Strategies to Make Your Resume Stand Out Against the Competition

HiResWhat’s the first step to landing the job you want?

Getting on the right recruiter’s radar.

And how can you accomplish that?

By grabbing their attention with a resume that stands out from the crowd.

Piece of cake, right?

Not necessarily. Professional jobs may be plentiful right now, but that doesn’t mean there’s no competition for the best career opportunities. In fact, your resume may be one of dozens – if not hundreds – a recruiter considers.

You need a sound plan to send your resume to the top of the stack. So let’s get to work. Use these two strategies to create a stand-out resume that clearly distinguishes you as the best candidate:

Do your homework. Customizing your resume for the position you want is a proven way to catch a recruiter’s eye. The more closely your qualifications match the position’s requirements, the more effectively you can sell your strengths:

  • Research the company. Use their website, Google (check the news tab) and other search engines to learn what you can about the employer’s lines of business, major competitors, recent accomplishments and most recent news.
  • Research the position. Connect with current employees at the prospect company, or with individuals in similar positions in other organizations, to learn everything you can about what it takes to succeed in the role. Try to find out more about the job’s responsibilities, requirements and desired soft skills.

Use what you learn to customize your resume. Tweak your objective to list accomplishments and facts relevant to the job posting. Incorporate keywords relevant to the company, position and industry. Highlight those aspects of your skill set, experience and personality that match the needs of the position.

Choose the right format. No one type of resume fits everyone’s background and history; the trick is choosing the one which best aligns your unique blend of accomplishments, experience and education with the available role:

  • If you have a solid, logical work history which shows increasing responsibility, a chronological format is best. It’s the most popular format with employers today.
  • If you want to put the focus on your skills, as opposed to your employment history, choose a functional format. This format works well if you have a diverse work history, gaps in employment or are changing the direction of your career.
  • If you need the best of both worlds, consider a combination format. Also known as a hybrid resume, this format combines the sequential employment history found in the chronological resume with the summary of skills and qualifications found in the functional resume.

Choose the format which best highlights your strengths and positions you as the ideal candidate.

Looking for your next professional job opportunity?

Get on the right recruiters’ radar – by contacting your local Corps Team office. With a wide range of professional part-time, flexible and direct-hire opportunities, we’ll make sure your resume gets into the hands of the right decision makers. Search Corps Team’s professional jobs near you.

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