When preparing your resume, remember this is a document to market your experience and skills, and showcase what you have to offer. Your resume is much more effective and attractive to employers when it demonstrates what you have achieved with your previous experiences and what you can potentially achieve for the new employer.
Unfortunately, a bunch of the resumes employers receive today still read like a laundry list of duties. Avoid this common mistake with the tips below to create a resume with impact.
Don’t state the obvious
If you’re simply describing your job duties on your resume – a generic job description – there’s likely going to be little interest from employers. Although today’s Applicant Tracking Systems (the software that reads and ranks resumes) will need this information, employers really need to know how you performed against goals or your peers.
Quantify and qualify accomplishments
Your accomplishments on the job are what will differentiate you from the next candidate. It’s also what will help demonstrate you are the best candidate for the job. So for instance, if you have a career in sales, rather than state the obvious: “Contact prospective customers to introduce new product releases.”
Tie in results you’ve achieved. A more effective statement would read: “Initiated contact with
prospective customers on new product releases and secured sales contracts, ranking as the top sales person of the year.” This latter statement provides insight to why you make a great candidate for a job in sales.
Bad: “Contact prospective customers to introduce new product releases.”
Good: “Initiated contact with prospective customers on new product releases and secured sales contracts, ranking as the top sales person of the year.”
If you are in a position that does not quantify accomplishments, then consider these questions:
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