be sending a resume through your own personal email or a specific application server, but I don’t think there is anything wrong with going the extra mile and delivering an application and resume by hand. This shows enthusiasm for the position and gives you chance to communicate directly with employers and show them who you are, even before they look at your resume. In today’s oversaturated job market, anything you can do to set yourself apart is critical.

Peter Robert, ECS Office

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